Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Sliding Doors

[...] I did not have a formal interview with Fischer. It couldn’t have been, because at the time I didn’t even think I was going to be a journalist. It was an afternoon in 1966, when we talked in the lobby of the Hotel Habana Libre, venue of the 17th Chess Olympiad. Fischer was 23 years old and I was 14.
It was a rest day and Robert Fischer was walking along with his teammates. It was not the first time that I watched him so close, but it was the first time outside of a chess hall. He was just walking.
I said to myself “now or never!” and went over to ask for an autograph. Fischer was in high spirits and elegantly dressed in a blue suit tailored for his slim body. Not only he signed his autograph, but he also asked me questions, in Spanish, and we talked for about 15 minutes, maybe more. [Read more].

Fischer kibitzing in the game between Fidel Castro and Filiberto Terrazas. Photo courtesy of Cubaperiodistas.

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