Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site eosp1.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!clyde!ihnp4!houxm!mhuxl!ulysses!princeton!eosp1!robison From: robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) Newsgroups: net.chess Subject: Re: Bobby Fischer Message-ID: <282@eosp1.UUCP> Date: Sun, 20-Nov-83 00:17:06 EST Article-I.D.: eosp1.282 Posted: Sun Nov 20 00:17:06 1983 Date-Received: Mon, 14-Nov-83 00:14:44 EST References: <468@houxq.UUCP> Organization: Exxon Office Systems, Princeton, NJ Lines: 68 It should be clear to anyone who followed Fischer's antics on the way to winning the world championship that he was just barely able to control his paranoia, with the help of his friends and many professional associates (among them Euwe and Spassky), long enough to win the championship. It is possible (though not certainly the case) that he has grown sicker with time. hE certainly is not improving. BUT! He no longer has the incentive to control the paranoia. After all, he has proved once and for all (or maybe -- just once) that he is the greatest chess player of all. With that behind him, there is no incentive for him to control himself. Fischer's layoff has been so long that a comeback is doubtful. This is a particularly great pity since he might have been one of the lucky grandmasters to improve into his late fifty's and sixty's, had he stayed active. All chessplayers slow down mentally as they grow older. They must therefore rely less on calculation of threats, and more on stratgeic understanding and experience. At the highest level of chess, a remarkable percentage of the top players do not slow down much, such is their grasp of the game; and their understanding deepens. Smyslov is the great current example of this, and Geller and Keres were other examples. Fischer's great strength was his rapid calculating ability. He always saw a few more tactical possiblitites in every position than his opponents. His understanding of position and strategy was very great, but not in the same league with his tactical skill. In my opinion, some of the Russian's criticism of Fischer's lack of opening creativity and depth is justified, and relates to Fischer's unusual balance between tactics and strategy at the highest level of chess. Since Fischer has been out of play, he has not had to solve difficult chess problems over the board with the tournament clock ticking. Consequently it is likely that he has been slowing down faster than he would have as an active player. He has kept up with the literature, but it is questionable whether his blitz games with friends are sufficient to drill the knowledge he reads into the parts of his brain that must process this knowledge rapidly in a tournament game. If Bobby were to heal himself and re-enter the chess world, I would expect these things: - he would lose some competetive drive in becoming mentally healthy. - he would be disappointingly off his game. - without his paranoia, he would not analyse positions as well. Paranoia is not a prerequisite for a chess master, but it can help. Bobby has been unnaturally sharp in looking at all unexpected events in his life as evidence of plots against him. This attitude helps a chess player to intuit both an oppoent's plans, and the potential that an opponent's position holds, over the board. Bobby has surely made his paranoia work for him over the chess board. In order to play his best, he has to cure SOME, but not ALL of it. All in all, a sad, sad prospect for Bobby Fischer and for the chess world.