The Chess Mind

By Dennis Monokroussos.
This is a blog for chess fans by a chess fan, one who loves the beauty of the game and wants to share it with those who are like-minded.
Yet the chess mind is not only a chess mind, and other topics, such as philosophy, may appear from time to time. All material copyrighted.
Quotation Time #12

Here's a fun one:

Word was getting around about Bobby Fischer. From the first rumors of a talented kid from Brooklyn, he was now appearing regularly at the speed tournaments, and getting progressively better scores. At one point, however, I had beaten him four times in a row, and he cried at least once, revealing the depth of his intensity for the game. But one night at the Marshall Chess Club rapids we played a French Defense and a very peculiar thing happened. In the middle of the game Bobby made a strong move and I suddenly had an almost physical sense of the power emanating from it. And Bobby moved again with the same effect; it was as if he was playing with dynamic rays of force that I had a heightened sensitivity to. It happened once more, and my position was busted, as the coffee house players would say. I never won another game from Bobby, and I wonder if any other players have had this experience while opposing him.

Who said (or rather, wrote) it?

Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on Sunday June 15, 2008 at 5:07pm
naisortep:
GM Arnold Denker ?
6.15.2008 8:05pm
Tm Vananderoye:
Bill Hook
6.15.2008 11:25pm
inky (mail):
Why do I always read these too late - so someone gets the right answer before me.

Actually, I'd sort of be cheating because Bill Hook is a friend of mine and I had read part of the manuscript a few years ago.
6.15.2008 11:34pm
Howard Goldowsky (mail):
Hey, this is a quote I used for my review of Bill Hook's memoir in the July Chess Life. --Howard
6.16.2008 10:44am
Dennis Monokroussos:
If I had known, I probably wouldn't have used it, but my CL is about two thousand miles away.
6.16.2008 1:20pm