Photo courtesy of Dr. Frank Brady
Dr. Frank Brady has led a long and distinguished career both in and out of the chess world. Before retiring, he was the Chairman of the Department of Mass Communications, Journalism, Television and Film at St. John’s University. Frank is also the Founding Editor of Chess Life Magazine, and is well known for writing multiple books about Bobby Fischer, who Frank knew since Bobby’s teenage years, and about whom he is a leading authority. Dr. Brady is best known for his best-selling and brilliant 2011 biography of Fischer, Endgame: Fischer’s Rise and Fall from Remarkable Prodigy to the Edge of Madness. In our conversation, Frank shares many personal recollections about his interactions with Bobby, including a first-hand account of what it was like to be at the famed Fischer-Spassky Match of the Century in Reykjavik in 1972. Frank contextualizes the brilliance and the faults of Bobby Fischer, and tells some great stories from his personal experiences. You will not want to miss this first hand account of chess history! Please read on for more details, relevant links, and timestamps.
Click here to download the episode.
0:00- Dr. Brady's free Zoom lecture on the hit Netflix miniseries Queen's Gambit takes place November 17th at 7pm New York time. It is done in conjunction with the Marshall Chess Club, and you can register here.
02:00- What was it like to attend the “Match of the Century” between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in person in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972?
Mentioned: Shelby Lyman, Harold Schonberg, Fred Cramer, Don Schultz, GM Max Euwe, Jack Collins, GM William Lombardy, GM Larry Evans
10:30- Frank discusses the question of whether Bobby knew who his father was, and whether he was aware of his Jewish heritage.
Mentioned: FM Donny Ariel, Hans Gerhardt Fischer, Paul Nemenyi, The Wicked Son by David Mamet, IM Karl Burger, David Delucia, GM Pal Benko, Gardar Sverrisson
18:30- How would Frank describe Bobby’s personality?
Mentioned: IM John Donaldson’s interview with GM Jesse Kraai of ChessDojo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEm8unB18EI , Chess World Magazine, Carmine Nigro, GM Samuel Reshevky
28:00- What chess improvement advice did Bobby Fischer give to Frank Brady?
Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 86 with Fred Wilson, Perpetual Chess Patreon page, GM Reuben Fine, Bernard Zuckerman
32:30- Does Frank think that Bobby Fischer had Asperger’s Syndrome? How did Frank find out Fischer’s IQ?
Mentioned: Stuart Margulies, Ariel Mengarini, Milton Hanauer, Gardar Sverrisson, Robert Mundell, Zita Rajcsányi
40:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. If you would like to learn about the chess brilliance of Bobby Fischer utilizing their patented Movetrainer technology, you can check out GM Garry Kasparov’s My Great Predecessor’s Volume 4, among other books and courses:
https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-4/course/29726/
41:00- Frank answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to the history of The Log Cabin Chess Club.
Mentioned: Elliott Forry Laucks
47:00- More Patreon mailbag questions: What were Bobby’s political views before they became more radical? When was Bobby’s chess peak? Does Frank think that Bobby was clinically insane?
Mentioned: GM Tigran Petroisian, GM Mark Taimanov, GM Bent Larsen
52:00- What did Bobby’s Icelandic friends from his later years think of Bobby?
Mentioned: Magnus Skulason
53:30- Friend of the podcast Douglas Griffin asks Frank whether he is aware of Fischer being particularly influenced by GM Isaac Boleslavsky.
Mentioned: Douglas Griffin’s blog: https://dgriffinchess.wordpress.com/
GM Hein Donner
56:00- What were Frank’s interactions with GM Boris Spassy like?
Mentioned: Darnay Hoffman
1:00:00- In addition to knowing Fischer, Frank knew the famed artist and chess enthusiast Marcel Duchamp. Frank tells a story of a memorable encounter with the artist.
1:04:00- Frank still plays the occasional tournament chess game, and he is in great health as an 86 year-old. What health advice can he share?
1:05:30- As an expert on film and chess, Frank compares the smash-hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit as it compares to other representations of chess in film/on television. How does the current chess boom compare to the Fischer boom?
Mentioned: IM Jay Bonin, GM Patrick Wolff, IM John Donaldson
1:10:00- To what does Frank attribute the success of Endgame outside of the chess world?
Mentioned: IM John Donaldson’s Bobby Fischer and his World, Brad Darrah’s book
1:17:00- Whom does Frank think I should interview?
FM Asa Hoffman, Gary Forman, Andy Ansel, David Delucia, Jeffrey Tannenbaum
1:19:30- Where would Frank rank Netflix’s smash hit, The Queen’s Gambit, compared to other film representations of chess?
Mentioned: GM Peter Heine Nielsen, Critical Thinking, The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig, whose film adaptation was called Brainwashed, The Luzhin Defense
1:25:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Brady for an amazing interview! You can reach him via email at bradyfm at msn.com
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