Video Spotlight

Hosted by
Mark Donlan

Welcome to the ChessCafe.com Video Spotlight. Each Wednesday and Saturday we will feature a chess related video for your entertainment.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video may well be worth ten thousand. Here we present a video excerpt of Harry Benson's Bobby Fischer. Benson's rare, exclusive photos were taken during Fischer's training and preparation for the 1972 championship match right through to his historic victory in Iceland.

Benson's photos introduce us to the human side of Fischer like never before. We see Fischer training, at play, exercising, relaxing, even nude in the shower. The content is divided into the following sections: Buenos Aires, Grossinger's, and Iceland. The latter section also includes many photos of Spassky, various seconds, and the tournament venue.

Beyond the photos there are anecdotes and back-stories about Benson's meetings with Fischer. For instance, when analyzing an adjourned position in Iceland, we learn that Fischer invited each of the available grandmasters into his room and asked them to make a move. One by one he dismissed them until there was no one left. Fischer, however, said "Yes there is, there's Harry." Everyone laughed at the joke, but Fischer was serious. He then made the photographer sit down and play a move, which of course was one that no one else had considered, given that Benson did not know how to play!

Benson's remarkable access and candid photographs make this coffee-table-sized book a prized collector's edition.

Bobby Fischer: A Video Review

Previous Videos (in order of appearance)

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• ECC 2008 Interview with Michael Adams
• Chess Fever
• Korchnoi Defeated by Cow
• Press Conference: Radjabov-Cheparinov
• Interview with Magnus Carlsen
• Tribute to IM Bob Wade
• Donaldson on Dresden
• Anand Returns to Hero's Welcome
• Bologan - Bacrot, World Rapid Cup
• Karpov - Kasparov, Seville (23), 1987
• Interview with Pavel Tregubov
• World Chess Boxing Championships
• Chess 960 Rapid World Championship
• Denker vs. Fine
• Interview with Alex Dunne
• Frost Interviews Kasparov
• Interview with Vlastimil Hort
• Underwater Chess
• Bobby Fischer Documentary, Part One
• Bobby Fischer Documentary, Part Two
• Bobby Fischer Documentary, Part Three
• Bobby Fischer Documentary, Part Four
• Bobby Fischer Documentary, Part Five
• Bruce Pandolfini on Chess Now
• Taimanov Plays Rachmaninoff
• The Lucena Position
• Skripchenko - Kosteniuk, Golden Blitz
• Seirawan on Bronstein
• Press Conference: Linares 2008
• Kamsky - Topalov, Game 4
• Conquest - Arkell, Playoff Game 2
• Maurice Ashley on Chess
• Linares Impressions, Round Nine
• Interview with Teimour Radjabov
• Topalov - Kramnik, Corus 2008, Part One
• Topalov - Kramnik, Corus 2008, Part Two
• Viktor Korchnoi, My Life for Chess
• Seirawan Chess
• The Philidor Position
• Anatoly Karpov
• Bashing the Sicilian
• Sam Loyd Chess Puzzle
• Garry Kasparov: World Editors Forum
• Radjabov-Smeets
• My Brilliant Brain
• 2008 Women's World Championship
• Chess Rumble
• Shulman-Ivanov, Foxwoods 2008
• Mikhail Botvinnik
• Mikhail Tal, World Champion
• Kasparov & Deep Blue
• Botvinnik - Smyslov, 1954
• US Chess Championship, Round 6 Wrap Up
• Botvinnik - Petrosian, 1963, Part One
• Botvinnik - Petrosian, 1963, Part Two
• Botvinnik - Petrosian, 1963, Part Three
• Botvinnik - Petrosian, 1963, Part Four
• Spassky - Petrosian, 1966
• Chess for Tigers: A Book Review
• Interview with WIM Carolina Blanco
• Peter Svidler's Press Conference: Corus 2007, Part One
• Peter Svidler's Press Conference: Corus 2007, Part Two
• Peter Svidler's Press Conference: Corus 2007, Part Three
• Interview with NM Martirosov and GM Christiansen
• The Luzhin Defense
• Shirov: My Best Games in the Spanish
• Paulsen-Morphy, New York 1857
• Endgames for Experts
• Reykjavik Open 2008
• 4NCL British Team Chess League
• Interview with Judit Polgar
• The Knockout Nimzo
• Interview with Fabiano Caruana
• Interview with Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu
• Dückstein - Petrosian, 1962, Part One
• Dückstein - Petrosian, 1962, Part Two
• Dückstein - Petrosian, 1962, Part Three
• Dückstein - Petrosian, 1962, Part Four
• Vallejo Pons at the Bundesliga
• Blindfold Endgame: Carlsen-Topalov
• Daniel King: Power Play
• Fischer visits the Philippines, 1967
• Fischer visits the Philippines, 1973
• Interview with Peter Leko
• Bishop and Knight Mate, Part One
• Bishop and Knight Mate, Part Two
• Bishop and Knight Mate, Part Three
• Bishop and Knight Mate, Part Four
• Bishop and Knight Mate, Part Five
• Bishop and Knight Mate, Part Six
• Norwood-Marsh, 1992
• Chess Exercises 1, Piece Mobility
• Chess at Café Commercial
• Interview with Alfonso Romero
• Vladimir Kramnik: My Path to the Top
• Bobby Fischer: Anything to Win, Part One
• Bobby Fischer: Anything to Win, Part Two
• Bobby Fischer: Anything to Win, Part Three
• Bobby Fischer: Anything to Win, Part Four
• Bobby Fischer: Anything to Win, Part Five
• Betty Boop: Chess Nuts (1932)
• Playing in the Dark: A Collision of Art and Chess
• Kings of Brownsville
• Kasparov-Karpov, Seville (24), 1987
• Kasparov-Karpov, Seville (5), 1987
• Carlsen - Grischuk, World Blitz Championship 2009
• Carlsen - Karjakin, World Blitz Championship 2009
• Paul Keres on Estonian TV
• Kosteniuk - Calzetta, Novi Sad 2009
• Sutovsky - Kosteniuk, Tal Memorial 2006
• Marcel Duchamp: In His Own Words, Part One
• Marcel Duchamp: In His Own Words, Part Two
• Marcel Duchamp: In His Own Words, Part Three
• Nigel Davies: Pirc Defence
• Andrew Martin: The Trompowsky
• The Improving Chess Thinker
• Kasparov vs. Karpov, Lyon 1990
• Carlsen-Nakamura, London 2009
• Reggio Emilia 2010
• Kosteniuk Beats Carlsen
• Mikhail Tal Blindfold Simul
• Copenhagen Blitz 2009: Berg-Dreev
• Henrique Mecking: Mequinho
• Fischer-Berliner: Alekhine's Defense
• Boris Spassky Simul & Interview
• The Story of I.S. 318
• 2010 Gibraltar Chess Festival
• GM Evgeny Sveshnikov in Palermo
• The Petroff Defense
• Kosteniuk & Skripchenko in Brussels
• Campomanes on the 1985 Termination
• The US Amateur Team East
• Interview Veselin Topalov
• Greensboro Hosts Youth Chess Tournament
• GM Maurice Ashley on CBS, WTVR
• The Growing Game of Chess
• Anand: "Learn from your mistakes"
• Carlsen Bounces Back
• Isaac Kashdan: You Bet Your Life
• Alabama Team Chess Championship
• Mojave: Lights Out (Earth Hour)
• Chess Tourney Draws World's Best
• Developing Chess Talent
• Norfolk Police Chess Initiative
• Maine senior heads to Denker
• Los Angeles Chessboxing Club
• Chess Team Places Fourth at Nationals
• Chess Matches for Charity
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• Students face off in chess challenge
• Be Someone
• Attacking a Castled King
• Big Chess Match At Harmony Science Academy
• U.S. Chess Champion Makes St. Louis Home
• Still World Champion: Viswanathan Anand
• America's Chess Capital
• Chess Champion Plays Against Students
• Anand Returns to a Hero's Welcome
• St. Louisan Dethroned As National Chess Champion
• Viswanathan Anand Interview
• Human Chess Played By Grand Masters
• Garry Kasparov: Oslo Freedom Forum 2010
• Chessboxing at UW
• Chess Boxing And Other 'Sports From Hell'
• Bobby Fischer to be Exhumed
• The Grandmaster of Indian Sports
• 2010 Las Vegas Chess Festival
• Karpov's Chess Confessions
• King’s Tournament Round Ten
• Chess Chat
• Paul Morphy Vs. Henri Baucher, 1858
• Blindfolded Speed Chess
• U.S. Women's Championship
• Anand - Topalov, Game Four
• Kasparov vs. Short on the BBC
• Interview with the U.S. Junior Champion
• Interview with Jacob Aagaard
• Evans Gambit Opening
• Genius in the Background
• Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov
• New York on the Clock
• A Gender Divide In The Ultimate Sport Of The Mind
• Solar Roadways: The Prototype
• Chess Tournament in Downtown Fresno
• Schools Recognize Benefits of Chess
• Coffee Shop Chess King
• The Secret to Chess
• Kasparov vs. Karpov, Lyon (20) 1990
• Battle vs. Chess Trailer
• Attacking Game by Bent Larsen
• A Tribute to Bent Larsen
• Women's World Blitz Chess Championship
• Krush-Kosteniuk, Moscow 2010
• European Club Cup Eilat 2012
• Video Lecture with GM Ben Finegold
• One Right Move
• Endgame Study Database IV
• National Chess Day Celebration
• Q & A with Amanda Mateer
• Chess Used To Teach Kids Life Lesson
• Old game teaches kids new lessons
• Garry Kasparov: The Film
• South Carolina Chess Exhibition
• Interview with GM Giovanni Vescovi
• Utahn #2 player in the world
• Chess Champ Cao is World Class
• Maurice Ashley Interview
• UT Dallas Chess Program
• Men Ticketed For Playing Chess
• Authors@Google: Garry Kasparov
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• Chess Master Takes On Bullying
• In Memoriam: GM Bent Larsen
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• Can Chess Checkmate Alzheimer's?
• David MacEnulty on CBS News
• Chess Olympiads: Past & Presents
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• Basketball Is Like a Game of Chess
• The Master Game: Short vs. Miles
• Akiva Rubinstein and Polish Chess, Part One
• Akiva Rubinstein and Polish Chess, Part Two
• Akiva Rubinstein and Polish Chess, Part Three
• University Interscholastic League Competition
• GM Paul Keres: The Crown Prince of Chess
• Anand vs. Wang Hao, Wijk aan Zee 2011
• Carlsen vs. Nakamura, Wijk aan Zee 2011
• Nakamura vs. Vachier-Lagrave, Wijk aan Zee 2011
• Malcolm Pein Chess Podcast
• Know the Terrain
• The Troubled Genius of Bobby Fischer
• Arden Cahill Live Chess Game
• Chess Gaining Popularity in Schools
• St. Louisan Wins International Tournament
• Chess Champ Takes on City Hall
• Lipstick Checkmate
• Lecture Video with Jennifer Shahade
• State Chess Tournament Wraps Up In Twin Falls
• Chess: The Song!
• The "LeBron James of Chess"
• State chess tournament heats up in Jackson
• Chess teaches kids to make life decisions
• Interview with Anatoly Karpov
• Anatoly Karpov: The Movie
• Lewis Chessmen Touring in 2010
• Chess Master Challenge Pits 15 vs. 1
• RI Scholastic Chess Championship 2011
• Knights of the McRound Table
• Chess Gains Popularity in City School
• School Students Advance in Chess Competition
• To Chess Lady, game is more than fun
• Vermont State Scholastic Chess Championships
• Grandmasters Teach At Risk Kids
• Massachusetts State Chess Champions
• Chessboxing: Brain vs. Pain Prematch
• Magic City Chess is our Spirit of Alabama Report
• Chess Me Out
• Rossolimo: Chess Artist, Part One
• Rossolimo: Chess Artist, Part Two
• World's Best Battle in Saint Louis
• Nakamura, Robson Pull Away in Round Six
• Shuttle Astronauts Play Chess
• Math, Science, English, and Chess?
• Chess Champ 'Against The World'
• James, The Chess Champ
• Interview with Viswanathan Anand
• The 24th Leon Masters
• Interview with Anish Giri
• Chess Champ Triumphs Over Adversities
• Coquille Chess Club
• The Value of Mental Toughness
• Petrosian-Stean, 1975
• Chess Champs Rise From Migrant Worker Community
• Bobby Fischer: A Video Review

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