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Chess Legend and Eccentric Bobby Fischer Dies
January 22, 2008 10:39 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Chess prodigy Bobby Fischer dies at the age of 64 in Iceland. His off-the-board antics often overshadowed his sporting prowess.
30-Second Summary
Former chess world champion Bobby Fischer died of kidney failure on Thursday, Jan. 17, in a hospital in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.
Showing exceptional promise as a chess player from his elementary school years onward, he dropped out of high school to focus exclusively on the game. At age 14, he became the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Championship.
But it was his victorious World Championship match in 1972 against Russia’s Boris Spassky that would remain etched in the minds of the West, which was then in the grip of the Cold War.
U.K. paper The Daily Telegraph's obituary called Fischer “an unrelenting purist, whose game was founded upon a mathematical simplicity and logic, Fischer was unarguably the finest player of his generation, perhaps of all time.”
In his last 30-odd years, it was Fischer’s eccentricities that drew him the most attention. His political views and behavior became so extreme that he was invited onto a Manila radio station for the sheer entertainment value of allowing him to let off steam.
The Atlantic detailed his typical behavior once given a public podium. After his trademark karaoke interlude, he typically blasted his perceived persecution “by world Jewry” and spout his belief that “the U.S. government is a ‘brutal, evil dictatorship’ that has falsely accused Bobby Fischer of a crime and forced him to live in exile.”
Fischer, who was prone to anti-Semitic and anti-American diatribes, thumbed his nose at the West when he played Spassky in a 1992 rematch in Yugoslavia, in contravention of sanctions against then President Slobodan Milosevic.
News network Russia Today points out an irrefutable fact: regardless of Bobby Fischer’s personal shortcomings, he remains “America’s first and only world chess champion."
Showing exceptional promise as a chess player from his elementary school years onward, he dropped out of high school to focus exclusively on the game. At age 14, he became the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Championship.
But it was his victorious World Championship match in 1972 against Russia’s Boris Spassky that would remain etched in the minds of the West, which was then in the grip of the Cold War.
U.K. paper The Daily Telegraph's obituary called Fischer “an unrelenting purist, whose game was founded upon a mathematical simplicity and logic, Fischer was unarguably the finest player of his generation, perhaps of all time.”
In his last 30-odd years, it was Fischer’s eccentricities that drew him the most attention. His political views and behavior became so extreme that he was invited onto a Manila radio station for the sheer entertainment value of allowing him to let off steam.
The Atlantic detailed his typical behavior once given a public podium. After his trademark karaoke interlude, he typically blasted his perceived persecution “by world Jewry” and spout his belief that “the U.S. government is a ‘brutal, evil dictatorship’ that has falsely accused Bobby Fischer of a crime and forced him to live in exile.”
Fischer, who was prone to anti-Semitic and anti-American diatribes, thumbed his nose at the West when he played Spassky in a 1992 rematch in Yugoslavia, in contravention of sanctions against then President Slobodan Milosevic.
News network Russia Today points out an irrefutable fact: regardless of Bobby Fischer’s personal shortcomings, he remains “America’s first and only world chess champion."
Headline Links: ‘An unrelenting purist’
British paper The Daily Telegraph publishes a warts-and-all obituary of the departed chess phenomenon. “An unrelenting purist, whose game was founded upon a mathematical simplicity and logic, Fischer was unarguably the finest player of his generation, perhaps of all time,” writes the Telegraph. It continues, “If Fischer’s behavior, which was often boorish and outrageously egotistical, seemed at times to border on lunacy, it may have sprung from his obsessive concern with tiny details, which seemed to prevent him from seeing an overall picture."
Source: The Daily Telegraph
On Jan. 17, asocial chess champion Bobby Fischer died of kidney failure at a hospital in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. He was granted refugee status in the Scandinavian island nation in 2005 on the grounds that he was being persecuted for his political views. The chess champion renounced his American citizenship after charges were brought against him for breaking U.S. sanctions when he played a rematch against Boris Spassky in Milosevic-era Yugoslavia in 1992.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion & Analysis: ‘America’s first and only world chess champion’
English-language news channel Russia Today calls Fischer, “America’s first and only world chess champion.” The obituary also notes that he violated sanctions against President Slobodan Milosevic when he played his rematch against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia in 1992.
Source: Russia Today
A 2002 article in The Atlantic details Fischer’s periodic ranting on Manila radio station DZSR Sports Radio. Often opening with a sing-along to classic R&B records, Fischer then launched into a rant against his perceived enemies. Fischer's would claim to be "persecuted by world Jewry." He would say that "the U.S. government is a ‘brutal, evil dictatorship’ that has falsely accused Bobby Fischer of a crime and forced him to live in exile; and that he has been swindled out of a ‘vast fortune’ in royalties by book publishers, movie studios, and clock manufacturers, who have brazenly pilfered his brand name, patents, and copyrights."
Source: The Atlantic
The Wall Street Journal obituary traces the trajectory of Fischer's life and career, from its meteoric beginnings through early and steep decline. Brian M. Carney writes, "For the last 30-odd years of his life, Bobby Fischer was the chess world's mad uncle, an embarrassment to be apologized for, belittled or ignored."
Source: The Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required)
Reference Material: The life of a chess king
Frank Brady’s “Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy” delves into the chess champion’s tortured personality and extraordinary skill.
Source: findingDulcinea’s Bookstore
Related Topics: Susan Polgar's blog
Grandmaster Susan Polgar is one of the most esteemed female chess players in the game's history. Born in Hungary, she now lives in Queens, New York, where she devotes most of her time to promotional activities for chess and education. Her blog is regularly updated and carries news covering a variety of subjects relating to the game, including Bobby Fishcer's death.
Source: Susan Polgar's blog
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