EP.202 - Dr. Frank Brady

Dr. Frank Brady has led a long and distinguished career both in and out of the chess world. Before retiring, he was the Chairman of the Department of Mass Communications, Journalism, Television and Film at St. John’s University. Frank is also the Founding Editor of Chess Life Magazine, and is well known for writing multiple books about Bobby Fischer, who Frank knew since Bobby’s teenage years, and about whom he is a leading authority. Dr. Brady is best known for his best-selling and brilliant 2011 biography of Fischer, Endgame: Fischer’s Rise and Fall from Remarkable Prodigy to the Edge of Madness. In our conversation, Frank shares many personal recollections about his interactions with Bobby, including a first-hand account of what it was like to be at the famed Fischer-Spassky Match of the Century in Reykjavik in 1972. Frank contextualizes the brilliance and the faults of Bobby Fischer, and tells some great stories from his personal experiences. You will not want to miss this first hand account of chess history! Please read on for more details, relevant links, and timestamps.  

For more detailed show notes, go to:

www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/11/17/episode-202-dr-frank-brady

02:00- What was it like to attend the “Match of the Century” between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in person in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972? 

10:30- Frank discusses the question of whether Bobby knew who his father was, and whether he was aware of his Jewish heritage.  

18:30- How would Frank describe Bobby’s personality? 

28:00- What chess improvement advice did Bobby Fischer give to Frank Brady? 

32:30- Does Frank think that Bobby Fischer had Asperger’s Syndrome? How did Frank find out Fischer’s IQ? 

40:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. If you would like to learn about the chess brilliance of Bobby Fischer utilizing their patented Movetrainer technology, you can check out GM Garry Kasparov’s My Great Predecessor’s Volume 4, among other books and courses: 

https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-4/course/29726/

41:00- Frank answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to the history of The Log Cabin Chess Club. 

47:00- What were Bobby’s political views before they became more radical? When was Bobby’s chess peak? Does Frank think that Bobby was clinically insane? 

52:00- What did Bobby’s Icelandic friends from his later years think of Bobby? 

53:30- Douglas Griffin asks Frank whether he is aware of Fischer being particularly influenced by GM Isaac Boleslavsky.

56:00- What were Frank’s interactions with GM Boris Spassy like? 

1:00:00- Frank's encounters with famed artist Marcel Duchamp

1:04:00- Frank still plays the occasional tournament chess game, and he is in great health as an 86 year-old. What health advice can he share? 

1:05:30- As an expert on film and chess, Frank compares the smash-hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit as it compares to other representations of chess in film/on television.

1:10:00- To what does Frank attribute the success of Endgame outside of the chess world? 

1:17:00- Whom does Frank think I should interview?

1:19:30- More discussion of The Queen’s Gambit.

1:25:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Brady for an amazing interview! You can reach him via email at bradyfm at msn.com

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