1967 Bobby Fischer won the Monte Carlo event losing only to Geller.
I was playing in the open section, losing games quite quickly, so I had a lot of time to observe the GMs play. Surprisingly you could get very close to the players and quietly watch.
I watched mostly Fischer. Especially great was a bishops of opp colors he won against GM Forintos. One day I was window shopping and happened to bump into the world
renown actor David Niven. I told him how much I admired his work and being the polite English gentleman he was, he asked me what I was doing in Monaco. When he heard I was playing in the big chess tourney he asked if I knew Bobby Fischer. Of course I said yes! He wanted to be introduced. So off we go a few blocks down to the harbor venue.
We approached Fischer. Fischer extended his hand and said to Niven that he never heard of him and thought Hollywood was a load of (deleted). Before Niven could respond Fischer walked off.
He then proceeded to play Geller and lost.
By the way Fischer ignored me completely.
Wonderful (sad) story.
As I’ve previously mentioned, Niven played an Alekhine fan in Stairway to Heaven.
Thanks for the movie citation. How did I miss this movie?
Interesting that you mention Alekhine. That adds to my 6 degrees of separation from Alekhine at this tourney. First meeting Niven and secondly playing an old Belgian master in the open tourney (I lost) named Soultanbeieff who had played Alekhine in the 1930s.
dwl1945
Noticed the Slavic surname and had to look up. Must be this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Soultanbeieff
Fought with “The Black Baron” Wrangel against Bolsheviks and must have stuck with him all the way to Belgium, where Wrangel died in 1928 - fascinating stuff.
That’s the guy! He played at Hastings and many other tourneys in the 30’s and 40s. Later FIDE appointed him as an Int Arbiter and was one of Belgium’s greatest players surpassed only later by O’Kelly de Galway.
dwl1945
Prince Rainier had asked that 2 US GMs be sent to the '67 tourney with the proviso that one of them had to be Fischer. In '68 he again asked for 2 US GMs with the proviso that Fischer not be one of them.
Perhaps he heard what Fischer said to Niven about Hollywood! Niven was a personal friend of Grace Kelly.
I just read a Kasparov interview where he said at 67 MC Tourney Fischer at the award ceremony accepted an envelop with $5000 cash from Princess Grace and actually opened it and counted the money in front of her!