Artikelnummer
LXDAUTRBF
Autor
The Real Bobby Fischer
A Year with the Chess Genius
192 Seiten, kartoniert, Russell Enterprises, 1. Auflage 2024, original erschienen 1995
The Willfully Inscrutable Bobby
Bobby Fischer, the enigmatic 11th World Chess Champion, lived in Germany for almost a year beginning in April 1990. He had connected with a woman, Petra Dautov, who had reached out to him two years before. It was not a romantic relationship, but quite intriguing nevertheless. In her own words, ”My intention in describing the experiences in this book was to show the human side of the chess genius and allow everyone to make up their own minds.“
As noted by the venerable Fischer biographer Dr. Frank Brady in his Foreword to the book:
…[T]he result is a lively reading experience through the authentic dialog captured by the author. [Fischer] would spend a year in the city of Wiesbaden and mostly in the little town of Seeheim, [the author’s] long-term residence. During this time as constant companions they spent almost every day together.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book are the glimpses into the continuous intransigence shown by Bobby concerning matters of deep import to him…The dialog in this book rings true simply because it is authentically chronicled by Petra…
Petra Dautov (née Stadler; 1961-2020) was a German club player and played in a few open tournaments in Hungary. But she found it much more fun to spectate, which is why she was a regular visitor to major chess tournaments. She was also a close personal friend of many members of the chess elite at that time. She first met Bobby Fischer in 1988 and a close friendship developed. This is her story.
This book is an unabridged translation of the original German edition (1995) of Bobby Fischer ̶ wie er wirklich ist ̶ Ein Jahr mit dem Schachgenie.
Bobby Fischer, the enigmatic 11th World Chess Champion, lived in Germany for almost a year beginning in April 1990. He had connected with a woman, Petra Dautov, who had reached out to him two years before. It was not a romantic relationship, but quite intriguing nevertheless. In her own words, ”My intention in describing the experiences in this book was to show the human side of the chess genius and allow everyone to make up their own minds.“
As noted by the venerable Fischer biographer Dr. Frank Brady in his Foreword to the book:
…[T]he result is a lively reading experience through the authentic dialog captured by the author. [Fischer] would spend a year in the city of Wiesbaden and mostly in the little town of Seeheim, [the author’s] long-term residence. During this time as constant companions they spent almost every day together.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book are the glimpses into the continuous intransigence shown by Bobby concerning matters of deep import to him…The dialog in this book rings true simply because it is authentically chronicled by Petra…
Petra Dautov (née Stadler; 1961-2020) was a German club player and played in a few open tournaments in Hungary. But she found it much more fun to spectate, which is why she was a regular visitor to major chess tournaments. She was also a close personal friend of many members of the chess elite at that time. She first met Bobby Fischer in 1988 and a close friendship developed. This is her story.
This book is an unabridged translation of the original German edition (1995) of Bobby Fischer ̶ wie er wirklich ist ̶ Ein Jahr mit dem Schachgenie.
| EAN | 9781949859973 |
|---|---|
| Gewicht | 250 g |
| Hersteller | Russell Enterprises |
| Breite | 15,2 cm |
| Höhe | 22,5 cm |
| Medium | Buch |
| Erscheinungsjahr | 2024 |
| Autor | Petra Dautov |
| Sprache | Englisch |
| Auflage | 1 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-949859-97-3 |
| Jahr der Originalausgabe | 1995 |
| Seiten | 192 |
| Einband | kartoniert |
| Name | Russell Enterprises |
|---|---|
| Adresse | 234 Depot Road Milford, CT 06460 USA |
| Internet | www.Russell-Enterprises.com |
| hwr@russell-enterprises.com |
Verantwortlicher Importeur:
| Name | Schachversand Niggemann |
|---|---|
| Adresse | Schadowstraße 5 48163 Münster Deutschland |
| info@schachversand.de | |
| Internet | www.schachversand.de |
Show me a hero…
It is rather a disheartening book, this one. I have always admired Bobby Fischer, both as a formidable chessplayer and for what he achieved in the game: the lone American who took on the mighty Soviet Empire and won. He was, or could have been, the greatest chessplayer of all time. But here he comes across as an oddball who would not look out of place in Roberto Bolaño’s Nazi Literature in the Americas.
Despite the subtitle, Petra Dautov was in actual fact in contact with Fischer for about 3 or 4 years, so enough time to know him well. It was Boris Spassky who put them in touch, encouraging her to write to him. She encloses a photo of herself, at Fischer’s request, in the letter she sends.
There is a phone call from Fischer not too long after (this was in March 1988) and they chat falteringly yet amicably. His calls become more frequent then regular, they seem to get on, and the following month she goes to Los Angeles to visit him. Here she is confronted with a frankly cranky individual, visibly some years older than her (she dislikes his beard), and very much set in his ways. It transpires, also, that he is anti-Semitic and racist, and a Holocaust denier to boot. All the time, Fischer carries around a plastic bag full of far-right books. We are told that these books, like his suit, have an unpleasant musty smell: this is a man who has been down on his luck for years. Dautov is shocked and disappointed, the two bicker and argue, and it is with some relief that she leaves for Germany. An interesting experience, she concludes, but thankfully now over, at an end.
After this there is sporadic contact and then, almost 2 years later, in May 1990, Dautov hears from Fischer again. He is in Brussels, he tells her, and would like to go to Germany to meet her. She agrees (why, I’m unsure). Thus begins the ‘year’ of the book’s subtitle, a time when Fischer was flush with money (thanks to Bessel Kok, maybe) and could afford to live reasonable comfortably.
Why Dautov agreed to have extended contact with Fischer again is unclear, since she does not explain her motives. I should explain that there is a kind of subtext to Dautov’s memoir, which is that Fischer wanted, or would have liked, a romantic or sexual relationship with her, but that she was resistant to this idea. That’s surely the meaning of Petra Leeuwerik’s criticism of her behaviour (see page 88).
Needless to say, when they are together again, this time in Germany, they very often argue (something which, incidentally, Fischer seems to enjoy). To be fair, sometimes Dautov does sympathise with Fischer, taking his side, conceding he has cause for complaint. But ultimately they are very different people and the relationship, such as it is, lacks traction. Consider, just for a moment: she is liberal, vegetarian, feminist, relatively normal; whereas he is right-wing in the extreme (though too anti American to be called MAGA), a voracious meat-eater (Fischer’s appetite is a constant source of wonder for Dautov), male chauvinistic (there is one excruciating moment, at the start of chapter 20, where Fischer tells her about his enthusiasm for a certain soft porn magazine), extraordinary and eccentric. That it spluttered to an end, sadly. is no surprise. The two parted.
At the end you are left with the question: is this an honest, warts and all, portrait of Bobby Fischer? Or is there a malice to Petra Dautov’s account, a disappointment, does she exaggerate Fischer’s faults and eccentricities (as Brad Darrach likely did) for the amusement of the gallery? Well, we will likely never know, though curiously one incident does strike me as false, which is when she describes Fischer as working through a tactical puzzle by moving pieces around on the chessboard (page 162). Surely he would have calculated mentally from the diagram?
It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who said, ‘Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.’ Truer words were never spoken. Chessplayers should read this book and weep.
Paul Kane
https://thecaissakid.wordpress.com/2025/07/25/the-real-bobby-fischer/
It is rather a disheartening book, this one. I have always admired Bobby Fischer, both as a formidable chessplayer and for what he achieved in the game: the lone American who took on the mighty Soviet Empire and won. He was, or could have been, the greatest chessplayer of all time. But here he comes across as an oddball who would not look out of place in Roberto Bolaño’s Nazi Literature in the Americas.
Despite the subtitle, Petra Dautov was in actual fact in contact with Fischer for about 3 or 4 years, so enough time to know him well. It was Boris Spassky who put them in touch, encouraging her to write to him. She encloses a photo of herself, at Fischer’s request, in the letter she sends.
There is a phone call from Fischer not too long after (this was in March 1988) and they chat falteringly yet amicably. His calls become more frequent then regular, they seem to get on, and the following month she goes to Los Angeles to visit him. Here she is confronted with a frankly cranky individual, visibly some years older than her (she dislikes his beard), and very much set in his ways. It transpires, also, that he is anti-Semitic and racist, and a Holocaust denier to boot. All the time, Fischer carries around a plastic bag full of far-right books. We are told that these books, like his suit, have an unpleasant musty smell: this is a man who has been down on his luck for years. Dautov is shocked and disappointed, the two bicker and argue, and it is with some relief that she leaves for Germany. An interesting experience, she concludes, but thankfully now over, at an end.
After this there is sporadic contact and then, almost 2 years later, in May 1990, Dautov hears from Fischer again. He is in Brussels, he tells her, and would like to go to Germany to meet her. She agrees (why, I’m unsure). Thus begins the ‘year’ of the book’s subtitle, a time when Fischer was flush with money (thanks to Bessel Kok, maybe) and could afford to live reasonable comfortably.
Why Dautov agreed to have extended contact with Fischer again is unclear, since she does not explain her motives. I should explain that there is a kind of subtext to Dautov’s memoir, which is that Fischer wanted, or would have liked, a romantic or sexual relationship with her, but that she was resistant to this idea. That’s surely the meaning of Petra Leeuwerik’s criticism of her behaviour (see page 88).
Needless to say, when they are together again, this time in Germany, they very often argue (something which, incidentally, Fischer seems to enjoy). To be fair, sometimes Dautov does sympathise with Fischer, taking his side, conceding he has cause for complaint. But ultimately they are very different people and the relationship, such as it is, lacks traction. Consider, just for a moment: she is liberal, vegetarian, feminist, relatively normal; whereas he is right-wing in the extreme (though too anti American to be called MAGA), a voracious meat-eater (Fischer’s appetite is a constant source of wonder for Dautov), male chauvinistic (there is one excruciating moment, at the start of chapter 20, where Fischer tells her about his enthusiasm for a certain soft porn magazine), extraordinary and eccentric. That it spluttered to an end, sadly. is no surprise. The two parted.
At the end you are left with the question: is this an honest, warts and all, portrait of Bobby Fischer? Or is there a malice to Petra Dautov’s account, a disappointment, does she exaggerate Fischer’s faults and eccentricities (as Brad Darrach likely did) for the amusement of the gallery? Well, we will likely never know, though curiously one incident does strike me as false, which is when she describes Fischer as working through a tactical puzzle by moving pieces around on the chessboard (page 162). Surely he would have calculated mentally from the diagram?
It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who said, ‘Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.’ Truer words were never spoken. Chessplayers should read this book and weep.
Paul Kane
https://thecaissakid.wordpress.com/2025/07/25/the-real-bobby-fischer/
Mehr von Russell Enterprises
-
The Modern Gurgenidze25,50 € -
Attack & Counterattack in Chess12,95 € -
Lasker's Manual of Chess29,50 € -
My Best Games of Chess 1905-195434,90 € -
1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate19,50 € -
The Immortal Games of Capablanca24,95 € - Mehr von Russell Enterprises
