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Boris Spassky was the tenth world Chess champion. Although this fact is known among those who are interested in chess history, who Spassky is is not well known outside of that group. Now, the topic of this thread is: Is he given the credit he deserved? First of all, let us start in this way: Bobby Fischer is considered to be the greatest player ever by many including Anand, Carlsen, Kasparov, Mikhail Tal, Alexander Kotov and many others. Boris Spassky lost to him, he lost title to Bobby Fischer and we are not here to deny the greatness of Fischer, we are here to talk about Boris, not Bobby. Now, if Bobby is considered the greatest chess player ever, up until 1972 Boris Spassky was superior to him. Before 72, they played 5 games and Spassky scored 3 wins and two draws. About their head to head matches, in one of their matches, Spassky used an opening which is/was not used regularly in top level games. According to chessgames.com's popularity graph of openings, it was not used regularly even in 60s. at 23, Spassky used this opening against an opponent who was expected to dethrone the soviets, Boris used it against a strong opponent. This was not the only game in which Spassky used King's gambit against a strong opponent. One more example that comes to the mind is his game against Bronstein. now, pre-72 Spassky was at least as good as Bobby Fischer who is widely considered to be the greatest player ever. if Bobby is considered to be the greatest or in top3, why we should not consider the one who was better than him in majority of their careers? Fischer was not the only one who was inferior to Boris before 72, one more example is Mikhail Tal. He is considered to be the greatest attacking player of all times and when we compare him against Spassky pre-72, he too was inferior to Boris. Classical games: Boris Spassky beat Mikhail Tal 9 to 6, with 27 draws.Including rapid/exhibition games: Boris Spassky beat Mikhail Tal 9 to 7, with 27 draws.Only rapid/exhibition games: Mikhail Tal beat Boris Spassky 1 to 0. *The figures above are based only on games present in our database which may be incomplete. It is taken from chessgames.com and when I click on "Spassky losses", pre-72 he lost 3 times only and won 9 times. Boris Spassky's, who is not so well known, record was 9-3 up until 72.Now, it is widely believed that after 69 or after he became a champion he did not spend much time on ches, the decline of him after 72 may be the reason why he is so underrated. but the bad times he had after 72 does not take anything from his pre-72 shinings. When we look at his games, at times his attacking was as good as Tal's, he was as universal as Fischer, he was very versatile. He played King's Gambit which is considered to be a weak opening for a grandmaster level. He must at least be in top5 for his pre-72 career. One more game in which he destroyed a strong opponent with the unexpected beauty: At the time this game was played Boris' opponent was in top 5 and was playing board 1 in the team of the world (outside the soviet union) and had consecutive successes in tournament in the last two years. The reason this games are being presented it he was in no way inferior to Bobby, Misha Tal or others in terms of sacrifce, attacking, calculation and overall. He did even not take chess championships seriously according to Vladimir Kramnik and yet he was superior to Fischer who was very very hardworking and is said to have spent more time than the entire soviet team. so, it is reasonable to deduce that Spassky was more talented than Bobby, Karpov or many other champions. Boris Spassky was like Morphy, Capablanca or Reshevsky, they must have had pure talents. Yes, Karpov or Kasparov reached far more successes than Spassky but they reached with hard work while Spassky reached without hard work, one can deduce that Spassky was at least as talented as other top3 chess players ever. According to Anatoly Karpov Spassky was very very lazy. May be Boris Spassky was shadowed by Bobby Fischer but being second to Fischer should not take anything from Fischer.

160 Chess Bishop Checkmates Anthology, AWARDCHESS Chess Academy@ By Grigoriy Burtayev - AWARDCHESS@. All examples are from the pgn. games of the AWARDCHESS - Chess Coach Grigoriy Burtayev Chess Champ /Tournament Point Leader/, at the Tournament Point Leader-board, at chesscom, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All Time Tournament Point Leader, at chesscom 2008-2015-.. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SUT8SBG ------------------- Chess Knight Check Mates Anthology, AWARDCHESS Chess Academy@ pdf games By Grigoriy Burtayev - AWARDCHESS@. All examples are from the pgn. games of the AWARDCHESS - Chess Coach Grigoriy Burtayev Chess Champ /Tournament Point Leader/, at the Tournament Point Leader-board, at chesscom, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All Time Tournament Point Leader, at chesscom 2008-2015-... http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Knight-Check-Mates-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00STY32TA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1422463607&sr=1-1

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[Event "Kalamata sim"][Site "Kalamata"][Date "2002.12.21"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Adamopoulos, Ioannis"][Result "1/2-1/2"][ECO "C39"][WhiteElo "2548"][BlackElo "2090"][PlyCount "28"][EventDate "2002.12.21"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "GRE"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2003.11.25"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 Nf6 6. d4 d6 7. Nd3 Nxe4 8. Bxf4Bg7 9. c3 Nc6 10. Nd2 d5 11. Be2 h5 12. g3 Bf5 13. O-O Bg6 14. Nxe4 dxe41/2-1/2[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Benum, Rick"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C30"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "60"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bb5 Bd7 5. d3 Be7 6. Bxc6 bxc6 7. fxe5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Nf6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. O-O h6 11. Kh1 Rb8 12. Qf3 Bd6 13. Nc4 Bxh2 14. Kxh2Ng4+ 15. Kg1 Qh4 16. Bf4 Rbc8 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 Qe7 19. Qg3 f6 20. Bxc7 Qe621. Rf2 Rf7 22. Raf1 Rxc7 23. Qxc7 Bc8 24. Qg3 Kh8 25. a3 a6 26. Ne2 Qa2 27.Qb8 Rf8 28. Nd4 Qg8 29. Nxc6 Bg4 30. Qh2 Rc8 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Borowski, David"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C37"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "23"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 g5 5. h4 g4 6. Ng5 Be6 7. Nxe6 fxe6 8.Qxg4 Nf6 9. Qxe6+ Qe7 10. Qc8+ Qd8 11. Bf7+ Ke7 12. Qe6# 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Daehlin, Jonathan"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C30"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "45"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 d6 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nd7 6. Nc3 c6 7. Bc4 Qe7 8. Bb3O-O-O 9. O-O f6 10. d3 Nh6 11. f5 Nf7 12. Be3 Ng5 13. Qf2 Nc5 14. a4 b6 15. Bc4a5 16. Rfb1 Qb7 17. b4 d5 18. bxc5 d4 19. Rxb6 dxe3 20. Qxe3 Qa7 21. Rxc6+ Kd722. Bb5 Ke7 23. Nd5+ 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Geller, Gabriella"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C34"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "67"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Be6 5. Bxe6 fxe6 6. d4 Nd7 7. Bxf4 h6 8.Nc3 a6 9. O-O Qe7 10. Qd3 g5 11. Bg3 O-O-O 12. a4 h5 13. h4 Bh6 14. hxg5 Bxg515. b4 h4 16. Bh2 h3 17. a5 hxg2 18. Rf2 Qh7 19. Rxg2 Bf4 20. Bxf4 Qh1+ 21. Kf2Qxa1 22. Rg1 Qa3 23. Qc4 e5 24. Bc1 Qa1 25. Bg5 Qxg1+ 26. Kxg1 Rf8 27. Nd5 c628. Nb6+ Kc7 29. dxe5 Nxb6 30. axb6+ Kd7 31. Nd4 Re8 32. Qf7+ Ne7 33. exd6 Rhf834. Qe6+ 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "George, Richard"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C39"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "41"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 h5 6. Bc4 Nh6 7. d4 Qf6 8. Nc3Bb4 9. O-O d6 10. Nd5 Qxh4 11. Bxf4 dxe5 12. g3 Qd8 13. Bxe5 Bd6 14. Bf6 Qd715. Bxh8 Ng8 16. e5 c6 17. Rxf7 Be7 18. Rxe7+ Qxe7 19. Nxe7 Nxe7 20. Qd2 Bf521. Bf6 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Jones, Ian"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C36"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "79"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 exf4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bb5+ c6 6. dxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 Bc5 8.d4 Bd6 9. Qe2+ Qe7 10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. O-O Be6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Nbd2 Nbd7 14.Nc4 Bc7 15. Nfe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nd5 17. Bxf4 Nxf4 18. Rxf4 Rhf8 19. Raf1 Rxf420. Rxf4 Rd8 21. Kf2 Rd5 22. Re4 Bb6+ 23. Ke2 Bc7 24. b4 Bb6 25. a4 Bd4 26. Ne3Bxe3 27. Kxe3 Rd1 28. Rc4 Re1+ 29. Kf2 Rxe5 30. Rxc6 a5 31. b5 Kd7 32. c4 Re433. Kf3 Re1 34. Ra6 Rc1 35. Rxa5 Rxc4 36. Ra7+ Kc8 37. b6 Rb4 38. a5 Rb5 39.Rxg7 Rxa5 40. Rxh7 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Lundy, George"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C34"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "65"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. d4 Bg4 6. Bxf4 Be7 7. O-O Nf6 8.Nc3 O-O 9. Qd3 Nh5 10. Be3 Be6 11. d5 Nb4 12. Qe2 Bg4 13. a3 Na6 14. Bxa6 bxa615. Qxa6 Bxf3 16. Rxf3 Bg5 17. Bd4 Bf4 18. g3 Qg5 19. Kh1 Nxg3+ 20. hxg3 Bxg321. Rg1 Qh4+ 22. Kg2 Qh2+ 23. Kf1 Qh3+ 24. Ke2 Qh2+ 25. Kd1 Be5 26. Qe2 Qh5 27.Rf5 Qxe2+ 28. Nxe2 f6 29. c3 a5 30. Nf4 Bxf4 31. Rxf4 Kf7 32. a4 Rae8 33. Kc21-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Mann, Arlo"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C34"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "71"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. d4 Be7 6. Bxf4 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8.O-O Bg4 9. Qd3 Na5 10. Bb3 Nxb3 11. axb3 c6 12. Kh1 h6 13. Nd2 Bh5 14. Ne2 Nh715. Ng3 Bg6 16. c3 d5 17. Qe3 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. e5 Qe7 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21.Rxf5 Ng5 22. Raf1 Rae8 23. Qg3 Kh8 24. h4 Ne6 25. b4 f6 26. exf6 gxf6 27. Qg6Qg7 28. Rxf6 Qxg6 29. Rxg6 Rxf1+ 30. Nxf1 Kh7 31. Rf6 Kg7 32. Rf5 Nf8 33. Ng3Nh7 34. Nh5+ Kg6 35. g4 Re2 36. Nf4+ 1-0[Event "Reno sim"][Site "Reno"][Date "2004.10.14"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Wyatt, Norman"][Result "1/2-1/2"][ECO "C32"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "31"][EventDate "2004.10.18"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2008.11.26"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. d3 exd3 5. Qxd3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bd6 7. Qe3+ Qe7 8.Qxe7+ Kxe7 9. Bd2 a6 10. O-O-O Re8 11. Nf3 Kf8 12. Bd3 Bg4 13. Rhf1 Nbd7 14. h3Bxf3 15. Rxf3 Nb6 16. g4 1/2-1/2[Event "San Francisco sim"][Site "San Francisco"][Date "2006.09.30"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Jourilles, Phil"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C34"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "51"][EventDate "2006.09.30"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2006.11.03"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 exf4 4. d4 Be7 5. Bxf4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d5 7. Bd3 dxe4 8.Nxe4 Bg4 9. c3 Nbd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 c5 12. Ne5 cxd4 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6 14. Nxg4Nxg4 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. Bf5 d3 17. Bxd3 Bc5+ 18. Kh1 Nf2+ 19. Rxf2 Bxf2 20. Qe2Re8 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23. Qh8+ Ke7 24. Bg5+ f6 25. Qxg7+ Ke6 26. Qg61-0[Event "San Francisco sim"][Site "San Francisco"][Date "2006.09.30"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Krubnik, Ewelina"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C36"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "39"][EventDate "2006.09.30"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2006.11.03"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Nf6 5. Bb5+ c6 6. dxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 Bd6 8.Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Bxe7 10. d4 Bd6 11. O-O O-O 12. Nc3 Bf5 13. Bb3 Nbd7 14. Ng5Nh5 15. Bd2 h6 16. Nge4 Bc7 17. Kh1 Rfe8 18. Ng3 Nxg3+ 19. hxg3 f3 20. Rxf3 1-0[Event "San Francisco sim"][Site "San Francisco"][Date "2006.09.30"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Lehman, Clarence"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C36"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "79"][EventDate "2006.09.30"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2006.11.03"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Bc4 Be6 7. Qe2 Be7 8.O-O Nc6 9. d4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc4 11. Qxc4 Qd6 12. a4 O-O 13. Ba3 Qf6 14. Bxe7Qxe7 15. Rae1 Qd6 16. Ng5 Qg6 17. Ne4 Qf5 18. g3 Rae8 19. Rxf4 Qg6 20. Qd3 f521. Ref1 b6 22. g4 Rf7 23. Ng3 Ne7 24. gxf5 Qc6 25. c4 Qxa4 26. Ne4 h6 27. f6Ng6 28. Rg4 Nf8 29. Rxg7+ Rxg7+ 30. fxg7 Nh7 31. Ng3 Kxg7 32. Nf5+ Kh8 33. Nxh6Nf8 34. Nf7+ Kg7 35. Ne5 Rxe5 36. dxe5 Qe8 37. Qg3+ Ng6 38. Rf6 a5 39. h4 Kh740. Qg5 1-0[Event "San Francisco sim"][Site "San Francisco"][Date "2006.09.30"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Lin, Tim"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C30"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "38"][EventDate "2006.09.30"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2006.11.03"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 f6 3. fxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qxe5+ Qe7 6. Qxh8 Qxe4+ 7. Ne2 Ne78. Nbc3 Qh4+ 9. g3 Qh6 10. d4 Qg7 11. Qxg7 Bxg7 12. Bg5 Nf5 13. Nd5 Na6 14.Nec3 c6 15. Bxa6 cxd5 16. Bd3 Ne7 17. Bxe7 Kxe7 18. O-O-O b6 19. Nxd5+ Kd6 1-0[Event "San Francisco sim"][Site "San Francisco"][Date "2006.09.30"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Lupton, Stephen"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C39"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "65"][EventDate "2006.09.30"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2006.11.03"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 Nf6 6. d4 d6 7. Nd3 Nxe4 8. Bxf4Bg7 9. c3 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. g3 f5 12. O-O Be6 13. Nd2 d5 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15.Nc5 Qd5 16. Qb3 Qxc5 17. Qxe6+ Rxe6 18. dxc5 Re7 19. Bg5 Re5 20. Rad1 Rxc5 21.Rd8+ Kf7 22. Bxg4 Kg6 23. Be3 Bf6 24. Rg8+ Kf7 25. Rc8 Rd5 26. Rxf5 c6 27. Rxd5cxd5 28. Bf4 d4 29. cxd4 Bxd4+ 30. Kg2 Kg7 31. b4 b5 32. Bf5 h6 33. Bxe4 1-0[Event "San Francisco sim"][Site "San Francisco"][Date "2006.09.30"][Round "?"][White "Spassky, Boris V"][Black "Nyamdorj, Kevin"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C30"][WhiteElo "2548"][PlyCount "17"][EventDate "2006.09.30"][EventType "simul"][EventRounds "1"][EventCountry "USA"][Source "ChessBase"][SourceDate "2006.11.03"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 d6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. d4 Bg4 6. dxe5 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 dxe5 8.fxe5 g6 9. exf6 1-0

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Home | Entertainment | Books Russian chess master Boris Spassky, left, shakes hands with Bobby Fischer at the Laugardalsholl Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, July 11, 1972. Spassky made the first move before Fischer arrived. Chess mate An authoritative biography of a perverse American genius. By CARL ROLLYSON, Special to the Star Tribune Last update: February 19, 2011 - 12:15 PM ENDGAME By: Frank Brady. Publisher: Crown, 402 pages, $25.99. Review: Brady has a more nuanced story to tell than you might expect, and this new biography is riveting and eye-opening. Related Content Endgame by Frank Brady More from Books African-American writer series continues An immigrant to the human species Dropping in on family squabbles Tough stories touch on courage on the homefront Invasive procedures When Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) defeated Boris Spassky, the Russian world champion, in an epic match that ran from July to September 1972, his victory seemed to mark a decisive moment in the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the 1950s, the U.S.S.R. had dominated the game, with more than 4 million members in the Soviet Chess Federation, compared with 3,000 in its American counterpart. When the Soviet and U.S. teams played against one another in the 1950s, it was like the NBA All-Stars playing a college team, writes Frank Brady in his new book, "Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall -- From America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness." With the successful launch of Sputnik in 1959, even as American rockets fell back on their launch pads, the Soviet Union seemed poised to "bury" the United States -- as Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev boasted. The successful moon landing in 1969 and Fischer's chess triumph signaled that America had come roaring back. The quirky, eccentric, camera-shy Fischer -- who unsettled Spassky by requesting changes in venue and treating the board game as a battleground -- held the world in his hands. He seemed the epitome of American individualism and know-how, owing to his innovative chess moves and canny self-promotion. But Fischer found fame a burden he could not bear and was stripped of his title when he refused to schedule matches that would not be played on his terms. By the early 1990s, Fischer was famous for refusing to play chess -- at least in public. The 1993 film "Searching for Bobby Fischer" explored the perils of pushing a young player toward the crushing, competitive arena of international chess, a process that had transformed Fischer into a kind of monster, exploited by cold-blooded mentors who neglected to develop a rounded human being. Frank Brady, who knew Fischer and is steeped in the world of chess, has a much more nuanced story to tell. Fischer's mother, for example, is shown worrying over her son's obsession with chess while the professional psychiatrists she consults advise her that Bobby will grow out of his single-minded devotion to the game. She sensed that her son would never tire of playing chess or of reading (in several languages) and writing about what became virtually his only interest. Fischer's later years -- his crude treatment of women and his anti-Semitism (even though his mother was Jewish) -- are cataloged in Brady's riveting, if gruesome, account. Brady never excuses Fischer's behavior, even while showing the tremendous pressures his subject had to endure. Based on extensive interviews and a lifelong fascination with Fischer's fate, "Endgame" puts a devastating period to Fischer's biography. Carl Rollyson is a biographer and journalism professor at Baruch College, City University of New York.

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