Fischer vs. Carlsen… will history repeat?
Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen
In the 1972 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace, then-championship challenger Bobby Fischer stated that he like to “crush a man’s ego”. He then played Boris Spassky for the World Chess Championship and beat the Soviet player mercilessly even after forfeiting the second game and falling behind 2-0. Fischer had reached his zenith and never played competitive chess after that due to his own idiosyncrasies and sometimes unreasonable demands.
After years of being banned from his own country, shuttling around the Philippines and being abused in a Japanese prison, he settled in Iceland and lived out the last days of his life quietly before succumbing to a liver ailment. Fischer story has been recounted and the recent movie “Bobby Fischer Against the World” captures his evolution, but unfortunately many still focus on his post-chess era.
It is this circumstance that will cause young players like Carlsen and America’s top player Hikaru Nakamura to ponder ways to avoid falling prey to the same fate. Both draw Fischer comparisons for different reasons, but both have proven they have a variety of interests outside of chess.
While one may want to prove they are not as single-minded as Fischer, former World Champion Garry Kasparov chided both Carlsen and Nakamura for not being focused enough. He had training relations with both that ended relatively unfavorably. He did not believe Carlsen’s modeling helped his chess and was not keen on Nakamura’s debut in the World Series of Poker.
Watching the two films segments, the parallels the interviews draw between Fischer and Carlsen are stunning. Both had prodigious memories… both did what was required to get an edge… both had an unbreakable will to win… both were shown being rather isolated… both seem socially awkward in interviews.
Video by CBS News
In last Sunday’s 60 Minutes segment with Bob Simon, Carlsen was asked a question about Fischer. The young Norwegian said that as he watched the Fischer movie, he wondered, “Is this going to be me… in a few years?” He quickly assures Simon that it will not. Carlsen rise is similar to Fischer’s. Both were “boy wonders”… both met a meteoric rise… both were world beaters. However one fact remains… Carlsen has yet to play for the World Championship and his success will largely be measured by winning the world title.
Carlsen will have plenty of company, but his battle would not be facing a single behemoth as Fischer did against the Soviet Union. There is quite a bit of diversity in the field with players like Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Fabiano Caruana (Italy), Anish Giri (Netherlands). Perhaps the biggest threat to Carlsen is Levon Aronian of Armenia who has remained hidden under the shadow of Carlsen, current World Champion Viswanathan Anand and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. Aronian is only a mere nine points behind Carlsen on the Live Ratings.
Magnus Carlsen against world’s #2 Levon Aronian.
Photo by Frits Agterdenbos of ChessVista.
One of the qualities that Carlsen has is his ability to remain calm and to remain psychologically ready for the pending battle. However, Carlsen has never played in a match. This may be an Achilles heel, but certainly it was not Fischer’s. Fischer enjoyed the challenge of outperforming an entire institution. Carlsen also works alone, but takes a more carefree approach to chess. He has a variety of interests as opposed to the single-minded determination of Fischer. One may argue that this is what is needed to ascend to highest heights of chess.
While Carlsen is not far from Fischer’s resting place, it is doubtful that he will look to the American champion’s history for inspiration. Carlsen is his own man… in his own world, with his father as his confidante. This is quite a different world from Fischer. Time will tell whether we will be able to write more comparisons in the Fischer, but listening to the interview, Carlsen is probably bristling at such thoughts.
(Note: Thanks to Laura Kuhn of CBS for contacting The Chess Drum to encourage the use of the videos!)
Official Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399370n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qc_v9mTfhC8
Fischer/Carlsen: The Misconception: You take randomness into account when determining cause and effect.
The Truth: You tend to ignore random chance when the results seem meaningful or when you want a random event to have a meaningful cause.
https://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/09/11/the-texas-sharpshooter-fallacy/
Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were both presidents of the United States, elected 100 years apart. Both were shot and killed by assassins who were known by three names with 15 letters, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, and neither killer would make it to trial.
Spooky, huh? It gets better.
Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, and Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.
They were both killed on a Friday while sitting next to their wives, Lincoln in the Ford Theater, Kennedy in a Lincoln made by Ford.
Both men were succeeded by a man named Johnson – Andrew for Lincoln and Lyndon for Kennedy. Andrew was born in 1808. Lyndon in 1908.
What are the odds?
Magnus is socially awkward? Really?
Fischer didn’t forfeit the first game. He forfeited the second. He lost the first game due to a blunder..
Most interesting subject but we must consider all of the facts or question. Both are different men. While parallel can be drawn Magnus is a genius of unbelievable intelligence (he may not know what normal is ) He does have a supportive father and organization behind nim. (How much he was push by his father as a child is not apparent). The question must also be asked if Magnus will make chess his major life accomplishment or will his gift of genius be used for greater aspirations.
Fisher on the other hand without a fatherly presence does not seem as intellectually gifted as Magnus although a very hard worker driven by a compulsion “to be” and “to beat” the best chess players in the world. Nothing really wrong with this except when your country you represent tell you that “you can’t go out to play”. I believe that this is what really causes Fischer to have a raw edge. In jest, I suggest Magnus will be ok unless he suffers from spontaneous combustion form being to ^#@*$!! smart.
Hello Daaim. For most people outside of the chess world…playing 10 people simultaneously is a great feat but it is not that rare. Harry N. Pilsbury may have been the best at that. One more thing. There is a you tube video from his last tourney where Magnus says to the interviewer…I f____ked up! I had to rewind, I was so shocked. Hope I am around to see if he indeed becomes the World Champion and/or the strongest player in the world ( these two are not necessarily synonymous.
Oh man, you guys HAVE to be American to be so prissy about the F-word on television. In Carlsen’s country, Norway, as well as most other countries here in Europe, you’re allowed to say such words without any BLEEPING added to censor it.
To hear people say they were so “shocked” they had to rewind to see whether he actually dropped the F-word makes me laugh and wonder whether we actually live in the same universe.
American even invented the word, didn’t you? Yet you go all Gestapo whenever someone utters it on television. The only shocking thing is the hypocrisy in Americans when it comes to swearing.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the US, and its people, but the double standards when it comes to naked skin and swearing being evil, while violence is okay, on television is unbeliaveble.
Nakamura is more likely to go crazy… why? He doesn’t win as much and loses much more than Carlsen, thus it might bruise his ego and he might go crazy.. seriously!
Carlsen has different hobbies and he seems to not play chess a lot outside of tournaments, he rarely loses and he is looking fine so far.
Only time will tell.
Fischer crushed the entire Soviet chess machine, let alone Spassky, Petrosian, Larsen, Tal, etc. I like Magnus, and he may truly be the `Mozart` of chess, but Fischer is clearly the `King` of chess. IMHO, Fischer is the greatest chess genius of all time…
There were many GREAT chess players before and after Bobby Fischer, but there was never ever anyone that came even remotely close to what Bobby Fischer was.
He was not only a genius, he studied chess theory so hard that calling him a maniac workaholic would be an – understatement.
At 14 years of age he became a US National Champion.
At 15 he qualified as 5-6 to the Candidates tournament, a feat yet to be seen by someone else.
If it wasn’t for Soviets cheating BF would have been the WCC at 17, not 27… a fact many times overlooked.
His 20-0 streak is litterally unheard of: demolishing w/o a loss 3 of then Top 10 players. Can you imagine Carlsen today beating say Topalov 6-0, than beating Nakamura 6-0 and finally beating say Kramnik 5.5-2.5. I can’t… Fischer did it.
Than in 1971 there was the first (unofficial) W rapid/blitz chess championship, all the greatest were there – Tal, Korchnoi, you name it. Fischer scores 19.5 out of 21… Tal is 2nd with 14 points.
ANd than the 1972 match – starting with 0-2, he demolishes Spasky 12,5-8,5. No one ever won a WCC match being 2 points behind. Bobby did it like a breeze.
Last, bit not least – the Elo rating – Bobby in July 1972 has 2,785, with 70 point/decade elo-inflation, that is worth well over 3,050 point today.
3,050 that’s right, which is 200 more than Magnus Carlsen has or that Garry Kasparov reached at his peak-time.
No one ever like Bobby…