Photo courtesy of Dr. Stuart Margulies
This week on Perpetual Chess we are joined by Dr. Stuart Margulies, the co-author of the legendary, best-selling chess book, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. First published in 1966, and written along with Donn Mosenfelder and Fischer himself, this book has sold more than 1.25 million copies, and many believe it to be the best selling chess book of all time! Dr. Margulies tells the story of the modest beginnings of the book, and of his first and subsequent encounters with his fellow New Yorker, Bobby Fischer. Stuart is 89 years of age, but has vivid memories of Fischer and many other key New York City chess figures. Stuart worked as an educational psychologist, and also shares his take on the whether playing chess can positively impact reading scores, a subject about which he wrote a paper in the 1990s. It was so much fun to hear Stuart’s reflections on his life in chess! More details and timestamps can be found below.
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0:00- Stuart shares his earliest first-hand memories of Bobby Fischer
Mentioned: Alan Kaufman, Jack Collins, FM Asa Hoffman
0:08- We discuss the origins of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
Mentioned: Donn Mosenfelder, Leslie Ault, IM Raymond Weinstein, IM Michael Valvo, Shelby Lyman, Episode 250 with FM Asa Hoffman
16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com
17:00- We discuss more about the history of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, including the origins of its title.
Mentioned: Dr. Frank Brady, Fischer-Larsen 1958
28:00- Stuart discusses the one time he beat Fischer in a casual game, and shares more about his personal interactions with Fischer.
*Stuart notes that Earl Hall was friends with GM William Lombardy rather than Fischer, as he said in the interview.
Mentioned: The Kevitz defense, Shernaz Kennady
44:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice of how to improve your game. Check it out for free and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.
45:00- Patreon mailbag question: How did Margulies and his collaborators decide to use a format that had no chess notation?
Mentioned: Secrets of Spectacular Chess
50:00- Stuart discusses his own, and others people’s research into the effect of chess instruction on kids’ reading scores.
Mentioned: Margulies’ Whitepaper: The Effect of Chess on Reading Scores, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, GM Levon Aronian
58:00- Stuart describes his encounters with GM Nicolas Rossolimo and a young GM Judit Polgar
Mentioned: FM Jude Acers, Abraham Kupchik, Irving Chernev, Al Horowitz, Fred Reinfeld
1:07:00- What was the motivation for writing Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess?
1:13:00- As such a sharp 89 year old, does Stuart have any mental and physical health tips?
Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, GM Genna Sosonko’s books , A Change of Air by Ivan Gold can be found the compilation Nickel Miseries, Endgame by Dr. Frank Brady
1:21:00- Thanks so much to Stuart for joining the show!
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