Bobby Fischer on the Dick Cavett Show

by Johannes Fischer
4/7/2017 – Bobby Fischer's reclusiveness was legendary. But in 1971, before his Candidates Match against Tigran Petrosian, he was a guest of talkshow legend Dick Cavett. In 2008 a video of this show appeared on YouTube and by now it has more than a million views. Less known is the fact that Fischer appeared a second time on the Dick Cavett Show, this time before his match against Spassky. A video of this show was just published on YouTube.

Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer

No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.

Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.

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After winning the match against Tigran Petrosian: Bobby Fischer on the Dick Cavett Show

In the show Fischer seems to be in a good mood, a bit tense but accessible and focused. He talks about the match against Petrosian and the pressure of such matches, shows the end of the last match game against Petrosion, quickly explains the basic rules of chess, praises Nona Gaprindashvili as a "very strong player" and laughs about a joke talkshow host Dick Cavett made about paranoia. Fischer also declares that he "intends to play for a long time" after winning the match against Spassky.

Before the match against Tigran Petrosian: Bobby Fischer on the Dick Cavett Show

And here again the video of the better known Dick Cavett Show with Bobby Fischer

Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".