English Chess Forum

https://slate.com/culture/2024/03/women ... -lane.html

From another time. An immature Fischer claimed he could give knight odds to all women players. That wasn't true when he said it, certainly in the Soviet Union.

"They're all weak, all women - they lose every single game against a man".

Even at the time that wasn't true, but these days it sounds positively prehistoric.

Nona G of course took up Bobby's "offer", and (strangely enough) that was the last anybody heard of it.

On this side of the pond, Lisa made the headlines when she withdrew from the 1961-62 Hastings Congress, declaring she was in love.

Roland Kensdale wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:37 pm

An immature Fischer claimed he could give knight odds to all women players. That wasn't true when he said it, certainly in the Soviet Union.

Fischer to Cathy Forbes in 1992, when asked on another of his female quotes:
“A lot of these quotes about me are not correct. Quotes of things I said”.

I have assembled a collection of images of Lisa from the BCN archives and placed them

here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishchess

Paul Heaton wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 22, 2024 1:29 pm

Roland Kensdale wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:37 pm

An immature Fischer claimed he could give knight odds to all women players. That wasn't true when he said it, certainly in the Soviet Union.

Fischer to Cathy Forbes in 1992, when asked on another of his female quotes:
“A lot of these quotes about me are not correct. Quotes of things I said”.

That is true, but he did say some pretty outrageous things beyond much question - even in his younger, relatively sane years.

An obituary of Lisa Lane appears in today's Times, including a photo of her playing Fischer. One additional fact I hadn't noticed in previous accounts was that when she was a student, driving her mother's car, she struck and killed an elderly pedestrian. This was deemed not her fault and she wasn't charged, but it sent her into a deep depression. Her husband for fifty-five years, Neil Hickey, died less than one week after her.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/07e4 ... 80487cc771

Lisa Lane appeared on 'What's My Line' in 1961

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EDpxRF1fYA

She beat the panel.
Abe Burrows; "....we were very snobbish, because she is so pretty we ruled out anything intellectual." (laughter)
A quip which today that may have caused a mini storm on social media.