What is going on, Captain Fouda? -I don't feel comfortable. -Oh no! And in order to play... you, of course, need to feel comfortable. Tell me, what do you need? Can everyone leave the room, but keep the cameras? You want to kick the audience out of the world championship? Okay! Fair enough. Everyone, please leave the room! Something is still bothering me. Tell me, brother. Don't be shy. Your comfort is all that matters. Can we put the air conditioner on 32 °C? 32 degrees? Isn't that too hot? Just to feel comfortable. Turn the temperature up, please! Thank you. Go ahead! I'm good. Everything is good. But, there's one small request: I have this teddy bear on my bed for good luck... Wait a second, guys! Can we change this horse? It looks tired. Do you not feed them? This chair is squeaky. This chair is not working. This chair needs love. I need love. I have to get married before we begin. I think that was too rushed. -I will go get a divorce. -What? Can we sacrifce an animal? It's grandpa's traditions. Can we barbeque before the match? It's my dead uncle's traditions. Let's burn some incense here. Someone took advantage of the smoke and farted. Probably me. We need an air freshener. Why do you think they call it a chessboard? What does 'chess' even mean? I have to read Al Mu'awwdatan first. There's an evil eye! I have to read the last juz' in Quran first. -That would be great. -Twice! Can we turn off the lights and play like our grandparents used to? With phone flashlights? Can we? That's it? You're good? You're ready? Everything good, or is there something else? No, that's it, dude. I'm all ready. Means everything is ready. Finally! Thank God! Your turn. What is it? You think we need an air freshener? OK now you're just wasting time! Hello, my dear viewers. Welcome to a new episode of El Daheeh. Dear viewer, if you lose in chess, don't fear this episode. Really, Abo Hmeed? I'm horrible at chess. My beautiful viewer, this episode isn't for chess-lovers only, but it's for all viewers. On 5 o'clock Tuesday evening, which falls on July 11th 1972, the sports venue in Reykjavík in Iceland, and remember that country, had fully booked seats by the audience, in addition to the millions of people watching on TV everywhere in the world. What are they doing, Abo Hmeed? They are watching the very critical match: the World Chess Championship final match between The Soviet Union's champion and America's champion. In the history of chess, it was dubbed the Match of the Century. On stage, we saw the Soviet Union's champion Boris Spassky play with the white pieces on the chessboard. He moved the king's pawn two squares forward to begin the journey of defending his title, which he achieved in 1969. The title that belonged to his country, The Soviet Union, since World War II. After Spassky had moved the pawn, he pressed the clock stopping his time and starting his opponent's, and he kept looking at the other side. The problem was that his opponent's chair in front of him was actually empty. Where did America's champion go, Abo Hmeed? Let me tell you that America's champion hadn't arrived. Time kept ticking and no one knew where the champion was. This, my friend, wasn't the first time he did that. He had left many matches back in his country for trivial reasons, like if he doesn't like how the chessboard looks, or if the pieces aren't fit. The match itself was postponed by two days as he refused to leave New York and go to Iceland. And he refused to sign the contract to participate until the US Chess Federation agreed to his requests, which, by the way, were mostly unreasonable. However, six whole minutes later, America's champion arrived. He had diarrhea, Abo Hmeed? The player we are talking about is Robert Fischer, or Bobby Fischer. He had a record of wining eight US Chess Championships. He's the stubborn mysterious man. The controversial, but genius man, who will be later referred to as the Mozart of chess. Fischer sat down, rolled up his sleeves, and he moved the king's knight. That's when the audience cheered and was relieved. Also, if you don't know the historical context, there was a cold war. Here, he represented America in the cold war. So, if you lost this match, Bobby, you won't leave your house for a week. The audience was relieved that the match of the century was happening. And everyone prepared their words to light the social media on fire. Dear viewer, let's stop right here. I will move to another story and leave the match to keep you excited to know what happened, which will make you listen to me now. The World Chess Championship has existed since 1886. However, it was the first time ever that the championship's finals dominated newspaper headlines. Not only in America, but in many other countries. Everyone was talking about that match. Even Speed-ball used to get more views than chess. That was the first time that the final players weren't both Russian. The introduction of the American element made chess, which was never a popular game, the center of everyone's attention. It became a trend like bell-bottoms and hula hoops. The American media turned it from a regular match between two rival players into a confrontation between two powerful entities during the cold war. If these entities can't start a nuclear war, because their hands are tied and can't truly fight one another, then instead of that, my friend, they pour their frustration into a chess match, like venting. If Fischer succeeded in defeating Spassky, he would defeat the Soviet Union's propaganda, which says that their dominance over that game reflects how elite and superior their communist political system over the Western capitalists. "See how communism creates smart people who can win at chess." Right, right! Because that's the system that created very smart people and made them chess champions. It's a real war! Where the battlefield is a board with 64 squares, devoid of any color except for black and white, where the sound of blood is two pieces touching each other. An army of 16 chess pieces fights another army of 16 chess pieces. And behind each one there's a general giving orders. His eyes are focused only on wining. We both started equally with the same number of pieces, and with soldiers that have the same abilities. However, only what's up here can make someone win. A war of brain against brain. The American media didn't say that Fischer would defeat Spassky. They said that Bobby Fischer would defeat the Russians. And the USSR saw this match as a fight for survival. Till today, some people view Fischer as the greatest chess player ever, which is the game he knew at 6 years old while living in a humble place in Brooklyn with his mom. The mother who worked two jobs to be able to provide for him and his older sister Joan, who brought her brother a chessboard from their local store. Thanks Jojo! No one expected that he would obsess over that game. To the point that he couldn't leave it night and day. Even while eating, he had a chessboard, or a book to study the moves from. This game would substitute everything around him, and give him the ability give up the world. As a teenager, he erased everything in his life: education, sports, even getting to know girls his age, making friendships, or any type of social life. He was isolated from everything except chess. Even his mother got worried and sent him to a therapist as a kid. But the doctor said there was nothing to worry about with his obsession. At 9 years old, Robert Fischer made the decision that he would become a world champion. Wow, Abo Hmeed. Now how did the match go? So so many things happened. Wait, my friend. I will finish this part and then go back. Hey! Don't skip forward, I will catch you. Let me tell you that Robert was so good at this game that by the time he was 13 years old, he won against a very exceptional opponent, the international chess master Donald Byrne in an amazing match, which was considered a tactical masterpiece for someone his age. Let me tell you that Robert sacrificed his Queen, the strongest chess piece, which losing or sacrificing it could cost you the whole game. Some chess experts consider this the move of the century. Imagine a 13-year-old kid made the move of the century! A kid with almost a mustache made that move! This term will stay attached to him up till now with a move that is being taught today. And at 15 years old, he became the youngest international master ever. That's when the United States had an important realization. "It seems like we have a chess genius on our hands. And the Soviet Union people refuse to let go of the title. That's a perfect opportunity to prove our capabilities, and prove that capitalism makes geniuses. And our name will rise back up better than ever." After that, Robert won the US Championship eights times by huge score differences from his opponents. And to understand Fischer's achievements then, we remember that Americans weren't interested in chess. They of course had big strong players, but they didn't have geniuses. Even though America had the chess legend, Paul Morphy, in the 19th century, there was no genius American players after that. And not a single American had won the World Chess Championship. Also, Bobby Fischer was playing solo. He had no hardcore trainers, or assistants, or analysts. At a young age, he defeated an international master. If he had a trainer, he would teach him. Who will train this guy? Also, there was no funding for players. And in 1971, Bobby Fischer was qualified for challenges of a higher level; The World Chess Championship. However, his legendary success at the game had a price. Every time his skills in chess rose, his social skills dropped incredibly, in addition to the paranoia, and the extreme need for loneliness that controlled him. He pushed everyone away from him; starting form his mother Regina. That was because Miss Regina distracted him from chess! "That's OK. I will leave and you will never find me again." "Great! That's what I want." Being a teenage player helped him take on many challenges, and defeat 40 players at the same time. Like Farid Shawqi in "Antar Ibn Chaddad." But of course that had a devastating mental impact, and put him under pressure from the media, or from people and circles around him, because they saw him as an opportunity to get money. Just a part of a show! And to the American media, he was simply a fun segment of the prodigy kid to impress the audience a bit and get ads. The child prodigy who is good at biology and doesn't eat broccoli. He has things going on. And then we interview him and ask him, and find out weird things about him like refusing to watch TV. "Wow!" Because he is afraid of radiation on his brain. "Oh my Goodness, you are so weird!" His interest in books and reading outside of chess was limited to topics of conspiracy theories. He was paranoid, poor thing. At the age 29, he lived like monks. He was always alone jumping from one hotel to the other, either studying chess, or playing moves in his mind. His obsession with chessboards wasn't only due to sacrifices which he had to make to be a big chess player; his obsession was also due his mother leaving him at a young age, as well as his father who he didn't meet. He thought that if He's forced to be lonely, then he will embrace it through chess, and through chessboards that will replace his identity and the world, thus a chess genius. And what's more impressive than the effect of chess on him, was Fischer's effect on his opponents. Mikhail Tal, who is one of the greatest Russian players, and the greatest in the world, described him as "Achilles without a heel". Meaning, he has Achilles's power, but not his weakness. As if he's a chess computer; he analyzes unexpected situations with remarkable speed. Soviet analysts who looked at Fischer's work arrived to the conclusion that he needs maximum of 25 seconds to act when something unexpected happens in a game, and he does the right move. At that time, the greatest chess players needed double that. In many cases, the move he made may seem weak. Like sacrificing his strong knight in a game against his opponents weak bishop. However, every time his move turns out to be the right one. He did all that with a poker face, and complete confidence that shook his opponents. This guy seems to know what he's doing. No matter how weak a move might seem, they thought it had a deep plan behind it that no random person can discover. And in many times, they were right. The phenomenon was labeled "Fischer-fear". The chess grandmasters were afraid of this man, or this kid. Some important people in chess believed that Fischer hypnotized his opponents, and that a force controlled their minds when they played with him. A force that made them physically wilt, and feel defeated. The World Championship at the time was a 3-year tournament. Players would compete in a series of regional tournaments as qualifiers for the world championship. They were qualified into eight players, and the winner had the right to challenge the previous world champion. They meet and see who wins. In 1970, when the tournament started, Robert Fischer was the best of the American players. And in the series of the qualifying tournaments, Fischer achieved a historical winning streak, before facing three of the greatest players of their time. In the first match, he met a guy named Mark Taimanov, the Soviet Grandmaster. "Dude, I'm a grandmaster! Behave." Let me tell you that this guys wasn't just a player. This Taimanov has an opening named after him. When Mark finished the last round, they asked him to comment on the match. He said: "OK. I will go play piano. We are done with this chess thing, and delete the opening." Then he played against Bent Larsen. Abo Hmeed, why was he bent? Is he OK? My impatient friend, Bent Larsen was one of the greatest chess players in the world. He has an opening too? Yes, There's a chess opening named after him too. It's kinds of like naming a street after you. Imagine saying: "Play an Ahmed." Fischer won against Bent with a 6-0 score. Then he met Tigran petrosian, a previous world champion, and he literally crushed him. He destroyed him in every way. In the history of world championships, this was a unique winning streak. That's when Fischer earned the right to meet the world champion and the title holder, Boris Spassky. Spassky was a genius player. He was marked by the Soviet chess player making machine. A machine that never misses. And unlike Fischer, he had his own team. He had trainers and assistants of the highest level. To understand how important this game was for Soviets, let me tell you that chess was supervised by the government itself, and specifically by the Supreme Soviet, which is a part of Central Committee of the Communist Party. See how many stations that was. Chess was grouped with the ballet and the circus as one of the most important pillars of the Soviet propaganda, which they used to prove their superiority over the West. "Can you guys do this? Chess, circus, and ballet. Smart, entertaining, and flexible." Let me go back to the part you have been waiting for, which is the match. But before that, when it was time for the match, even though Fischer had dreamt about it for years, he started to exaggerate his demands, which included increasing the prize money. Let me tell you that for the last minute, no one knew if Fischer was going to play or not. Until a rich British man came in and was interested in the game. He doubled the prize money to a number that was never seen before: 250 thousand dollars. "And if it's about the money, Fischer, It's solved. Now sit down, and spoil us, you beast! You either play, or prove that you are a coward with excuses!" The problem was probably not money. It was probably mental stress, according to what many analysts said, who said that Fischer requesting that money meant that he feared losing. But not because he felt weaker than Spassky, it's because he was used to never losing. Always a series of wins. Failure was never an option. So, losing could have a devastating impact on his self-esteem, and on his image of life that has no meaning without chess. If chess is gone, he is too. A journalist at the BBC asked him if it was a problem that he knew nothing about people or normal life, and if this monk-like life affects him, Fischer said that he thought a lot about leaving chess. But without it, he doesn't know what to do. What made him go to that match was a call from Henry Kissinger, the former United States secretary of state. Wasn't Kissinger the El-Sadat guy? El-Sadat guy? It seems like your patriotic sense is a bit high, but, yes, he did talk to El-Sadat Henry made him feel that the Nation's pride depends on him. And that it's important for him to defeat the Soviet Union. Of course, on the other side, Spassky faced the same pressure. But from who? The Soviet Union. "Look, Spassky. This isn't jut a chess match." "Will people ever stop telling me that? I know that it's to defend the Soviet chess kingdom against imperialist capitalist America. Fine, I will play!" The championship was 24 matches between them. The champion has to get 12 points, and the person who challenges him needs 12 points and a half to win. Again, out of 24 matches, a tie is half a point, and a win equals a point. To be the world champion, You need 12.5 In a hall with important guests, and audience form all around the world, everyone was silent watching the man who was 6 minutes late arrive, and the match began. In America, a country that didn't care about chess, the audience were watching the match like a Super bowl. When Fischer arrived to the first match 6 minutes late, people assumed that he was playing a psychological game on Spassky. Missing with his mind, like a toxic boyfriend. But, Fischer was six minutes late because their was a different fight. A fight with his inner demons. After the first move done by Bobby Fischer, he got up and criticized the camera placements. "Sir, I can't concentrate, Sir!" He continued the match and 28 moves later, the match was close to a tie. But Fischer made a beginner's mistake. He captured a pawn, but trapped his bishop. The people watching the match, including chess masters, didn't believe that Fischer made that mistake. "This move was totally planned and practiced by Fischer for years to defeat this Soviet guy without even noticing!" However, with all due respect to the experts, the move was wrong. Of course, it was a shock to the world when he lost, who saw him as a chess machine. Spassky won the first match. Fischer threatened that he would leave if the cameras weren't removed. "I can't concentrate from their movements!" Isn't that what Medhat Fakousa did, Abo Hmeed? When he said: "I will just pay a fine and leave." However, we are talking about a capitalist time. There are broadcasting contracts and stuff. And if there are no cameras, advertisers won't be happy. So, they of course refused. Because simply the game's profits depended on broadcasting. With the second match, Fischer wasn't 6 minutes late. Fischer didn't even show up. So, they considered him defeated, and he lost his second match. Now the score was 2-0 in Spassky's favor. With the third match, Fischer had one request to show up: That they play the match in a small closed room without spectators, or cameras. Of course, the administration refused. And Spassky could have refused too. Then it would be announced that he won and no one would blame him. And even though Soviet officials told Spassky to refuse, he still agreed to play. And he said: "I insist on playing with him, even if in a ping-pong room." And indeed the match was done in a small room with a single TV camera. That's when Fischer used an opening that he has never done before. It's called Benoni Defense, which a Hebrew word that means "son of my sorrow". The first guy to play it was called Aaron Reinganum in 1825. He learned its moves after suffering from depression. That's why it has 'sorrow'. He said it was his refuge away from sadness. This opening is not only aggressive, but it's also full of dangers. It's a battle without a tie. You either win or lose. All in. If what's happening between Fischer and Spassky a real battle, then this opening is a death blow. With this maneuver, Fischer was able to win the match. The score was now 2-1. Five matches later, Fischer was able to tie with Spassky 2.5 to 2.5 Spassky then did a tactical maneuver known as "My controller is broken, and the referee is biased." Spassky complained that something in the chairs, or the lighting was affecting with him. And that the Americans could have missed with his mind by radiation. Due to the stress the match made, he doubted that the Americans were trying to poison him. This wasn't far off from Fischer's thoughts too. So, the Russians did indeed check the chairs, the lighting and everything. -You know what they found? -what? Two dead flies! With the sixth match, we reach the Match of The Century. This was the most studied match in the history of chess. Many big players describe it as a symphony due to how beautiful and amazing it is. It was even a surprise to Spassky himself. Fischer always moved the pawn in front of the king when he played white. But he moved the pawn in front of the queen's bishop. This is called The English Opening. This ruined all of Spassky's plans in an instant. In addition, the way Fischer played wasn't like the usual, which was characterized by aggression and high pressure. This time he played it slowly and smoothly. He limited Spassky's movements. He pressured him to push all of his pieces back in a way that he can't attack Fischer's pieces. And he made all of Spassky's pieces powerless. The match was deemed one of the most beautiful chess matches ever. A perfect example of beauty and precision. To the point that Spassky himself, who is someone form the Soviet Union, stood up and applauded Fischer, because of his intelligence in the game and the way he played. This situation showed Fischer's intelligence, and also showed a beautiful side of Spassky. That he's a true sportsman. Because in that moment, all of the stress put on the game was relieved. And everything was stripped from the circumstances, and it went back to being just a game. A simple game between two people who love it and are great at it. Now, the score was 11.5 for Fischer, and 8.5 for Spassky. All what Fischer needed was half a point which is a tie. However, he put an end to it, and won the match number 21. Then he was given the title of world champion. You might think that since the match is over, the episode is too. but I'm not done yet. Bobby Fischer was given a hero reception in America. This isolated introverted man, who is focused on one single idea which is the chessboard, and isn't able to do anything else, became the most famous person in America. He was offered huge deals, advertisements, and a lot of money to be in tournaments. Anyone else would have been a multimillionaire. However, he surprised the whole world in an unexpected move, much like his chess moves, he disappeared and refused all deals. And for three years, he was rarely spotted in public. In the second championship, when a Russian genius called Karpov appeared, at the age of 20 and challenged Fischer for his title, Fischer asked for 179 requests form the International Chess Federation To what? Just to play. All of my wishes in life aren't 179! Maybe they are 178, or 177, but never 179! Let me tell you that the federation, after pulling their hair out, agreed on 177 requests out of the 179! They reached the final two and said that's enough. Fischer wanted to cancel all the points players earn from ties. And it's enough for the world champion to win 8 matches so he can keep his title. And the challenger should win 10 matches to get the title. That meant changing the entire championship system. That of course wasn't politically accepted by the Soviet Union. So, his requests were rejected. The problem was that Fischer wasn't messing around. He wasn't trying to compromise anything, and he refused to enter the tournament. So, Karpov was announced world champion by default. And there was a great sense of pride inside the Soviet Union after getting back the title. To the point that Brezhnev welcomed Karpov and told him: "You got the title. Hold on to it, and never give it to anyone. I'm telling you! If anyone told you I'm your father's friend give me the title, don't do it!" Of course, if any president in any country said that to a player, it usually means that he's encouraging him, and telling him: "Keep your title, Champ! Chase your dreams. You're not a tree!" Being supportive! But for a leader in the Soviet Union, these are orders! "Keep the title don't give it up. Even if he plays better than you! Now get out of my face!" Of course, America felt a great disappointment. Americans felt that Fischer let them down. The man who refused all the tempting offers of going back to chess, and officially retired form chess and disappeared. He lived with depression and obsessed with conspiracy theories. He believed that he was being chased by the KGB, and that they trying to kill him with radiation, and trying to control his mind through the phone. Fischer was going through an endless war, but this time the war was between him and himself. The sure thing is that he hated America more as time went by. Specially, when he felt like they used his mind for political reasons to achieve a media and political victory against the Soviet Union, and to cover the close defeat of America in the Vietnam war. He blamed them for the pressure he felt during the championship, and that he wasn't representing himself or family, he was going to beat the Soviet Union! That's a lot! And maybe that's why he refused to defend his title. He quit the only thing he knew in life. Many pressures led to his collapse, and failing to control his mental issues. Think about it! You gave that game everything you had. Suddenly, you realized you're being used to play that game. So, your relationship with that game ended. The problem is that everything about your life was that game. You cut off the only thing you had a relationship with. Indulging in a specific game and isolating form the world could create dangerous mental issues. In the first chess move, each player has 20 options to choose from. That means that after the first move, you have 400 options to play from. This number duplicates with every move, and it could each 10 with 45 zeros. That's more than the atoms in the Solar system. The player tries to expect his opponents next move among endless possibilities. It could lead to this person seeing the world as a chessboard. especially, if he already was unstable, and obsessed with the game like Bobby Fischer. In 1990, after he went out of sight, a message was delivered to Fischer from a women named Zita. Zita was a 19-year-old Hungarian chess player. She asked him in the letter to come back to chess, and described him the Mozart of chess. Bobby Fischer, who lived all his life without any female relationships, responded to the letter and also fell for the Hungarian girl. Also, a Yugoslavian billionaire showed up and offered Bobby Fischer a match against his opponent Spassky 20 years after their match! For a 5 million dollar cash prize! Fischer agreed, my friend! The whole world was shaken by Fischer's return. The problem was that the match was in Yugoslavia in the heart of the civil war. Fischer's participation meant a violation of the sanctions against Yugoslavia. The United States warned him: "Fischer, don't play! Or else you'll go to jail. You are an American icon!" In a press conference, Fischer grabbed that order and spat on it in an obvious rebellion against the US. The championship was played where Fischer won again over Spassky, after a friendship was formed between them, despite all the hate that the media created on both sides. Abo Hmeed, did he take the whole 5 million dollars? Was he supposed to split it up with us? He won; he deserves it! According to Garry Kasparov who was commenting on that match, he said that this match missed many advancements in the field of chess. It's like watching a boxing match between two old people, who went back to the ring one last time. America considered him a criminal after what he did. And he faced charges that could lead up to 10 years in prison, and he had to give up the money he won for the United States. America's hero and star turns into an indicted criminal. He was on the run, first in Yugoslavia, then in Hungary. He can't go back to America. And while he was in Hungary in 1996, his mother was dieing after he got closer to her and forgave her. Then two years later, his older sister Joan dies. The closest person to him who gave him his first chessboard. That's when Fischer lost any support. He was an outcast with a family or a home. Things stayed the same between Fischer and America till 2001, when the 9/11 attacks happened. Bobby Fischer called a Philippine radio network, and said he was happy about what happened in America. He said this was a result of America's foreign policies. Of course, Americans got more upset when they heard this, and hated him more! He disappeared for a bit, then news of his detention in Japan spread, because he didn't have a passport. The United States canceled his passport a year earlier, as a punishment for his attacks on their policies. That's when Iceland, that small country, where Fischer played against Spassky, made a very bold move challenging Japan and the US. They offered Fischer the Icelandic citizenship. That's because Icelanders never forgot Fischer's arrival for the championship. And how his arrival, put the city of Reykjavik on the map. They saw him as part of their history. He was welcomed in Iceland for the second time, tens of years after he won the championship. They welcomed him like a hero. But, he wasn't the same person. He was old and broken. A ghost of the hero he once was. And in a conference, he accused the George bush for his detention. He lived there in isolation till the end of his life. He kept openly speaking about the evil nature of his country. An obsession similar to his chess obsession. He also attacked chess and called it as a silly game. Built on memory not creativity. Imagine if you live all your life devoted to one thing. Just one thing! Then you realize you wasted your life on silly things, according to you. It's awful! Some players compare Fischer's retirement from chess as if Picasso died only 5 years after his work, and the rest of his painting that we know today didn't exist. Every match that Fischer didn't play was a real loss. A loss for chess itself. His match against Spassky in 1972 made chess a popular game in America and the whole world. According to statistics by the UN, today there is almost 600 million chess players around the world. It could be the most popular board game. And Bobby Fischer's book called "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" was very successful and one of the best selling chess book till today. In 2008, Bobby Fischer dies in isolation and piece in Iceland. The last thing he said on his death bed: "Nothing soothes as much as the human touch." Think about who is saying this! It's Fischer who lived his entire life in isolation, who left his mom at 16 years old since she was keeping him from playing chess. Fischer, whose entire life was literally black and white. He only knew one color. Fischer is a prisoner of a story that only has him in it. A story he created. But it's an extraordinary story. That's it, my friend, I hope you have fun. Watch the old episodes and the new ones. Look at the sources and subscribe if you're on YouTube. This was an episode about chess, my friend. Hopefully, the next episode is about card games. Then dominoes, and we will start a coffee shop project. We are gathering money and stuff. I'm planning for retirement and trying to see how people with pensions entertain themselves. There's actually more! There Uno, monopoly, backgammon, and Snakes and ladders. There are so many games.