Bobby Fischer
(Getty Images)

En Passant

January 25, 2008

From brash beginnings to cold war heroism to tragic final years, former world chess champion Bobby Fischer was a magnet for public admiration and criticism. Biographer Frank Brady of St. John's University followed Fischer's complex relationship with the media.


Listener Comments Leave a Comment | Refresh Comments
[1]
Posted by: Sandra Powell
January 27, 2008 - 11:09AM
New Jersey

What was the music played at the end of the piece?

[2]
Posted by: Jon
January 27, 2008 - 12:28PM
NYC

"Your Move" by Yes

[3]
Posted by: Whitney Barnebey
January 27, 2008 - 12:35PM
Wisconsin

It's "I've Seen All Good People" by YES.

[4]
Posted by: Ken Baxter
January 27, 2008 - 07:26PM
Mooresville, NC

Bobby Fischer was the greatest chess Grandmaster in the thousand-year history of the game. The proof that he was the greatest is the 21 straight victories against the best in the world. No modern day Grandmaster or World Champion ever had that kind of run. In addition, he is the reason why 200 people were in a chess tournament this past weekend in Asheville, NC and why over a thousand come to Philadelphia every year during the 4th of July holiday to play in the World Open. For every American chess player, Bobby Fischer is the primary reason why we play. Thank you for covering his passing. I agree with Frank Brady, Bobby Fischer's mental illness was as unique as his chess skill. The rest of the chess playing world is realatively normal!

[5]
Posted by: Jeremy
January 30, 2008 - 08:37PM
Manhattan

I just wanted to thank you for this obit. None of the obits on Bobby Fischer that I read in the papers, online or heard on the radio really tried to figure out who he was, what made him tick and what the importance of his actions were in the context of the chess world (the world in which he operated). They treated his as a cold war oddity, a nut who had his 1q4 minutes of fame. Of course, more relevant to your program: why? You'd think a simply obituary would be something the news media could handle without any problem, wouldn't you?

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