Biography
American chess grand master, a
child prodigy who began learning chess at age 6 and began competing in
chess tournaments at age 10. He won his first Class A championship at
age 14 in 1957 and went on later that year to win the 1957-58 US
Championship. He became the World Chess Champ by defeating Russia's
Boris Spassky on September 2, 1972 in the midst of the Cold War. After
his win, chess rose to the level of competitive sports in the United
States and chess teachers’ became dramatically busier. By the end of his
life, Fischer had set several records; he was the youngest U.S. master
and the youngest international grand master. He had won eight U.S. chess
championships, invented a clock used in chess, and produced two books.
Fischer was the son of a German-born biophysicist who abandoned his
family when Bobby was two years old. Fischer’s mother, a nurse and
strong single parent, moved the family to Brooklyn, NY so she could
pursue further studies. His older sister, whom he adored, gave him his
first chess set when he was 6 years old, and Bobby was so engrossed in
the game that his mother said, “Bobby isn’t interested in anybody unless
they play chess and here just aren’t many children who like it.” She
managed to get him involved in the Brooklyn Chess Club where he spent
most of his young years, playing anyone who was willing. He dropped out
of high school at age 16. Although his IQ was reported to be 180, and
his memory was renowned for its ability to retain information, he was
not interested in anything but chess.
When he did play, his competitive streak shone brightly, but his
attitude was arrogant, demanding, and combative. He played ferociously,
often on the attack, and when events took a turn he didn’t like, he
spewed forth conspiracy theories to explain himself. He stopped playing
in tournaments in 1972. A five-year follower of the Worldwide Church of
God, considered a “fringe” group, he gave many of his winnings to his
church while he re-played chess games in his room, read Nazi literature,
and slid into destitution. He directed venom toward Jews, although his
mother was Jewish. From the beginning she had supported and encouraged
him to play chess, but he increasingly resented what he saw as her
interference. Their relationship was severely strained, and he once told
a reporter that he had to “get rid of her.”
After twenty years, his exile from professional chess was ended in a
September 2, 1992 re-match with his old opponent, Boris Spassky. The
match was held on the island of Svetistefan. The two began play at 3:00
PM and were to play until one of them won ten games. Fischer won the
duel in November of 1992, winning the top prize of $3.35 million. His
victory was well-broadcast, and he was censured by the US for playing a
tournament in Yugoslavia, a country which was on the US sanctions list.
Rather than face arrest, Fischer went into hiding, presumably in Central
Europe and Asia. His mother and sister both died in 1997 and Fischer
seemed to become more disturbed then ever. He issued a vitriolic
condemnation of the United States and support of the perpetrators who
had caused such mayhem in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Although he
remained a recluse, his radio interviews, broadcast from the
Philippines, cemented his reputation for paranoia, obsessive behavior
and outrageous remarks.
Fischer never married but had liaisons with women, usually much younger
than he. In 2000 his then-girlfriend reportedly gave birth to their baby
girl in Manila.
The chess master was detained in Japan on July 13, 2004 for trying to
travel on a revoked American passport. Fischer was attempting to fly to
the Philippines from Tokyo and was promptly held at Tokyo’s Narita
International Airport. Fischer fought the Japanese government’s threat
of deportation to the US where he most likely would be arrested
immediately. On August 16, 2004, Fischer announced plans to marry a
leading Japanese chess official in an attempt to prevent deportation
from Japan to the US. Fischer has been living with Miyoko Watai, Japan
Chess Association President, since 2000. In addition, Fischer reportedly
asked Colin Powell to help him renounce his US citizenship. A Japanese
court later dismissed his request to halt deportation proceedings but
Fischer appealed the ruling, and in early September he won an injunction
until further investigation could be made. On March 24, 2005, the former
chess master arrived in Iceland where he had been granted citizenship.
He died on January 17, 2008 in a Reykjavik, Iceland hospital of
unspecified causes. He was 64.
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