The Chess Mind

Ever since I was interviewed as a teenager by the local paper and saw the "reporter" regularly change and ignore my answers my esteem for the fourth estate has been pretty low, and little I've seen since then has changed my general opinion. (Here's an example from that first interview. Q: Who are some of your idols? A: As a Christian, I don't have idols, but some players whose chess I admire include.... Print version: Some of Dennis' idols include....) It would be unfair to tar all members of the media with the same brush, and I have known and been interviewed by conscientious individuals whose desire for a story doesn't trump the mandate to speak and write the truth and the value of doing good in the world. All too often, though, the story - or ideology - comes first.

I offer this as a preface to an old Dick Schaap story about Bobby Fischer (scroll down that page to find it), which Jim West has kindly transcribed on his blog. Even the article's header is offensive: "Whatever Happened to Bobby Fischer? Our Peripatetic Reporter Pursues an Old Friend". Read the article for yourself, and when you're done, if you pray, thank God that you don't have "friends" like this.

(HT: Brian Karen)