Fischer, Kasparov and the Others

Purchase this, this book direct from the author for $12.95 (postage included). Mail check to Don Schultz, 3201 South Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach, FL 33487

According to the Boston Globe, "Fischer Kasparov and the Others" is the best chronicle of international chess that they have encountered. It is the award winning memoirs of Chessdon's 45 years in organized chess.

It is two stories melded into one. First it is about the chess people - the players, the officials and the organizers with major focus on the powerful, charismatic personalities of World Champions Bobby Fischer Garry Kasparov and the controversial Honorary President of the World Chess Federation Florencio Campomanes of the Philippines. The second story reveals the darker side of international sports competitions - the manipulation of sports by despots for propaganda purposes.

Figures on the world stage such as Saddam Hussein, Ferdinand Marcos, Margaret Thatcher, Jacques Chirac, Fidel Castro, Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (the crown Prince of the United Arab Republic) come and go always with a Schultz anecdotal story ranging from the humorous to the ominous. Behind the scenes commentary on a defection, seduction by a KGB agent for blackmail purposes, that mystery object in the chair of the famous Fischer/Spassky match, a missing group of Belgium tourists, warnings by a high Soviet leader to eastern block countries, and the chess world's version of shuttle diplomacy, a plan which almost succeeded and could have had a wide positive impact on Israeli/Arab relations and more.

There is the positive impact of chess spreading throughout the education systems of third world countries. Substitute substitute soccer, gymnastics, swimming, weight lifting, etc. for chess and you will find similar stories of the good, the bad and the ugly. "Fischer Kasparov and the Others" is an easy read; you will be hard to put the book down once you begin to read it.

It starts with introducing the president of the World Chess, Federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who  is also President of Kalmykia, a republic of Russian located on the Caspian Sea adjacent to Chechnya. Kalmykia is inhabited by 350,000 Russian citizens of Mongolian descent. Barely known, Kalmykia may have the world's largest reservoirs of natural gas. Ilyumzhinov is either a great chess philanthropist or a despot traveling the world while most Kalmykians live an impoverished life. Read the book and decide for yourself.

Table of Contents

The Manipulators 8

Square One 11

A Few Good Moves 25

Bobby Fischer versus the Evil Empire 36

Paris? Oui! 50

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 67

Campo-Kann 77

Dubai Olympiad 92

Troubled Times 110

Chess Children 127

Tournaments and Matches 143

Tough Times for FIDE 160

The USCF Presidency 186

The Journey Continues 197

Epilogue 219

Index 222