Bobby Fischer vs. The Rest of the World

In 1972, an epic chess match took place in Iceland between representatives of the two great super-powers of the world: Bobby vs. Boris.

Boris was backed by the Great Soviet Union, with late night phone calls coming from his handlers in Moscow telling him what his next move should be. Meanwhile, Bobby stood alone against the might of the opposing nation.

But, Bobby was not exactly alone. The Americans did not need to tell him what moves to make on the chessboard. Bobby already knew how to do that. Rather, what the Americans needed to do was somehow get him to sit down at the board and play the game.

Here is the story of that titanic struggle: One half of the world trying to get Bobby to play, while the other half was trying to defeat him assuming that he did play.

Hence the Title: Bobby Fischer vs. The Rest of the World.

In the end, Bobby won. Émigrés from the Soviet Union state that, more than any other single event, this defeat led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The battle was won, not at the chessboard because Bobby was clearly the better player, but in the struggle to get him to the board that is so brilliantly described in this book.