Boris Spasski, left, and Bobby Fischer face off. I found Fischer to be more normal than I expected him to be. If you take his most extreme pronouncements and put together a picture of who he is, you've got a crazy man. But most of the time he was insightful and interesting to listen to. He was a very intense tennis player, playing every day at the tournament. Spasski is a gentleman. He's calm, polite to all, professorial.