Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall - from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness

I was only 3 years old when the famous Spassky/Fischer championship took place in Iceland so do not have any personal recollection of the match and the impact it created at the time during the Cold War. However, before the US victory in the 1980 semifinal hockey game against the USSR, Fischer's victory over his Soviet counterpart was one of the touchstone American victories over the USSR, particularly in a cultural/sporting event --- the US underdog vanquishing their seemingly invincible Russian counterpart. Before reading this book, outside of the match in Iceland, the rest of general knowledge related to his subsequent reclusiveness, reemergence for a rematch with Spassky in Montenegro in violation of US sanctions and crazy anti-Semitic and anti-American rantings. Thus, it was with great interest that I started this book, hoping to learn a bit more about Bobby Fischer than mere soundbites.Based on the expectations I had when buying "Endgame", I think it certainly delivers. Sure, there are small critiques I have with Brady and "Endgame". There are certain parts where the book stalls and other points where I felt Brady was a bit soft and less critical of Fischer than warranted. However, "Endgame" does succeed in painting as much of a life portrait of the enigmatic Fischer as possible given the long and reclusive gaps in his life. I found the early years of Fischer's life particularly interesting -- from broken family life to his early obsession with chess and disdain for school all the way to his dabbling with a cult Christian sect. It is not unreasonable to expect a certain level of eccentricity and oddity , rightly or wrongly, from someone with Fischer's intelligence. We've seen that in other brilliant minds quite often, although it was fascinating to see how many mental tics early in his chess career (for instance, his demands that almost derailed the original Spassky match) can in hindsight be seen as signs of an inexorable march to further mental instability, but at the time were probably viewed as the eccentricities of a brilliant and bizarre person. By no means should this bizarre mindset of Fischer be cause for justifying or explaining his virulent anti-semitism or repugnant views. They do demonstrate that his "madness" was just not brought on later in his life, but was present from the early part of his life. By the latter part of the book, Fischer is so pathetic and detestable that Brady does a good job of given enough context about his life without overburdening and boring the reader. For at that point, you don't really care to much about Fischer and I was just as content to be done with him rather than learn any more.Fischer's life is one that began with so much promise, was comprised of many years of irrelevance and ended with him as a sad, paranoid and contemptible figure. He lived his last days in virtual isolation, alienating even those who stuck by him and probably didn't even deserve those who stayed with him to the bitter end. "Endgame" is a commendable examination the life and legacy, good and bad, of Bobby Fischer.

Mr. Brady does a fine job of painting an enlightening protrait of Bobby Fischer. His narrative is full of recaps of the games that chess fans will know well. However, he does a nice job of weaving in stories of the reclusive champion's private life around the more familiar elements of the tale.In my opinion, he never manages to make Fischer appear sympathetic. That seemed to be his intention at various times in the book, but he can't seem to quite pull it off. That is because Fischer made certain to insult and demean most people he met in the book--and millions that he didn't. While a fascinating man, Fischer comes across, on balance, as a man spewing some of the most disgusting vitriol imaginable at the world around him. The picture of the man that endures is that he was a hateful, delusional, frustrated ingrate who tolerated no fault in any person around him while imperiously moving through the world. He came across as a man with the emotional maturity of a five-year old.Fischer brillance at the chessboard is made clear without drowning the reader in the minutia of the game which the non-chess playing reader would not be able to appreciate. Much time is spent tracing his early career and his efforts to earn a shot at the championship are presented in a way that builds suspense even for those who know the ultimate outcome. Special attention, naturally, is the matches with Spassky that were the most noteworthy of Fishcher's career.Of the two or three books I've read about the man, this one presented the most information that I hadn't known before I began. The unfamiliar information that can be gleaned by reading Mr. Brady's book is its best feature. The years between the Spassky matches and his the final years of his life are presented in a level of detail that was as enjoyable as possible when spending the time in Fischer's presence. He never seemed to mellow or shy away from the outrageous and vomitous rhetoric for which he was famous. It is terrible that a man who should be remembered as one of the greatest chess players of all time also must be remembered as one of the most distasteful personalities of the past century.

La storia di Bobby Fischer, in inglese. Si legge bene anche per le persone con un inglese discreto.

This book will give you as much detail on Bobby's life as you will find anywhere. The author gives a very unbiased view on the complex life of Bobby Fischer from boyhood to his sad and lonely death. You won't find chess games in this book but you will learn what it was like to be a famous American chess champion during the Cold War when chess was dominated by the USSR. Love him or hate him you will be entertained by his life story.

Según lo descrito. Buen vendedor

The story is told in a way that is impossible not to have dual feelings towards Bobby: you both love and hate him. You both love his obsession with the game of chess and hate the madness by which he faces many aspects of his life. It could not be different though, we all have a little bit of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde inside ourselves.The book is so amazingly written that I felt like I was walking hand in hand with Bobby. This book is a masterpiece. I totally recommend it not only to chess aficionados but also to anyone who is interested in knowing what it's like to be a genius. Buy the book right away !!! seriously !!!

I am a fan of the main character. No matter the author , always will gonna be a glimpse of truth in to it