How Patti Smith’s midnight encounter with Bobby Fischer sparked an ‘abstract friendship’

In her new book “M Train,” author and rocker Patti Smith writes about her chance encounter with chess legend Bobby Fischer in 2007. Smith told Chief arts and culture correspondent Jeffrey Brown about meeting the reclusive Grandmaster one-on-one one night in Iceland. A huge rock ‘n’ roll fan, Fischer persuaded Smith to stay until dawn singing old rock ‘n’ roll favorites from the The Chi-Lites, the Four Tops and Chuck Berry. “And he was a terrible singer. God bless him,” Smith said. Smith said the two bonded over their love of books, and stayed in touch until Fischer’s death in 2008.