I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse

by Bobby Fischer

Gli anni Duemila hanno portato una rivoluzione negli studi su Bobby Fischer grazie alle indagini di Peter Nicholas e Clea Benson, i due giornalisti del The Philadephia Inquirer che hanno individuato in Paul Nemenyi il vero padre del più grande scacchista di tutti i tempi. Riletto alla luce delle nuove informazioni in nostro possesso, il celebre testo scritto dal campione americano in occasione del suo arresto a Pasadena nel maggio del 1982, e che qui viene presentato per la prima volta in lingua italiana, acquista un sapore tutto nuovo - oltre a fornire molte risposte alle numerose domande sul perché dei bizzarri comportamenti del suo autore. Nel suo saggio introduttivo, Yuri Garrett, dopo aver presentato le coinvolgenti figure dei genitori - la geniale e scomoda Regina e il grande fisico Paul, coinvolto nel Manhattan Project analizza il testo alla ricerca dei germi di quella follia paranoide e antisociale che avrebbe caratterizzato gli ultimi anni di vita dell'uomo che vinse da solo la Guerra Fredda.

Genres: Chess

14 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty wild account of a paranoid man's confrontation with suburban police.

[Angus McKeogh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew this couldn’t get to 5 stars just based on the length, but beyond that it was a truly fascinating piece. If you’re familiar with Bobby Fischer (World Chess Champion and single-handed scourge of the Soviet Union’s dominance in that arena) and his mental illness and breakdown, this pamphlet is a relentless descent into his paranoia and sickness. Police brutality or utter nutter?

[Nick]

The charge that I destroyed the mattress is totally laughable because the mattress was my only chance to even partially try to get out of the cold, dankness and draftiness. It would have made absolutely no sense whatever for me to destroy it.
However, I would add that in order to save my life from the freezing cold I would have been fully justified in destroying one or even a thousand of those mattresses, or even destroying the entirety of the prison. If one is allowed to kill in self defense, how much more should he be allowed to destroy a cheap prison mattress to save his life. Although I reiterate I did not destroy said mattress or anything else in the jailhouse.
On numerous occasions I was threatened with being sent to a mental hospital for observation. I was told if I didn't stop screaming they were going to come into the cell and stuff a towel or rag in my mouth to shut me up. I told the jailer if he did I would smash his blankety-blank head off. I also added that I hadn't eaten all day.

Here is the self-published pamphlet of chess prodigy Bobby Fischer, written in the mid-80's after being detained for two days by Pasadena authorities. After soundly defeating the Russian Boris Spassky in a 1972 match (aiding the US in the Cold War - chess is a big deal in Russia), Fischer pretty much fell off the face of the Earth for twenty years, nursing his paranoia and militant anti-Semitism. This is a document of the former.

You can see the same sensitivity to light and sound which made Fischer a diva of the chess world, repeatedly storming out of matches over harsh lighting; here, street noise is considered to be "at a Decibel level so loud as to cause permanent hearing damage." Fischer's hyperbole is laughable but more sad. A true genius destroyed by mental illness. It seems there are few biographies of the man, which surprises me, because he is fascinating.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pamphlet written by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer when he was picked up by the Pasadena Calif. police in May 1981 and subjected to some rough treatment. If everything Fischer says in I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse is true -- and I have no reason to think it isn't -- what he describes is an indictment of the way police treat suspected criminals.

Supposedly, Fischer was stopped because a bank robbery had just happened and he vaguely looked like the offender. In all honesty, he was going through a period in his life when he was beset by some serious attitude problems. During his brief incarceration, the police kept talking about sending him to a mental institution.

But that's no excuse for keeping him freezing, naked, and incommunicado for 2-3 days with the absolute minimum food or water.