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  • Endgame

  • Bobby Fischer’s Remarkable Rise and Fall—from America’s Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness
  • By: Frank Brady
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (175 ratings)
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Endgame cover art

Endgame

By: Frank Brady
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Summary

From Frank Brady, who wrote one of the best-selling books on Bobby Fischer of all time and who was himself a friend of Fischer’s, comes an impressively researched biography that for the first time completely captures the remarkable arc of Bobby Fischer’s life. When Bobby Fischer passed away in January 2008, he left behind a confounding legacy. Everyone knew the basics of his life—he began as a brilliant youngster, then became the pride of American chess, then took a sharp turn, struggling with paranoia and mental illness. But nobody truly understood him.

What motivated Fischer from such a young age, and what was the source of his remarkable intellect? How could a man so ambivalent about money and fame be so driven to succeed? What drew this man of Jewish descent to fulminate against Jews, and how was it that a mind so famously disciplined could unravel so completely? From Fischer’s meteoric rise, to an utterly dominant prime unequaled by any American chess player, to his eventual descent into madness, the book draws upon hundreds of newly discovered documents and recordings and numerous firsthand interviews conducted with those who knew Fischer best. It paints, for the very first time, a complete picture of one of America’s most enigmatic icons. This is the definitive account of a fascinating man and an extraordinary life, one that at last reconciles Fischer’s deeply contradictory legacy and answers the question, who was Bobby Fischer?

©2011 Frank Brady (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“The Mozart of the chessboard is inseparable from the monster of paranoid egotism in this fascinating biography. Brady, founding publisher of Chess Life magazine and a friend of Fischer, gives a richly detailed account of the impoverished Brooklyn wunderkind’s sensational opening…Brady gives us a vivid, tragic narrative of a life that became a chess game.” (Publishers Weekly)

“I learned something new on nearly every page of this wonderful book. Frank Brady is the perfect biographer for Bobby Fischer, and Endgame tells the full and fair story of Fischer’s astonishing rise and heartbreaking fall." (Christopher Chabris, author of The Invisible Gorilla )

“Fischer is America’s greatest antihero. This fascinating biography is filled with hope, Cold War intrigue, the fulfillment of genius, and an explosive fall from grace that is both deeply moving and, ultimately, profoundly sad.” (Jeremy Silman, author of The Amateur’s Mind)

What listeners say about Endgame

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Think chess is boring, not your thing? think again

WOW WHAT A BOOK!!! Who knew that chess could be this fascinating, this intriguing, this messed up? Certainly not me. I believe that everyone and their woman and even their dog needs to listen to this book, EVEN you weeksey
Simply a must be listened to book. One minute you feel sorry for Fischer, the very next second you despise him. Talk about a man who has his finger permanently hovering over the self destruct button. A true story of a true genius and lets face it, we geniuses really must stick together

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It is a great book, I liked it

It is a great book and I learned some new things from it about chess

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Excellent biography, good narration.

Title sums it up. Not a hagiography, critical but respectful, avoiding tabloid like pitfalls. Likely the closest to true account of Bobby Fischers interesting life.

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Entertaining from start to finish

Incredible story with fantastic narration, time well spent. I knew nothing about Bobby Fischer before hand but now I feel like I knew him 😂

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A fantastic book

I have been a chess fan since a boy and was bought Bobby Fischer teaches chess at age five. But after 1972 until Fischer Spassky II and his death in Iceland we knew almost nothing. This filled in all the gaps ans was nicely narrated. Highly recommended

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An Observation

Bobby Fischer was a very private individual and he allowed people he wanted into his life on his terms…
I have listened to this book numerous times and researched Bobby Fischer life and my conclusions are…
Bobby Fischer was and remains an enigma.
He was controversial, he was eccentric, he was troubled, but most of all; he was a chess genius that did business on his terms.
This book presents an observation of Bobby’s life and how he interacted with those that he let interact with him.
Love him or hate him; it’s your choice.
My sentiments are he was an amazing chess player that took on the elite chess players of The World and ultimately won. He overcame the Soviet Chess Cheats and left behind a legacy of chess games for us to learn from.
Get this Audible book and enjoy an observation of one of the greats of chess.
RIP Bobby

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Loved it!

This book is so thoroughly enjoyable that I couldn't stop listening to this phenomenally written story!

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greatest ever chess player?

Listened on audible. Really enjoyed the book and insight into Bobby Fisher. A great summary of his rise and fall.

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I enjoyed it

You have to know a little about Chess to get into it. I enjoyed it a lot over about 4 days....

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Compelling

A journey with a tortured genius that is both fascinating and disturbing. The line between madness and freedom is always blurred in this wonderful biography.

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