The Manhattan Chess Club was Fischer’s home club. WNET Channel 13 in New York broadcast the match, with move by move coverage and analysis from grandmasters at the club.
I had two chess sets at the time, so I hauled them out. Ii kept one set to wherever the match between Fischer and Spassky was and used the other for analysis, to see if I could figure out strategies. I got one of Fischer’s game-winning moves two moves before he made it. (The high point for me as far as chess is concerned.)
That was actually entertaining TV, and when Spassky resigned, they had quite a moment there at the Manhattan Chess Club.
Wow, and you anticipated Fischer's game-winning moves. Outstanding. So you were an excellent player.
I read much of Fischer's Wikipedia page and learned so much. What struck me most was a radio interview he did in 2006 when he was living in Iceland. He gave a very perceptive view on Chess in the computer age:
So if you just brought them back from the dead they might not do too well, because they'd get bad openings. You cannot compare the playing strength, you can only talk about natural ability, because now there is so much more opening theory, so much more memorization. Memorization is enormously powerful.
Some kid of fourteen today, or even younger, could get the opening advantage against Capablanca, or especially against the players of the previous century, like Morphy and Steinitz, easily. Maybe they'd still be able to outplay the young kid of today, but maybe not.
Nowadays when you get the opening advantage, not only do you get the opening advantage, but you know how to play the opening advantage – they have so many examples of what to do from this position.
So it's really deadly, it is very deadly... that's why I don't like chess anymore... It's all just memorization and prearrangement, it's a terrible game now. A very un-creative game now.