Fun Memory To Have

Of beating Bobby Fischer:

Fischer was fresh off his U.S. Championship when he came to town in 1964, playing a spectacle match against 50 simultaneous opponents. Holgerson, 16 at the time, was among the challengers. He lost his queen, yes, but he ultimately took the match.

"I almost couldn't believe it," he said. "If you're gonna beat Bobby Fischer, that's the way you want to do it."

Holgerson, now 61, knows there's no way he'd have been able to beat him one-on-one, but for a lifelong chess player, beating Bobby Fischer under any circumstances is the greatest claim to fame a guy could have.