Bobby Fischer and Broadway

Famously, in 1972, Bobby Fischer was to fly to Reykjavik to face Boris Spassky in the World Chess Championship. Fischer balked en route and stayed in a friend's Long Island home until he was persuaded (by more money and calls from people like Henry Kissinger) to carry on and fly to Iceland.

Not only did the incident provide some inspiration for the eventual musical Chess, but the home he stayed in was that of his friend Anthony Saidy's family.

Saidy's father Fred co-wrote the libretto for the musical Finian's Rainbow. 



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