The Gift of Chess

Notice to commercial publishers seeking use of images from this collection of chess-related archive blogs. For use of the many large color restorations, two conditions must be met: 1) It is YOUR responsibility to obtain written permissions for use from the current holders of rights over the original b/w photo. Then, 2) make a tax-deductible donation to The Gift of Chess in honor of Robert J. Fischer-Newspaper Archives. A donation in the amount of $250 USD or greater is requested for images above 2000 pixels and other special request items. For small images, such as for fair use on personal blogs, all credits must remain intact and a donation is still requested but negotiable. Please direct any photographs for restoration and special request (for best results, scanned and submitted at their highest possible resolution), including any additional questions to S. Mooney, at bobbynewspaperblogs•gmail. As highlighted in the ABC News feature, chess has numerous benefits for individuals, including enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, improving concentration and memory, and promoting social interaction and community building. Initiatives like The Gift of Chess have the potential to bring these benefits to a wider audience, particularly in areas where access to educational and recreational resources is limited.

Best of Chess Fischer Newspaper Archives
• Robert J. Fischer, 1955 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1956 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1957 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1958 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1959 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1960 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1961 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1962 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1963 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1964 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1965 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1966 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1967 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1968 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1969 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1970 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1971 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1972 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1973 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1974 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1975 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1976 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1977 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1978 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1979 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1980 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1981 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1982 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1983 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1984 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1985 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1986 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1987 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1988 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1989 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1990 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1991 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1992 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1993 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1994 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1995 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1996 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1997 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1998 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1999 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2000 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2001 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2002 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2003 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2004 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2005 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2006 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2007 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2008 bio + additional games
Chess Columns Additional Archives/Social Media

1994 Bobby Fischer Newspaper Articles

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Tallahassee Democrat Tallahassee, Florida Tuesday, March 01, 1994 - Page 8

CLAIM TO FAME: A ranked player in the United States Chess Federation, Corden recently won the Tallahassee Chess Association championship tournament. … In addition to several regional victories, he also scored one of his biggest career wins over Vassily Smyslov, a former world champion from the former Soviet Union. … Corden also represented the English national team when he was a student at Oxford University during the 1970s.
QUOTING: “At the Siegen Olympiad in 1970, I watched Bobby Fischer play Boris Spassky, just before their famous match in Reykjavik. I never saw such excitement over a chess game — there were cameras and spectators everywhere, climbing over tables to get a view.”

Chess Claim to Fame - Witness at Siegen Olympiad

The Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday, April 10, 1994 - Page 749

Chess Becoming More Theory Than Fighting Mettle, Creativity
With an increasing number of first-rate grandmasters competing for larger prizes, chess bears little resemblance to the game for gifted amateurs that it may have once been. One striking change: Data bases with tens of thousands of games have become standard equipment for today's tournament players.
At his first news conference after returning to chess two years ago, Bobby Fischer observed:
“Chess is becoming more and more memorization… They're analyzing the different openings now to the endings.”
As a remedy, he suggested “shuffling the first row of the pieces by computer and this way you will get rid of all the theory.”
Fischer, of course, had been away from the game for 20 years. But ex-world champ Anatoly Karpov — one of the more active players in the game — voice a similar complaint a few months ago. Understanding of the game and fighting mettle played a smaller role than before, he said, while the need for opening preparation had indeed escalated.
But Karpov's 18-year-old compatriot, Vladimir Kramnik — ranked among the top five players in the world — seems more bothered by the brutal struggle demanded by many of today's chess events than by the demands of keeping up with chess knowledge.
“They (qualifying tournaments for the world championship) are not much fun. You have to fight all the time. That's not what I like. I like to play and not to think about points. Nobody cares about creativity in these tournaments.”
After playing in such an event in Groningen, Holland, during December, the exhausted teenager complained: “I think that I couldn't survive another qualification tournament.”

Chess Becoming More Theory Than Fighting Mettle, Creativity

Courier-Post, Camden, New Jersey, Sunday, October 30, 1994 - Page 79

The rise — and fall — of Bobby Fischer
Despite an obvious God-given talent, Bobby Fischer has always liked to remind people of his continuous hard work at the chessboard. From the beginning, the American prodigy knew he wanted to be the world champion of chess. And he worked increasingly to that end.
His rise was spectacular. In 1958, at the age of 14 (only eight years after he learned the moves), he became U.S. champion.
But contemporaries remember in the first years, although a good player, he was not yet an obvious future superstar. His game did not blossom until after his 13th birthday when the immersion and hard work began to pay off.
After compelling a spectacular tournament and match record, Fischer attained his goal of world champion in 1972, only to then absent himself from competitive chess for the next 20 years.
When he returned to play and defeat Boris Spassky a second time in a controversial exhibition match in Bosnia a couple of years ago, the old stamina and fierce will to win were noticeably diminished.
Overweight and out of shape, he even briefly dozed at the board during one of the early games in the match.
Competitively inactive since then, Fischer seems satisfied with his previous accomplishments. He has shown no desire to demonstrate that a rusty 50-years-plus chess legend can play on equal terms with today's top grandmasters.
Significantly, he told a 1964 audience: “After 40, it's all down-hill in this game.”
To try a real comeback would be different but no less inspirational than Michael Jordan's current attempt at a second career.
Fischer's chances of becoming number one in chess again are slim, but definitely better than Jordan's of becoming the best outfielder in baseball.
Here is a Fischer loss from a 1964 San Francisco simultaneous exhibition. He obviously missed Burger's 12 … Nf6!

The rise — and fall — of Bobby Fischer

'til the world understands why Robert J. Fischer criticised the U.S./British and Russian military industry imperial alliance and their own Israeli Apartheid. Sarah Wilkinson explains:

Bobby Fischer, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
What a sad story Fischer was,” typed a racist, pro-imperialist colonial troll who supports mega-corporation entities over human rights, police state policies & white supremacy.
To which I replied: “Really? I think he [Bob Fischer] stood up to the broken system of corruption and raised awareness! Whether on the Palestinian/Israel-British-U.S. Imperial Apartheid scam, the Bush wars of ‘7 countries in 5 years,’ illegally, unconstitutionally which constituted mass xenocide or his run in with police brutality in Pasadena, California-- right here in the U.S., police run rampant over the Constitution of the U.S., on oath they swore to uphold, but when Americans don't know the law, and the cops either don't know or worse, “don't care” -- then I think that's pretty darn “sad”. I think Mr. Fischer held out and fought the good fight, steadfast til the day he died, and may he Rest In Peace.
Educate yourself about U.S./State Laws --
https://www.youtube.com/@AuditTheAudit/videos
After which the troll posted a string of profanities, confirming there was never any genuine sentiment of “compassion” for Mr. Fischer, rather an intent to inflict further defamatory remarks.

This ongoing work is a tribute to the life and accomplishments of Robert “Bobby” Fischer who passionately loved and studied chess history. May his life continue to inspire many other future generations of chess enthusiasts and kibitzers, alike.

Robert J. Fischer, Kid Chess Wizard 1956March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008

The photograph of Bobby Fischer (above) from the March 02, 1956 The Tampa Times was discovered by Sharon Mooney (Bobby Fischer Newspaper Archive editor) on February 01, 2018 while gathering research materials for this ongoing newspaper archive project. Along with lost games now being translated into Algebraic notation and extractions from over two centuries of newspapers, it is but one of the many lost treasures to be found in the pages of old newspapers since our social media presence was first established November 11, 2017.

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