by Frank Brady
First published 2011
Bobby Fischer sits across from Soviet champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, making hundreds of petty demands that threaten to derail their historic 1972 match. This Cold War chess showdown represents both the peak of Fischer's fame and the beginning of his bizarre descent. Frank Brady, who knew Fischer from age ten, traces the Brooklyn prodigy's journey from impoverished childhood to global celebrity. Fischer possessed a 181 IQ and became America's youngest chess master at thirteen, memorizing hundreds of chess books in multiple languages. After defeating Spassky, he returned to hero's welcomes and $10 million in sponsorship offers, yet he rejected commercial success. Instead, Fischer gave money to an apocalyptic religion and consumed anti-Semitic literature. Years of poverty followed, including time on Los Angeles' Skid Row. A 1992 rematch with Spassky in sanctioned Montenegro made Fischer an international fugitive. Paranoid and traveling with bodyguards, he feared Soviet assassination attempts. Brady draws from family archives, FBI files, and Fischer's emails to explore why this chess genius inspired fierce loyalty despite his incomprehensible behavior.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, crime, non-fiction, 21st-century, chess
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fall-from-grace, rise-and-fall
Setting: Los Angeles, Montenegro, Reykjavik
Period: 1972, 1992
402 pages · Hardcover · Crown