PRESS RELEASE 3
27 January 2016
Fischer ‘most charismatic player ever’
Leontxo Garcia, leading chess journalist and El Pais columnist, believes Bobby Fischer was one of the
most charismatic chess players ever. Yesterday, ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Tradewise
Gibraltar International Chess Festival, he gave a talk on one of the biggest names in the history of chess
with enormous personal insight having met him on several occasions.
He was a genius, he began. Born in Chicago his career was extraordinary since the age of 13.
Although there is no proof, he suggested, Fischer’s IQ could possibly have been higher than Einstein’s. His
comments were made to an enthusiastic audience of chess players many of whom had a story to tell on
Fischer.
For Fischer chess was his life 100%. He once said "chess is life” and there was never a time when he was
not thinking about chess.
Garcia described Fischer as being an example of something “we should never allow our children to
become because there has to be a balance in life and children need to have a high quality education.”
His most important contribution, he said, were “his works of art” on the chess board.
Leontxo Garcia is a great supporter of the Tradewise International Chess Festival, this year in his daily
column in El Pais he is reporting on the Gibraltar Masters on a daily basis.
Every day there are organised social events which form part of the festival.
Alice Mascarenhas, John Saunders and Leontxo Garcia, Tradewise Press Chess Officers
[email protected] | www.gibraltarchesscongress.com
Steve Connor, Webmaster.
All 2016 Tradewise Festival reports are also on our Facebook page. Follow us
on Twitter @GibraltarChess #TGCF or @Stuthefox with TD Stuart Conquest.