Monday, 6^th January 2014              

FISCHER, THE “CHESS MAN”

In a few days, Spassky will celebrate his 77^th birthday. Thus, it is a good opportunity to remember the chess match played by this famous Soviet player in 1972. Spassky, and more generally the USSR, was the big master of chess. But the American player named Fischer came like a bolt out of the blue.... As a result, it is interesting to wonder who Fischer really was and why this chess match was called “the chess match of the century».

How about studying a video? (Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZLrcafDtkg&list=TLWIv_B8o4RxzF2JRJB7X09q2ku7XkzKjf ) 

The document we have to study is an extract of a video of Bobby Fischer’s interview. It comes from an American youtube channel named “Colorado Springs Chess News Channel”, whose goal is to show the viewers the funny side of chess and gives tricks by means of homemade videos. As this channel shows chess through TV, movies or music, it can be inferred that this interview was released on TV first. No specific information about the source can be found. Even though the reliability can be questioned, we can see “the real” Fischer answering questions asked by an interviewer. Thus, we can trust  it. This interview was broadcasted in 1972, after  Fischer,the American, became the 11^th World Chess grandmaster against the Soviet Spassky. This chess match was played during the Cold War, which was characterized by an alternation between improvements and tensions between the USA and the USSR. For example, the treaty SALT 1, which limited the arm race, was signed in 1972. In the same period, this simple game was considered as a state issue. The interview deals with Bobby Fischer’s motivations, his projects for his future, his next target, and finally it talks about his expectations regarding a return match against Spassky and the next matches more generally. This document allows the audience to know  Fischer’s personality. Indeed, he seems self-assured and insinuates that he is the best player. Nevertheless, his behaviour highlights the fact that he doesn’t feel at ease with the media. Actually he doesn’t look into his interviewer’s eyes and doesn’t stay still on his chair. Last but not least, his interview shows us his unreliable side. 

We  chose this document because it helps us to figure out the American player’s behaviour. It is actually very important for the progress of the match. Thanks to his requests and his behaviour, Fischer succeeded in influencing his opponent. After all, he didn’t win only because of his talent. In addition, his unreliable attitude, shown by the video, expressed itself during the whole championship. For example, he failed to show up for more than a week and came late to the rescheduled match. Apart from the championship itself, he refused to play against another Soviet for the next title of world champion, and resurfaced 17 years for the rematch against Spassky. 

On the other hand, the chess match of 1972 reflects the Cold War. More than a simple game, it was a “war without shouting”. The grandmasters knew they fought for the supremacy of their country. They were divided on everything and it highlighted the opposition between the USA and the USSR. Fischer represented the USA even better as  he was deeply anti-communist. He had sometimes paranoid disorders about that, which may show he was mentally disturbed, as we can guess it in the video. Fischer is quite patriotic too, since he promotes his country, and has a capitalist way of thinking.

To conclude, it is interesting to study this document since Fischer’s personality influenced the outcome of the chess match, which is a good way to understand the American-Soviet relations during the Cold War.  

A.Debus. M.Dorn. AM.Goetz. AL. Lehmann.

Sources : http://www.youtube.com/user/cschessnews?feature=watch 

      http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Fischer