Finding Fischer

It was turning out to be a really bad night when I woke up at 3 am after an hour of fitful, restless sleep. My head was throbbing with a pain that seemed to be getting worse, no matter what I did. Out of irritation and desperation, I finally took a pain-killer and waited for it to take effect. But infuriatingly, it wasn't working fast enough. So, I opened the computer and tried a combination of Pink Floyd and the New York Times to distract my attention from the pain.

I like the NYT for it's refined approach to news, as compared to CNN.com (I don't even know why I still visit that website, but I still do...) and sure enough, something on the top of the homepage caught my eye. It was an article by Dick Cavett (I don't know who he is, but at least I know now that he used to be a prominent TV personality) about his experiences with former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer on his show. It was an engaging personal account of how comfortable Fischer had been on his appearances on Cavett's show. I had some recollection of reading about Fischer's eccentricity and his descent (I hate to be judgmental here, but I'm not getting the word I want) into anti-semitism and his fugitive status in the eyes of his native USA. After reading the article, I was captivated by the references to the champion's amazing genius and his status as an American Hero at his peak, something that is impossible to believe for a chess player.

I dug up another article by Garry Kasparov, the Russian champion for 2 decades till his retirement in 2005, in which he had spoken in glowing terms of Fischer's achievements and his legacy. It also happened to be an obituary for Fischer, who died last month in his adopted home, Iceland. That spurred me on to Google videos, where I found a documentary chronicling the life of the once-in-a-generation genius. I'm not sure I have the will to go on and talk about how I felt after reading and watching what is known about him, for he was a recluse for the better part of his life, and what he has said and done (or done and said, in that order in his life) polarises people irrevocably.

But I think it's a story which, though not unique, is still quite interesting in the amount of time it's protagonist is under intense scrutiny and in the volume of speculation and mystique that surrounds his persona. You can find the documentary here. The advertisements that are splattered over it are a nuisance, and the best way to deal with them is to fast-forward through them; don't wait for them to go away quickly, because they don't :)