Chess Explorations (79)
By Edward Winter
As recorded in our Factfinder,
a number of C.N. items have examined the books of David DeLucia, which are based
on his unique collection of chess memorabilia. The previous
Chess Explorations article discussed the offhand game between Capablanca
and Tartakower played in Paris in the late 1930s, and now we turn to Mr DeLucia’s
Fischer material, as featured in In Memoriam (Darien, 2012) and, in particular,
in the earlier volume Bobby Fischer Uncensored. Regarding the Fischer
monograph, C.N. 6189 reported:
One of the most extraordinary of all chess books has just been published:
Bobby Fischer Uncensored by David and Alessandra DeLucia (Darien, 2009).
A richly-illustrated 394-page hardback of supreme quality, it presents hundreds
of items from David DeLucia’s collection of Fischer material, including photographs,
game-scores, correspondence, contracts, books and ephemera ...
Numerous illustrations are of books and other publications owned by Fischer,
including such titles as The White Man’s Bible, The World Conspiracy
and The Myth of the Six Million. His personal notebooks are also reproduced,
and it would be impossible to overstate the anti-Semitism with which they
are suffused. ‘Hitler was right about the Jews: They want to steal everything
I’ve worked for all of my life’ (page 244). On page 285 another note, dated
21 May 1999, is also typical: ‘It’s time for programs against Jews and it’s
also time for vigilante killings of Jews – random killings of Jews.’ Page
301 has a draft letter which begins:
‘Dear Mr Osama bin Laden allow me to introduce myself. I am Bobby Fischer,
the World Chess Champion. First of all you should know that I share your
hatred of ...’, etc., etc.
Mr DeLucia presents such material without editorial comment, rightly leaving
readers to supply their own revulsion. Fortunately, though, the book contains
much chess material too ...
Also regarding Hitler there exists a ten-page letter which Fischer wrote to Pal Benko
on 26 February 1979. With Mr DeLucia’s permission we have just made the full text available on the Chess Notes website.
Above is the front cover of Fischer’s copy of Mein Kampf. We also reproduce
his draft letter to Osama bin Laden:
Click to enlarge
Fischer’s chess set, clock and cat are shown in this photograph:
An example of the many game-scores in Fischer’s own hand is the following,
from the 1965 Capablanca Memorial tournament:
Another document shows Fischer’s corrections to the galley proofs of My
60 Memorable Games:
Click to enlarge
The next item was signed by both Fischer and Spassky:
One final illustration here is a passport issued in 1987:
As mentioned in C.N. 7537, the two-volume set In Memoriam by David DeLucia
has been published in a limited edition of 150 copies. There is much Fischer content. The set can be bought either
direct from Mr DeLucia (we gladly pass on enquiries from readers who supply their full
postal address – and it may be added that some copies of Bobby Fischer Uncensored
are also still available) or from the Caissa
Editions Bookstore. At that website, Dale Brandreth, a leading chess bibliophile,
provides his assessment of In Memoriam, with many justified superlatives.
It is truly a phenomenal production.
Note: the copyright to all the above Fischer material belongs to David DeLucia,
who has generously made it available for reproduction in, exclusively, this
ChessBase article.
Submit information
or suggestions on chess explorations
All ChessBase articles
by Edward Winter
Edward Winter is the editor of Chess
Notes, which was founded in January 1982 as "a forum for aficionados
to discuss all matters relating to the Royal Pastime". Since then, over 7,540
items have been published, and the series has resulted in four books by Winter:
Chess
Explorations (1996), Kings,
Commoners and Knaves (1999), A
Chess Omnibus (2003) and Chess
Facts and Fables (2006). He is also the author of a monograph on Capablanca
(1989). In 2011 a paperback
edition was issued.
Chess Notes is well known for its historical research, and anyone browsing
in its archives
will find a wealth of unknown games, accounts of historical mysteries, quotes
and quips, and other material of every kind imaginable. Correspondents from
around the world contribute items, and they include not only "ordinary readers"
but also some eminent historians – and, indeed, some eminent masters. Chess
Notes is located at the Chess
History Center. Signed copies of Edward Winter's publications are
currently available.
