A collection of handwritten chess notes from US grandmaster Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) has sold as the leading lot at PFC Auctions' September sale.
The notes, made by Fischer during his victorious appearance at the 1970 Herceg Novi Blitz tournament, sold for £15,901 ($25,796) on September 27.
 The notes of a genius |
The superb performance of the notes is testament to the enduring fascination with Fischer, whose brilliant play, remarkable Cold War contest against Boris Spassky to capture the world title in 1972, and subsequent retirement from the game for more than 20 years, brought him a legion of followers.
Fellow grandmaster Garry Kasparov called him "perhaps the most mythologically shrouded figure in chess".
Featuring 20 sheets of paper containing 36 pages of handwritten chess notes, which detail eight matches from the tournament, the collection is a stunning piece of chess history.
The lot's value was furthered by its impeccable provenance, having originated from the collection of Slobodan Bodo Stojnic, a friend of Fischer who organised the tournament.
The papers came complete with a letter of provenance from Stojnic's son that provides a remarkable insight into the mind of the champion.
As one of a number of chess champions to visit Stojnic's house, his son remembers the occasion Fischer was asked to sign his name on a wall where several other major chess players had added theirs.
"Bobby refused to sign below the others," he states.
"He said 'I AM THE BEST AND I CAN SIGN ONLY ABOVE THE OTHERS'. I then had to take off a few centimetres of wallpaper from the top of the square and Bobby put his signature there."
The result builds on previous strong showings for Fischer memorabilia. In 2009 his personal chess library sold for $61,000, while the chess set used during his 1972 match with Spassky realised $76,275 in 2011.
