Comments on: Bobby Fischer in Valhalla by Gary Ives

By: internationalshortstories@wordpress.com

internationalshortstories@wordpress.com — Mon, 20 May 2024 16:08:44 +0000

Thanks, Bill.. During my years in the Navy I was stationed for a year (’69-70)at the NATO base in Keflavik. What a fascinating place, and beautiful, proud, sturdy people. With two semesters of Icelandic I was able to navigate all over the place. .Icelanders are wonderful raconteurs – I never tired of coaxing stories from them. Why they accepted Fischer as a resident still puzzles me. Residency permits were extremely rare then. (I suspect some cash went under the table)While I was there Vladimir Ashkenazi, the Soviet pianist, was one of the few foreigners. Like Fischer he was famous, but then he was married to an Icelander. Anyone granted permanent residency then had to change his/her name to conform to Icelandic custom sson/dottir. I always enjoy your stories, Bill and appreciate your comments.

By: Bill Tope

Bill Tope — Sun, 19 May 2024 12:39:51 +0000

I recall very well the (in)famous Spassky/Fischer chess match. I was 18 and, pointedly, had zero skill at chess. However, I knew that the USSR was our sworn enemy and that Bobby could perhaps grab a pound of Russian flesh, which was all good. I knew that Fischer had a reputation as an insufferable prick, but I hadn’t known he was anti-Semitic; I suppose the America press gave him a pass. I r really enjoyed your story, Gary, although it might have gone better with a little more dialogue; but then, I adore dialogue in fiction and not everyone is so inclined. Yoju provided excellent backstory and for a while I got involved in the story and thought perhaps you h ad forgotten about Billy. But no! He came lumbering back and proved his dubious mettle. Thanks for an entertaining story — like all of your fiction — I really enjoyed it.