{"product_id":"books-endgame-by-frank-brady","title":"Endgame","description":"\u003cb\u003eAcclaimed biographer Frank Brady traces the meteoric ascent--and confounding \u003ci\u003edescent\u003c\/i\u003e--of enigmatic chess genius Bobby Fischer.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing from Fischer family archives, recently released FBI files, and Bobby's own emails, this account is unique in that it limns Fischer's \u003ci\u003eentire\u003c\/i\u003e life--an odyssey that took the Brooklyn-raised chess champion from an impoverished childhood to the covers of \u003ci\u003eTime, Life \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eNewsweek \u003c\/i\u003eto recognition as the most famous man in the world to notorious recluse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt first all one noticed was how gifted Fischer was. Possessing a 181 I.Q. and remarkable powers of concentration, Bobby memorized\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ehundreds of chess books in several languages, and he was only 13 when he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eArriving back in the United States to a hero's welcome, Bobby was mobbed wherever he went--a figure as exotic and improbable as any American pop culture had yet produced. No player of a mere board game had ever ascended to such heights. Commercial sponsorship offers poured in, ultimately topping $10 million--but Bobby demurred. Instead, he began tithing his limited money to an apocalyptic religion and devouring anti-Semitic literature. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter years of poverty, Bobby remerged in 1992 to play Spassky in a multi-million dollar rematch--but the experience only \u003ci\u003edeepened \u003c\/i\u003ea paranoia that had formed years earlier when he came to believe that the Soviets wanted him dead for taking away their title. When the dust settled, Bobby was a wanted man--transformed into an international fugitive because of his decision to play in Montenegro despite U.S. sanctions. Fearing for his life, traveling with bodyguards, and wearing a long leather coat to ward off knife attacks, Bobby lived the life of a celebrity fugitive--one drawn increasingly to the bizarre. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd yet, as Brady shows, the most notable irony of Bobby Fischer's strange descent--which had reached full plummet by 2005 when he turned down yet \u003ci\u003eanother \u003c\/i\u003emulti-million dollar payday--is that despite his incomprehensible behavior, there were many who remained fiercely loyal to him. Why that was so is at least partly the subject of this book--one that at last answers the question: Who \u003ci\u003ewas \u003c\/i\u003eBobby Fischer?","brand":"World of Books ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53673661530385,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780307463906.jpg?v=1781527507","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/books-endgame-by-frank-brady","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}