Endgame

Reviews

“You don’t have to know the game of chess to be mesmerized by the dizzying and ultimately dark journey of the world’s most heralded player.”

“I learned something new on nearly every page of this wonderful book. Frank Brady is the perfect biographer for Bobby Fischer, and Endgame tells the full and fair story of Fischer’s astonishing rise and heartbreaking fall.”

“Endgame is rich in detail and insight. It is sympathetic and human, but not at all naive. I admire Brady’s resolve, and I consider this book essential reading in the effort to understand Bobby Fischer and his place in our world.”

“It’s no exaggeration to call Bobby Fischer both one of the most admired and one of the most reviled figures in American history…A man of such extremes is no easy subject for biographical study…But Frank Brady, who knew Fischer for many years…seems unusually well qualified to capture his many facets and contradictions…Endgame is a rapt, intimate book, greatly helped by its author’s long acquaintance with Fischer, who died in 2008, and his deep grounding in the world of chess…Mr. Brady needn’t get technical to convey the gist of Fischer’s overarching chess strategy. And he writes clearly and interestingly about the combination of hard work, practice, hot temper, and complete irrationality that contributed to Fischer’s fighting spirit…Fascinating.”

“The Mozart of the chessboard is inseparable from the monster of paranoid egotism in this fascinating biography…Brady gives us a vivid, tragic narrative of a life that became a chess game.”

“Ray Porter narrates with a strong and forceful voice. He uses short pauses between words to emphasize the author’s points. Pronouncing the abundant Russian and Hungarian names with comfort, he lends a welcome authenticity to an introspective biography.”

“Brady’s insightful biography of the legendary chess player focuses more on Fischer’s life as a chess champion than on his much-publicized legal troubles and alleged psychological breakdowns…Brady is uniquely qualified to write this book. Not only is he a seasoned biographer and someone who knew Fischer on a personal level; he’s also an accomplished chess player himself, able to convey the game’s intricacies to the reader in a clear, uncomplicated manner. The book should appeal to a broad audience, from hard-core chess fans to casual players to those who are simply interested in what is a compelling personal story.”

“Chess Life founding publisher Brady, who knew his subject well—and wrote about him in Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy—is generous, but never to a fault…Informed, thorough, sympathetic, and surpassingly sad.”

“Fischer is America’s greatest antihero. This fascinating biography is filled with hope, Cold War intrigue, the fulfillment of genius, and an explosive fall from grace that is both deeply moving and, ultimately, profoundly sad.”

“The definitive portrait of the greatest—and most disturbed—chess genius of all time.”

“I’ve wondered about the weird and fascinating life of Bobby Fischer since I was a teenage New York Times copyboy sent out to the lobby to keep Fischer’s mother from pestering editors and reporters…After fifty years, I’ve finally gotten the weird and fascinating biography I’ve been waiting for. Bravo, Brady.”

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