Fischer vs Reshevsky, the Memory Game

     Samuel Reshevsky was a prodigy and for a time was one of the best players in the world, but that’s about where his comparison to Bobby Fischer ended. 
     In his autobiography My Life, Games and Compositions Pal Benko claimed Reshevsky had a bad memory. 
     As a child Reshevsky underwent intelligence testing in Berlin in 1920 by Dr. Franziska Baumgarten who wrote a report in Chess magazine in 1939. It’s quite possible Reshevsky was actually ten years old and not eight-and-a-half as it was believed at the time. Also, in fairness it has been questioned whether or not the tests were conducted in his native language. 
     On the tests Reshevsky failed to recognize a lion, monkey, tiger, camel, or fox and he called the wolf a dog and the bat a bird. When shown a mushroom, he identified it as chocolate and he identified a head of cabbage as a tree. 
     Additionally, he was not able to draw anything and he could not even copy simple geometric forms correctly. He knew the day of the week, but not what month it was. Nor did he know the names of simple colors like red, yellow and blue. In arithmetic, he was below standard for his age and did not know what the number “zero” was. 
     Reshevsky did score well on tests on spatial visualization and according to the article, it was on memory tests that he showed extraordinary proficiency. He was allowed four minutes to examine 40 figures drawn on a sheet of paper. He was able to restate the figures in the correct order without a single mistake. 
     In 1968 in the Candidates Quarterfinal Reshevsky had a playoff match with Hort and Korchnoi with Benko acting as his second. While they were preparing, Benko visited Reshevsky’s home in Spring Valley, New York and upon arrival asked Reshevsky where his chess books were. To Benko’s surprise, Reshevsky only owned three or four and they were the ones that he had written. 
     According to Benko, Reshevsky’s problem was that he had a terrible memory. Benko told how they would study openings all day and by evening Reshevsky had forgotten everything they had studied. That’s why he was never able to learn openings in depth and always used a lot of time in the openings. 

     Also, unlike Fischer, Reshevsky couldn't remember his own games.  Benko once showed Reshevsky a game and asked what he thought of it. Reshevsky replied that the players weren’t very good...it was one of his own games. 
     Fischer was different. He read every chess publication he could get his hands, had an encyclopedic opening knowledge and an incredible ability to remember his own games. In this tournament Fischer not only showed excellent opening knowledge, but also demonstrated outstanding endgame skills. 
     Going into the 1958-59 event Fischer wasn’t the lone favorite as Benko and Reshevsky were also given good chances of winning. However, defending champ Fischer started with 4 out of 5 (+3 -0 =2) and then in round six he met Reshevsky. 
     Fischer had white and his opening knowledge paid off when he followed a recommendation he had discovered in a Russian chess magazine. He scored an easy win because Reshevsky didn’t know the line, missed a trap and was lost after 11 moves.