Knight Raiders Coach Featured in HBO’s ‘Bobby Fischer Against the World’

A friendship based on the bond of chess united world-famous chess champion Bobby Fischer and Texas Tech University’s own Susan Polgar.

After Fischer’s death, HBO premiered “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” a documentary exploring his troubled childhood, chess fame and eventual run-in with the law.

Polgar, Grand Master and Texas Tech Knight Raiders coach, was featured in the HBO production as both an expert chess player and close friend of Fischer.

During the program, Polgar talks about Fischer and their mutual respect for chess. In addition, she provides a five-minute tutorial for individuals unfamiliar with the game, which includes moves, rules and an explanation of each of the pieces.

Polgar said Fischer was a good friend, and she was honored to be part of the film telling his story.

“I think it’s a very well done movie. It covers a lot of key points in Fischer’s life,” Polgar said.

While Polgar loved the story of Fischer’s rise to the top and the formerly unknown pictures and videos in the piece, she hopes to one day make a documentary of her own dedicated to parts of Fischer’s life she feels the HBO producers missed.

“It’s part of the history of chess,” Polgar said. “It was almost a 10-year stretch, most of which he spent in my native country, Hungary. Those times, I was very close to him, and I met him on a regular basis.”

It is something that needs to be done to complete the history of his life, Polgar said.

Polgar’s appearance in “Bobby Fischer Against the World” can be viewed online on the HBO website.