South Florida Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sunday, May 13, 2007 - Page 85
“Seven at one blow:”
We tend to crown our heroes who give superhuman performances. In a well-known Grimms' fairy tale, a tailor bragged that he he knocked down seven at one blow. He meant “flies,” but others thought he meant “foes,” so they made him king. A bowler's dream is to topple all 10 pins with one throw 12 times in a row. For bowling one such “perfect game” in a TV match last year, pro Tony Reyes was awarded a $10,000 bonus. In baseball, pitchers strive to stop batters from getting on base. Doing this against all 27 batters achieves the “perfect game” and a place in history.
Enthronement in Grandmaster (GM) chess can be achieved by winning every game in a major tournament, a tougher fear than the ones mentioned for bowling and baseball stars (and even tailors). Keep in mind that GM's generally take first in major events by winning around a third of their games and drawing most of the rest. This year for instance, former world champion Viswanathan Anand took the super GM event at Linares, Spain, by defeating only four of his 14 foes.
Earlier, in the Corus tournament in the Netherlands, three, including former world champion Veselin Topalov, tied for first with an average of just under five wins apiece in 13 rounds.
Four all-time great world champions have managed total domination of a major event: Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine and Bobby Fischer. Fischer's feat was especially notable since it took place in a U.S. Championship (1963). In his 11-zip shutout, Fischer produced a historical gem, included with this column. A piece down, Fischer made a quiet move, and his opponent resigned, much to the surprise of spectators who thought Fischer was busted. Today's diagram of that position challenges us to solve the mystery.
His secret & his attitude:
“I give 98 percent of my mental energy to chess. Others give only 2 percent…I am the best player in the world and I am here to prove it!”