On Oct 26, 8:31 am, Taylor Kingston wrote:

One quote Fischer made that was amazing to me was that he couldn't
play blindfold chess. Fischer said he couldn't visualize a board and
pieces in his mind. Hard to believe.

EZoto

I don't see such a quote on the Chessville site. In any event, while
Fischer was perhaps not as skilled at blindfold chess as, say,
Koltanowski or Alekhine, but I'm sure he could play sans voir and
could visualize positions in his mind. Consider, for example, the time
the power went out in one of his games, as I recall in his Candidates
Match with Petrosian. Despite being in darkness, Fischer was willing
to let his clock continue to run, because he was analyzing in his mind.


As I recall, there was no claim that all the "power" went out;
instead, it was claimed that the lights went out. The reason
for noting such a nuance is that it was also claimed that BF
insisted on his representative being in charge of the lighting; that
is to say, General Fischer first gained control of the lights, and
then -- just when the enemy had him in his sights -- his team
doused the lights, rendering the target invisible. What happened
next was fairly predictable: the enemy became confused; the
target escaped; the battle was won. Another brilliant victory for
the General. Of course, it didn't hurt that General Fischer was
not a nice guy, but a tough player; a very tough player, in fact.

Those who might question this interpretation of events may
wish to carefully examine what happened in the General's next
match, against former 5-star General Spassky.


-- help bot

"Taylor Kingston" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 25, 8:30 pm, EZoto wrote:

One quote Fischer made that was amazing to me was that he couldn't
play blindfold chess. Fischer said he couldn't visualize a board and
pieces in his mind. Hard to believe.

EZoto

Much research into blindfold chess indicates that many of the best blindfold
players don't visualize a board and pieces. They sense, instead, a field of
force.

I have to wonder what Bobby meant in this case.
--
Ian Burton
(Please reply to the Newsgroup)

I have heard a similar anecdote from a local player who played in the U.S.
Junior Championship back in the late 1960s. At that time, Fischer was in
New York hanging around the hotel (the McAlpin, I believe?) and checking out
some of the games. After salvaging his game with some nice tactics, the
junior player handed his scoresheet to Fischer who scanned it and sort of
shrugged and said, "Yeah, nice game, kid."

More recently, I read a GM who said he envied the ability of Shirov,
Svidler, and other players of that stature to rip a game score off a fax
machine and read it as if they were reading a short story.

I suppose there is some vagueness to the what playing blindfold means. I
don't visualize a full board and set when I try to play, but more like
chunks of squares and pieces along with maybe a single diagonal or file at a
time.

"Taylor Kingston" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 25, 8:30 pm, EZoto wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:14:41 -0700, Rob wrote:
http://www.chessville.com/misc/Quotes/moreFischer.htm

One quote Fischer made that was amazing to me was that he couldn't
play blindfold chess. Fischer said he couldn't visualize a board and
pieces in his mind. Hard to believe.

Can you give a source for that quote? It really seems unlikely that
Fischer would say he couldn't visualize; that is a skill all great
players have to a high degree.
I recall another anecdote that directly contradicts such an idea; as
I recall it appeared in Chess Life some years ago. An acquaintance of
Fischer, a good amateur player, was elated that a game of his had been
published in a local newspaper column. He proudly showed the column to
Fischer, who scanned it for a few seconds. Bobby handed the paper
back, saying "Yes, pretty good game." The guy replied something like
"Aw, come on, Bobby, you mean to tell me you just played through the
whole game in your head??" Fischer replied something like "Yes, I did.
You could have won faster with a knight sac on move 17." And it was
true.
That sure sounds like visualization to me.

MODERN CHESS BRILLIANCIES

Larry Evans told me that when Bobby Fischer was visiting his home in
Reno, he paid Bobby $100 to check the mansuscript of this book before
it was submitted to the publisher. Bobby went through it page after
page without setting using a board or pieces.


JohnD wrote:
I have heard a similar anecdote from a local player who played in the U.S.
Junior Championship back in the late 1960s. At that time, Fischer was in
New York hanging around the hotel (the McAlpin, I believe?) and checking out
some of the games. After salvaging his game with some nice tactics, the
junior player handed his scoresheet to Fischer who scanned it and sort of
shrugged and said, "Yeah, nice game, kid."

More recently, I read a GM who said he envied the ability of Shirov,
Svidler, and other players of that stature to rip a game score off a fax
machine and read it as if they were reading a short story.

I suppose there is some vagueness to the what playing blindfold means. I
don't visualize a full board and set when I try to play, but more like
chunks of squares and pieces along with maybe a single diagonal or file at a
time.

"Taylor Kingston" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 25, 8:30 pm, EZoto wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:14:41 -0700, Rob wrote:
http://www.chessville.com/misc/Quotes/moreFischer.htm

One quote Fischer made that was amazing to me was that he couldn't
play blindfold chess. Fischer said he couldn't visualize a board and
pieces in his mind. Hard to believe.

Can you give a source for that quote? It really seems unlikely that
Fischer would say he couldn't visualize; that is a skill all great
players have to a high degree.
I recall another anecdote that directly contradicts such an idea; as
I recall it appeared in Chess Life some years ago. An acquaintance of
Fischer, a good amateur player, was elated that a game of his had been
published in a local newspaper column. He proudly showed the column to
Fischer, who scanned it for a few seconds. Bobby handed the paper
back, saying "Yes, pretty good game." The guy replied something like
"Aw, come on, Bobby, you mean to tell me you just played through the
whole game in your head??" Fischer replied something like "Yes, I did.
You could have won faster with a knight sac on move 17." And it was
true.
That sure sounds like visualization to me.

MODERN CHESS BRILLIANCIES

GM Larry Evans told me that when Bobby Fischer was staying at his home
in Reno he paid Bobby $100 to check the manuscript of this book for
any obvious errors. Bobby went through it page after page without ever
setting up a single position on the board.

JohnD wrote:
I have heard a similar anecdote from a local player who played in the U.S.
Junior Championship back in the late 1960s. At that time, Fischer was in
New York hanging around the hotel (the McAlpin, I believe?) and checking out
some of the games. After salvaging his game with some nice tactics, the
junior player handed his scoresheet to Fischer who scanned it and sort of
shrugged and said, "Yeah, nice game, kid."

More recently, I read a GM who said he envied the ability of Shirov,
Svidler, and other players of that stature to rip a game score off a fax
machine and read it as if they were reading a short story.

I suppose there is some vagueness to the what playing blindfold means. I
don't visualize a full board and set when I try to play, but more like
chunks of squares and pieces along with maybe a single diagonal or file at a
time.

"Taylor Kingston" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 25, 8:30 pm, EZoto wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:14:41 -0700, Rob wrote:
http://www.chessville.com/misc/Quotes/moreFischer.htm

One quote Fischer made that was amazing to me was that he couldn't
play blindfold chess. Fischer said he couldn't visualize a board and
pieces in his mind. Hard to believe.

Can you give a source for that quote? It really seems unlikely that
Fischer would say he couldn't visualize; that is a skill all great
players have to a high degree.
I recall another anecdote that directly contradicts such an idea; as
I recall it appeared in Chess Life some years ago. An acquaintance of
Fischer, a good amateur player, was elated that a game of his had been
published in a local newspaper column. He proudly showed the column to
Fischer, who scanned it for a few seconds. Bobby handed the paper
back, saying "Yes, pretty good game." The guy replied something like
"Aw, come on, Bobby, you mean to tell me you just played through the
whole game in your head??" Fischer replied something like "Yes, I did.
You could have won faster with a knight sac on move 17." And it was
true.
That sure sounds like visualization to me.

Taylor Kingston wrote:
On Oct 24, 7:14 am, Rob wrote:
http://www.chessville.com/misc/Quotes/moreFischer.htm

You might want to reconsider whether you should post the stories
about (1) Fischer having his dental fillings removed, and (2) his
remembering all the moves of his 1958 blitz games with Vasyukov years
later. Regrettably, I do not have the contradicting sources at hand
right now, but I recall reading some time within the past few years
that:
(1) Fischer has denied ever doing this, that at worst he refused to
get dental treatment, leaving some cavities unfilled, but he did not
have existing fillings removed.
(2) When Fischer saw Vasyukov in 1971, he remembered at most some of
the opening moves from their 1958 blitz games. He did not remember
anything like every move of every game.

The stories about the fillings and the Vasyukov games can be found
all over the Internet, with few if any sites ever naming a reliable
source. Try as I might, I could not find where the contradictions were
made, though I distinctly recall reading them. Any rgcm readers know
where they can be found?

The source of the "fillings" anecdote was Ron Gross, an LA master who
was a friend of Fischer's until he made the mistake of talking to a
reporter. He retired and moved to Las Vegas a few years ago, but he
still plays in some big tournaments, and you could reach him if you
wanted to badly enough

wrote in message
ups.com...

Taylor Kingston wrote:
On Oct 24, 7:14 am, Rob wrote:
http://www.chessville.com/misc/Quotes/moreFischer.htm

You might want to reconsider whether you should post the stories
about (1) Fischer having his dental fillings removed, and (2) his
remembering all the moves of his 1958 blitz games with Vasyukov years
later. Regrettably, I do not have the contradicting sources at hand
right now, but I recall reading some time within the past few years
that:
(1) Fischer has denied ever doing this, that at worst he refused to
get dental treatment, leaving some cavities unfilled, but he did not
have existing fillings removed.
(2) When Fischer saw Vasyukov in 1971, he remembered at most some of
the opening moves from their 1958 blitz games. He did not remember
anything like every move of every game.

The stories about the fillings and the Vasyukov games can be found
all over the Internet, with few if any sites ever naming a reliable
source. Try as I might, I could not find where the contradictions were
made, though I distinctly recall reading them. Any rgcm readers know
where they can be found?

The source of the "fillings" anecdote was Ron Gross, an LA master who
was a friend of Fischer's until he made the mistake of talking to a
reporter. He retired and moved to Las Vegas a few years ago, but he
still plays in some big tournaments, and you could reach him if you
wanted to badly enough

I heard the story of Bobby and the fillings from John Collins himself, and
no one at the time was closer to Fischer.
--
Ian Burton
(Please reply to the Newsgroup)