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On this month’s edition of Chess Books Recaptured, I am joined by FM Donny Ariel to discuss one of the most acclaimed chess books of all time, Bobby Fischer’s My 60 Memorable Games. This book, of course needs little introduction. It is a game compilation that covers the period 1957-1967, a stretch that saw Fischer ascend from talented teen to the world’s elite. The book has been mentioned as a favorite countless times on Perpetual Chess, and was a formative one for both Donny and me. My co-host, like Fischer, is a New York native, who used to frequent the Manhattan Chess Club, and has heard stories passed down about Fischer throughout his chess-playing life.
When Donny is not helping me recap chess books, he is a bankruptcy lawyer with 2 young kids at home, so I greatly appreciate his taking the time to help with this project. As always, you can find lots more details and timestamps below.
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0:00- We begin by talking about Donny’s background, and about the long shadow that Fischer casts in New York City, where Donny lives.
Mentioned: Profile of a Prodigy by Frank Brady, GM Garry Kasparov on Fischer in the NY Review of the Books, GM Alex Fishbein, Fischer-Geller 1967, Fred Wilson books- https://www.fredwilsonchess.com/, The Art of Chess Analysis by GM Jan Timman, IM Kamran Shirazi, GM Larry Evans,
19:00- We share a few stories from those who had the experience of being alive when Fischer’s book came out in 1969.
Mentioned: NM Fred Wilson, Richard Reich, GM William Lombady, Fischer-Gligoric Candidates 1959, Spassky-Fischer Game 1 1972
31:00- We discuss the available formats of the book. It is available on Kindle, but there it is not available on Chessable, Forward Chess or another e-book app that enables you to play through the moves. ,A LiChess study compilation here has all 60 games: https://lichess.org/study/fokh9Tmy,and Chessgames.com lists the games here:
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1000498, GM Jesse Kraai
34:00- My Great Predecessors Part 4 by Garry Kasparov is largely about GM Bobby Fischer, and it is a great way to study his games. It is available with MoveTrainer technology on Chessable.com:
https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-4/course/29726/
35:00- We read the introduction and then discuss the themes of the book a bit.
Mentioned: GM Larry Evans, GM Emanuel Lasker, NM Nick Conticello, Fischer-Lombardy 1960, GM Mark Taimanov, GM Bent Larsen, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Peter Svidler
44:30- We share and discuss some of our favorite quotes from the book and talk about some of the most famous games.
Mentioned: Fischer-Larsen 1958, Fischer-Larsen 1963/4, Agadmator’s Fischer-Botvinnik Recap, The Old Riddle of Fischer-Botvinnik by Karsten Muller for Chessbase.com, Botvinnik-Fischer brief YouTube footage, Szabo-Fischer 1960, Fischer-Tal 1961, Endgame by Frank Brady , Fischer-Lombardy 1960, Fischer-Bolbachan 1962, Walther-Fischer 1959, Fischer-Gligoric 1959
1:10:00- Why did he choose the title “My 60 Memorable Games?”
Fischer-Celle 1964, IM Anatoly Lein, IM Kostya Kavutskiy
1:17:00- Getting back to our favorite games, Fischer-Geller 1967 is another fascinating game, despite its being one of the 3 in the book that Fischer lost.
Mentioned: Fischer-Benko 1963, Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions, GM Jan Gustaffson, Fischer-Najdorf 1962
1:29:00- What chess improvement lessons can we learn from My 60 Memorable Games? For what level student is it appropriate?
Mentioned: GM Hikaru Nakamura,GM Jesse Kraai, Logical Chess Move by Move, Zurich 1953
1:48:00- Thanks to FM Donny Ariel for helping out! Next month’s book recap will be Blindfold Chess: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games
By Eliot Hearst and John Knott
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