Bobby Fischer Did Not Plan That Much
Success stories, when cited, are often twisted. Here is an example.
In 1971, a reporter Brad Darrach interviewed Bobby Fischer, the challenger to the then world chess champion Boris Spassky. Darrach wondered how Fischer would train for the match,
When I [Brad Darrach] told him [Bobby Fischer] I had heard that Spassky gives up all private life for at least six months before a championship match, lifts weights, does road work and sees a psychoanalyst every day, Fischer smiled mysteriously and said: “No kidding.” When I asked how he intended to train, he shrugged and said: “I don’t know. Go along as usual, I guess. Study. Play some tennis, maybe. Walk. I like to walk, you know.”
In 1973, Fischer beat Spassky convincingly and became the new world chess champion.
In 2003, a book Jump Rope Training tells the same story the other way round,
Fischer had studied Spassky on tape and realized that his prospective opponent made mistakes in competition only after becoming physically drained by the stress of the event. Fischer concluded that his superior physical condition would give him an edge by allowing him to remain sharp and focused during the duration of the contest while his opponent’s physical and mental energy waned. The strategy was successful and Fischer became the first American to win the world chess championship.
- from Jump Rope Training as quoted by Blogger Good Chess Club
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