The Best games of Fischer's career.
Chess is life. – Bobby Fischer
All I want to do, ever, is just play chess. – Bobby Fischer
You can only get good at chess if you love the game. – Bobby Fischer
Chess demands total concentration and a love for the game. – Bobby Fischer
When I was eleven, I just got good. – Bobby Fischer
I don’t believe in psychology. I believe in good moves. – Bobby Fischer
I give 98 percent of my mental energy to chess. Others give only 2 percent. – Bobby Fischer
Your body has to be in top condition. Your chess deteriorates as your body does. You can’t separate body from mind.
– Bobby Fischer
I prepare myself well. I know what I can do before I go in. I’m always confident. – Bobby Fischer
People have been playing against me below their strength for fifteen years. – Bobby Fischer
It’s just you and your opponent at the board and you’re trying to prove something. – Bobby Fischer
You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances. – Bobby Fischer
I play honestly and I play to win. If I lose, I take my medicine. – Bobby Fischer
If you don’t win, it’s not a great tragedy - the worst that happens is that you lose a game. – Bobby Fischer
Don’t even mention losing to me. I can’t stand to think of it. – Bobby Fischer
That's what chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one. – Bobby Fischer
Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent's mind. – Bobby Fischer
I like to make them squirm. – Bobby Fischer
I like the moment when I break a man's ego. – Bobby Fischer
There are tough players and nice guys, and I’m a tough player. – Bobby Fischer
There's no one alive I can't beat. – Bobby Fischer
I add status to any tournament I attend. – Bobby Fischer
Genius. It’s a word. What does it really mean? If I win I’m a genius. If I don’t, I’m not. – Bobby Fischer
The turning point in my career came with the realization that Black should play to win instead of just steering for equality. – Bobby Fischer
Chess is a matter of delicate judgment, knowing when to punch and how to duck. – Bobby Fischer
A strong memory, concentration, imagination, and a strong will. – Bobby Fischer (on what it took to become a strong chess player)
It’s pretty tough because of all the tension and all the concentration, sitting there hour after hour. It’s ... exhausting. – Bobby Fischer
Tactics flow from a superior position. – Bobby Fischer
Best by test. – Bobby Fischer (on 1.e4)
I wanted to give them something to think about when they prepare for me in future tournaments. – Bobby Fischer (on why he played 1.d4, 1.c4 & 1.Nf3 a few times)
It's just a matter of throwing in a few sacrifices, then checkmate! – Bobby Fischer (on playing against the Sicilian Dragon)
Concentrate on material gains. Whatever your opponent gives you take, unless you see a good reason not to. – Bobby Fischer
My opponents make good moves too. Sometimes I don't take these things into consideration. – Bobby Fischer
Yeah, I used to dress badly until I was about sixteen. But people just didn't seem to have enough respect for me, you know And I didn't like that, so I decided I'd have to show them they weren't any better than me, you know? They were sort of priding themselves. They would say, 'He beat us at chess, but he's still just an uncouth kid.' So I decided to dress up. – Bobby Fischer
Lots of the time I'm traveling around. Europe, South America, Iceland. But when I'm home, I don't know, I don't do much. I get up at eleven o'clock maybe. I'll get dressed and all, look at some chess books, go downstairs and eat. I never cook my own meals. I don't believe in that stuff. I don't eat in luncheonettes or Automats either. I like a waiter to wait on me. Good restaurants. After I eat I usually call up some of my chess friends, go over and analyze a game or something. Maybe I'll go to a chess club. Then maybe I'll see a movie or something. There's really nothing for me to do. Maybe I'll study some chess book. – Bobby Fischer
They have nothing on me, those guys. They can't even touch me. Some people rate them better than me. That really bugs me. They think that no Americans play chess. When I meet those Russian patzers I'll put them in their place. – Bobby Fischer
I haven't had any congratulations from Spassky yet. I think I'll send him a telegram. Congratulations on winning the right to meet me for the championship. – Bobby Fischer (after defeating Petrosian in the '71 Candidates Final)
I'm not afraid of Spassky. The world knows I'm the best. You don't need a match to prove it. – Bobby Fischer (just prior to their '72 match)
I am the best player in the world and I am here to prove it. – Bobby Fischer
In chess so much depends on opening theory, so the champions before the last century did not know as much as I do and other players do about opening theory. So if you just brought them back from the dead they wouldn’t do well. They’d get bad openings. You cannot compare the playing strength, you can only talk about natural ability. Memorization is enormously powerful. Some kid of fourteen today, or even younger, could get an opening advantage against Capablanca, and especially against the players of the previous century, like Morphy and Steinitz. Maybe they would still be able to outplay the young kid of today. Or maybe not, because nowadays when you get the opening advantage not only do you get the opening advantage, you know how to play, they have so many examples of what to do from this position. It is really deadly, and that is why I don’t like chess any more. - Bobby Fischer
They're all weak, all women. They're stupid compared to men. They shouldn't play chess, you know. They're like beginners. They lose every single game against a man. There isn't a woman player in the world I can't give knight-odds to and still beat. – Bobby Fischer
Fischer is Fischer, but a horse is a horse. – Mikhail Tal (upon hearing Bobby Fischer’s claim that he could beat any female player in the world giving her knight odds)
My God, he plays so simply! – Alexei Suetin (speaking of Bobby Fischer)
It is difficult to play against Einstein’s theory. – Mikhail Tal (on his first loss to Fischer)
Bobby just drops the pieces and they fall on the right squares. – Miguel Najdorf
Do you realize Fischer almost never has any bad pieces? He exchanges them, and the bad pieces remain with his opponents. – Yuri Balashov
Play out a boring game to the end and funny things can happen; Fischer knew it. – Hans Ree
You know you're going to lose. Even when I was ahead I knew I was going to lose. – Andrew Soltis (on playing against Fischer)
It began to feel as though you were playing against chess itself. – Walter Shipman (on playing against Fischer)
When you play Bobby, it is not a question if you win or lose. It is a question if you survive. – Boris Spassky
In complicated positions, Bobby hardly had to be afraid of anybody. – Paul Keres
It was clear to me that the vulnerable point of the American grandmaster was in double-edged, hanging, irrational positions, where he often failed to find a win even in a won position. – Efim Geller (on Fischer)
In Fischer's hands, a slight theoretical advantage is as good a being a queen ahead. – Isaac Kashdan
His chess was always razor-sharp, rational and brilliant. One of the best ever. – Dave Regis (on Fischer)
Bobby Fischer has an enormous knowledge of chess and his familiarity with the chess literature of the USSR is immense. – Boris Spassky
He turned the methods of the Soviet school of chess against it: Botvinnik-style scientific study of all areas of the game, in-depth openings preparation that has probably only been equaled or bettered by Kasparov, and a passionate will to win that only Alekhine and Larsen could match. – John Nunn (on Fischer)
As with Steinitz, Fischer's genius has often been concealed by controversies away from the board. Like Lasker, Fischer has raised chess to new financial heights despite frequent retreats from serious play. And, like Capablanca, Fischer is recognized by millions of non-players and has won the game many new enthusiasts. – Andy Soltis
President of the chess players' trade union. – Boris Spassky (speaking of Fischer)
The chess heroes nowadays should not forget that it was owing to Fischer that they are living today in four- and five-star hotels, getting appearance fees, etc. – Lev Khariton
Of course a great player like that has no weak spots. What a player like that does have are absolutely strong spots, so you surely don't want him to utilize his strengths, because then your chances decrease to zero. It's not surprising - chess being as complicated as it is - that Fischer had the greatest problems with positions, which were unclear in an unthematic way. When in effect everything just depended on accurate calculation. In those kinds of positions, he is still better than me of course, but the difference is not that great anymore, because it's just extremely difficult for both of us. The chance that he will make an error increases, whereas in a thematic or technical position he will just play perfectly from beginning to end and your chances of surviving are zero. – Edmar Mednis
With the development of chess and higher level of play, chess players lose their individual handwriting and there are fewer players with a clear style. We are moving to a versatile style. I can't say that Fischer had clear handwriting - he was a versatile player. In fact I would rather call it a cumulative style. In his better days he combined Smyslov's accuracy with Spassky's universalism and Alekhine's energy... His rationalism was his only weak spot, he was not that good at irrational and unsound positions. Here Spassky prevailed. Fischer had a clear blueprint for his play. Spassky's victory over him in the 11th game of the match was remarkable. He virtually tore Fischer apart in the Poisoned Pawn variation. It was not a matter of opening preparation, this kind of chess was simply difficult for Fischer. Of course, these are nuances, an attempt to find a weak link and demonstrate what kind of person he was. But Fischer admitted this weak spot himself and was trying to avoid those positions. - Vladimir Kramnik
Crystal clear ideas were his strength. Fischer was perfect at the Ruy Lopez. It is difficult to create chaos on the board in this opening. - Vladimir Kramnik
Fischer is a man with an acute form of pathology. He is a talent of Tal's and Kasparov's caliber, but maybe with less calculation ability. The unusual thing about him is that he divided himself into "White Fischer" and "Black Fischer." With the white pieces, Bobby pretended to be the greatest classic player, playing dry and precise chess, often draining his opponents in 60-move endgames. The Black Fischer, because of a pathological greed for points in the tournament table, strove for ultra sharp play in Korchnoi's manner. But his brain rebelled against such a heavy undertaking. It impaired Fischer's nervous system. This explains his fear to play in tournaments, too. - Alexsander Shashin
Fischer discovered modern preparation in the opening. Unlike Botvinnik who realised the importance of preparation, Fischer gave it a modern slant: he set tasks for his opponent at every move with either colour and in every opening. Fischer kept his opponent busy from the very beginning, he started setting problems from the very first move! Later Kasparov improved this 'high-tension' style; and followed Fischer to some extent. Fischer was the first chess player to mount tension from the first till the last move without giving his opponent even the slightest break. He had a similar precept for both positional and tactical games: he tried to set as many tasks for his opponent as he could. He played very 'vigorous' chess. - Vladimir Kramnik
He only takes a draw when it's hopeless or when he's afraid he might get hurt in the position. When I analyzed with him he would say: "I kill him if I get this position." He deplores positions without counterplay. Even if he's in bad shape, there must be tension. This is the essence of his chess style. And that's the difference between him and Reshevsky. Sammy can defend a passive position. – Arthur Bisguier (on Fischer)
Fischer was a master of clarity and a king of artful positioning. His opponents would see where he was going but were powerless to stop him. I like to say that Bobby Fischer was the greatest Russian player ever. All of his great opening moves came from the Russians. He studied all of their methods. But what made Fischer a genius was his ability to blend an American freshness and pragmatism with Russian ideas about strategy. – Bruce Pandolfini
His opening repertoire was fairly narrow but virtually impeccable. He did not force play into particular channels but played with great objectivity into whatever offered the best winning chances, be it a tactical or positional middlegame or an ending. He rarely lost the initiative, but could defend well when it was necessary. He could be brilliant but did not seek brilliancy for its own sake; he preferred the point on the crosstable. Psychologically he was strong, usually coming back with powerful wins to avenge past defeats. – Tim Harding
I consider Fischer to be one of the greatest opening experts ever. His adventures with the Poison Pawn Najdorf Sicilian are amazing, legendary in my mind. He challenged the world to out analyze him, they knew he would play that variation, many prepared special novelties against him, and still he consistently won with that risky line. Only Polugaevsky comes to mind in analyzing an opening to the level Fischer did, the Polugaevsky variation of the Najdorf Sicilian. – Keith Hayward
Many chess players were surprised when after the game, Fischer quietly explained: "I had already analyzed this possibility" in a position which I thought was not possible to foresee from the opening. – Mikhail Tal
Fischer proved to me how gifted (regarding openings) he was with his first match against Spassky. The guy played openings and defenses for the first time in his life almost perfectly against a world champion! As a human being, the guy's values are not in touch with the real world, but when it comes to pure chess knowledge, he has no equal! – Keith Hayward
There is only one thing Fischer does in chess without pleasure: lose! – Boris Spassky
There's never before been a chess player with such a thorough knowledge of the intricacies of the game and such an absolutely indomitable will to win. I think Bobby is the greatest player that ever lived. – Lisa Lane
Bobby Fischer is the greatest chess player who has ever lived. – Ken Smith
Fischer does not merely outplay opponents; he leaves them bodily and mentally glutted. Fisher himself speaks of the exultant instant in which he feels the 'ego of the other player crumbling.' – George Steiner
Fischer is the profoundest student of chess who ever lived. He reads incessantly, forgets nothing, turns knowledge into action with monstrous precision and ferocity. – Brad Darrach
After World War II, the chess scene was dominated by the Soviet Union, or rather by the Russians. The only exception, the only person who managed to put an end to Russian dominance was Fischer, which testifies to his genius. – Zoltan Ribli
Fischer is the strongest player in the world. In fact, the strongest player who ever lived. – Larry Evans
Our position - using here the royal “we” - is that the Fischer of 1971 and 1972 was the strongest player in chess history, whereas the Kasparov of 1985 - 2001 is the Muhammed Ali of Chess. Which is to say, the greatest. – Larry Parr
Bobby Fischer is the greatest chess genius of all time! – Alexander Kotov
Fischer is the greatest genius to descend from the chess heavens. – Mikhail Tal
Geniuses like Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare and Fischer come out of the head of Zeus, seem to be genetically programmed, know before instructed. – John Collins
Fischer is like Zeus - he is the God of the gods. - Nigel Short
Bobby is the finest chess player this country ever produced. His memory for the moves, his brilliance in dreaming up combinations, and his fierce determination to win are uncanny. Not only will I predict his triumph over Botvinnik, but I'll go further and say that he'll probably be the greatest chess player that ever lived. – John Collins
Suddenly it was obvious to me in my analysis I had missed what Fischer had found with the greatest of ease at the board. – Mikhail Botvinnik
Not that the two whitewash matches were against wimps (Taimanov and Larsen, both powerhouses) or as easy as the scores suggest, but heck, after you lose three or four in a row against a player like Fischer you may as well call in sick with the old "the dog ate my preparation" and get out of town. – Mig Greengard
It was clean, crystalline, pure, like Capablanca in a way. This is what no one knew in advance. How would he play? Not even Bobby knew. – Lothar Schmid (on Fischer's play in the first game of the '92 rematch with Spassky)
What can I say about Fischer? I feel this man had to be the World Champion and nothing would stop him. It was a foregone conclusion. His career took a rather roundabout course but everything was already mapped out! I think that five years before he became World Champion, everyone was aware that the inevitable would happen. He was a real driving force! And Spassky got run over by that 'machine'. I think that any other player would have lost to Fischer too. They were not much weaker, it was the will of fate - Fischer would have broken through any cordon. - Vladimir Kramnik
At a certain moment he had everything: energy, drive, preparation, strong play, etc. as if all the rays were gathered together at one point! He had no weak spots at all - how can you handle such a person?! This happens to every outstanding player when everything clicks. As I see it, Fischer reached his height during the Candidates cycle and his match against Spassky. - Vladimir Kramnik
Kibitzing
