he was a personal hero of mine once upon a time. not for his moral fiber (obviously), but rather for his maddeningly brilliant thought process. the way he would conceptualize the game led me to postulate that maybe there was a metaphysical truth to be found on the chess board.
yeah didnt he used to chose the pattern that was the most beautiful over the most the advantagious. I hadnt realized he was so old. mind you 64 ISNT old, thats younger than my dad, which scares me. I met a genius myself today, and one who is a real hero to me. im going to post about it right now!
it was just the way his mind worked; the most advantageous moves tended to yield a unique kind of beauty. it was like he played poetry on the chess board.
it blows my mind when i go over some of his games and see the brilliance of his thinking. especially when he would make outrageous sacrifices to gain a position that won't show itself until 6 or 7 moves down the line.
truth be told, though, i'm really not qualified to evaluate his games; i just know beauty when i see it.
i read a story in a chess book once (yes, i'm THAT big of a nerd!) where he walked past a tournament game on his way to the bathroom and saw the winning move something like 13 moves out from the finish. at a glance. he didn't say anything until he saw the guy 4 years later and asked the guy if he made the move. the guy said he didn't remember the game, so fischer set up the boad to the exact position it was in when he walked by it 4 years prior.
I know very little about chess, but have always been fascinated. My kids want to take up chess; I think they're old enough now. Emily wants to join chess club, but she's already in, let's see, Destination Imagination, Brownies, Service Learning, Science club, basketball, violin lessons--can we add any more?
can't think of a better gift to give to a child if they have the patience for it. chess is one of the few things that actually teaches one how to think. holding multiple ideas and concepts in one's head at once, and then responding in a way that produces a far off outcome. a healthy combination of chess and music can produce some really amazing human beings, provided that they are nurtured to have integrity and to value others; otherwise, it can produce narcissistic monsters.
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I hadnt realized he was so old. mind you 64 ISNT old, thats younger than my dad, which scares me. I met a genius myself today, and one who is a real hero to me. im going to post about it right now!
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it blows my mind when i go over some of his games and see the brilliance of his thinking. especially when he would make outrageous sacrifices to gain a position that won't show itself until 6 or 7 moves down the line.
truth be told, though, i'm really not qualified to evaluate his games; i just know beauty when i see it.
i read a story in a chess book once (yes, i'm THAT big of a nerd!) where he walked past a tournament game on his way to the bathroom and saw the winning move something like 13 moves out from the finish. at a glance. he didn't say anything until he saw the guy 4 years later and asked the guy if he made the move. the guy said he didn't remember the game, so fischer set up the boad to the exact position it was in when he walked by it 4 years prior.
damn.
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