Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer
File:Robert Fischer - March 2005.jpg
Full name	Robert James Fischer
Country	Iceland
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1972-1975
Peak rating	2785 (July 1972)

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster and in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. In 1975 he officially resigned the title when FIDE, the international chess federation, refused to accept his conditions for a title defense. He is a regular candidate in considerations of the greatest chess player of all time.

Fischer's victory over the Soviet world champion Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Chess Championship not only sparked heightened international interest in chess, but was seen as a symbolic victory for the capitalist West. Particularly in the United States, Spassky was portrayed as the product of an impersonal, mechanical, and oppressive system of state control, while Fischer was depicted as a solitary genius who had heroically overcome the Soviets' dominance.

Fischer now lives in Iceland, and has also become known for his anti-Americanism, anti-imperialism, and antisemitism. However, Fischer's inflammatory statements have done little to diminish the professional and popular recognition of his singular achievements on the chessboard.

Early years

File:Bobby-fischer-early.jpg

Bobby Fischer at 16.

Robert James Fischer was born at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Regina Wender, was a naturalized American citizen of German Jewish descent, born in Switzerland but raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and later a teacher, a registered nurse and a physician. Fischer's father was listed on the birth certificate as Wender's first husband, Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, a German biophysicist. The couple married in 1933 in Moscow, U.S.S.R., where Wender was studying medicine at the First Moscow Medical Institute. However, a 2002 article by Peter Nicholas and Clea Benson of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggests that Paul Nemenyi, a Hungarian physicist of Jewish ancestry, may have been Fischer's biological father. Gerhardt and Regina Fischer divorced in 1945 when Bobby was two years old, and he grew up with his mother and older sister, Joan. In 1948, the family moved to Mobile, Arizona, where Regina taught in an elementary school. The following year they moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Regina worked as an elementary school teacher and nurse.

In May 1949, the six-year-old Fischer learned how to play chess from instructions found in a chess set that his sister had bought at a candy store below their Brooklyn apartment. He saw his first chess book a month later. For over a year he played chess on his own. At age 7, he joined the Brooklyn Chess Club and was taught by its president, Carmine Nigro. He later joined the Manhattan Chess Club. When Fischer was 13, his mother asked John W. Collins to be his chess tutor. Collins had coached several top players, including future grandmasters Robert Byrne and William Lombardy. Fischer spent much time at Collins' house, and some have described Collins as a father figure for Fischer. The Hawthorne Chess Club was the name for the group which Collins coached. Fischer also was involved with the Log Cabin Chess Club.

Fischer attended Erasmus Hall High School together with Barbra Streisand, though he later dropped out. Many teachers remembered him as difficult. According to school records, he had an IQ of 184 and an incredibly retentive memory.

Youngest U.S. Champion

Fischer's first real triumph was winning the United States Junior Chess Championship in July 1956. In the same year, he played several brilliant games; his game against Donald Byrne, who later became an International Master, is often called "The Game of the Century".

In 1957, Fischer first successfully defended his U.S. Junior title, then won the United States Open Chess Championship on tie-breaking points over Arthur Bisguier. Fischer was given entry into the invitational U.S. Championship. Many thought he was too weak, and predicted that he would finish last. Instead, he won, becoming in January 1958, at age 14, the youngest U.S. champion ever.

World Championship Candidate

Fischer's victory qualified him to participate in the 1958 Portoroz Interzonal, the next step toward challenging the World Champion. The top six finishers in the Interzonal would qualify for the Candidates Tournament, but few thought the youngster had much chance of this. Again he surprised the pundits, tying for fifth place after a strong finish. This made Fischer the youngest person ever to qualify for the Candidates (a record which was broken by Magnus Carlsen in 2005, although Carlsen took one of 16 available places, Fischer took one of 8), and also earned him the title of Grandmaster, making him at that time the youngest grandmaster in history.

Before the Candidates' tournament, he competed in 1959 in strong International tournaments at Mar del Plata, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Zurich, Switzerland. In all three events, he scored well, showing that he was of true grandmaster strength.

At the age of 16, Fischer finished a creditable equal fifth out of eight at the Candidates Tournament held in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1959. He scored 12.5-15.5 and was outclassed by tournament winner Mikhail Tal, who won all four of their individual games.

In 1960, Fischer tied for first with the young Soviet star Boris Spassky at the strong Mar del Plata tournament in Argentina, with the two well ahead of the rest of the field. Fischer lost only to Spassky, and this was the start of their relationship, which began on a friendly basis and stayed that way, in spite of Fischer's troubles on the board against Spassky. Fischer struggled in the subsequent Buenos Aires tournament, finishing with a minus score, as Soviet Viktor Korchnoi won. This was the only real failure of Fischer's competitive career.

In 1961, Fischer started a 16-game match with frequent U.S. Champion Samuel Reshevsky, one of the world's strongest players. The match was split between New York and Los Angeles. Despite Fischer's meteoric rise, the veteran Reshevsky was considered the favorite. After 11 games and a tie score (2 wins apiece with 7 draws), the match ended due to a dispute between Fischer and match organizer and sponsor Jacqueline Piatigorsky. Mrs. Piatigorsky's husband Gregor Piatigorsky, a world-class concert cellist, was giving a concert later in the afternoon of the scheduled 12th game. Mrs. Piatigorsky, who wanted to attend the concert, as well as the chess game, rescheduled the 12th game to start at 11 a.m., apparently without getting Fischer's approval. Fischer, who liked to sleep late, objected, and abandoned the match. He later made up with Mrs. Piatigorsky, by accepting an invitation to Santa Monica 1966, which she helped to sponsor.

Fischer was second behind former World Champion Tal at Bled 1961, a super-strong tournament. He defeated Tal head-to-head for the first time, scored 3.5/4 against the Soviet contingent, and finished as the only unbeaten player.

Struggles in Curacao

In the next World Championship cycle, Fischer won the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal by 2.5 points, scoring 17.5-4.5, making him one of the favorites for the Candidates tournament in Curaçao, which began soon afterwards. However, he had a disappointing tournament, finishing fourth out of eight with a 14-13 score. The result nonetheless established Fischer, at 19, as the strongest non-Soviet player in the world. Tal fell very ill during the tournament, and had to withdraw before completion. Fischer, a friend of Tal's, in spite of Tal's head-to-head dominance, was the only player who visited him in the hospital.

In 1962, Fischer said that he had "personal problems" and began to listen to various radio ministers in a search for answers. This is how he first came to listen to The World Tomorrow radio program with Herbert W. Armstrong and his son Garner Ted Armstrong; the Armstrongs' denomination, The Worldwide Church of God, predicted an imminent apocalypse. In late 1963, Fischer began tithing to the church. According to Fischer, he lived a bifurcated life, with a rational chess component and an enthusiastic religious component.

Following his failure in the 1962 Candidates (at which five of the eight players were from the Soviet Union), Fischer asserted that three of the Soviet players had an agreement to draw their games in order to concentrate on playing against him, and also that a fourth, Victor Korchnoi, had been forced to throw games to ensure a Soviet player won. It is generally thought that the former accusation is correct, but not the latter. (This is discussed further at the World Chess Championship 1963 article).

Fischer therefore decided not to participate in the Amsterdam Interzonal in 1964, thus taking himself out of the 1966 World Championship cycle. He held to this decision even when FIDE changed the format of the eight-player Candidates Tournament from a round-robin to a series of knockout matches, which eliminated the possibility of collusion.

Fischer wanted to play in the Capablanca Memorial Tournament, Havana 1965, but Americans were not allowed to travel to Cuba at that time. Fischer had travelled to Cuba to play as a youth, before Fidel Castro assumed power with a coup in 1959. Fischer was able to play by telegraph, staying in New York and playing from the Frank Marshall Chess Club. His games lasted longer because of the transmission delays and receipt of moves logistics. But Fischer finished second, behind former World Champion Vasily Smyslov, and defeated Smyslov in their game. Chess became a news item in the United States with this unusual achievement.

Fischer finished second at the 1966 Santa Monica supertournament, just behind world finalist Boris Spassky. The next year, he won over strong fields at Monte Carlo 1967 and Skopje 1967.

In the next cycle, at the 1967 Sousse Interzonal, Fischer scored a phenomenal 8.5 points in the first 10 games. His observance of the Worldwide Church of God's sabbath was honored by the organizers, but deprived Fischer of several rest days, which led to a scheduling dispute. Fischer forfeited two games in protest and later withdrew, eliminating himself from the 1969 World Championship cycle.

Dominance at home, excellence at Olympiads

At home, Fischer won all eight U.S. Championships that he competed in, beginning with the 1957-1958 championship and ending with the 1966-1967 championship. This string includes his 11-0 win in the 1963-1964 championship, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament, and one of only a handful of perfect scores ever in high-level chess tournaments.

Fischer was forced to attend school, and had to miss the 1958 Olympiad. But he represented the U.S.A. on top board with great distinction at four Olympiads: (Leipzig 1960, Varna 1962, Havana 1966, and Siegen 1970). At Leipzig, he scored 13/18 for the silver medal, and the U.S.A. also won the team silver. At Varna, he scored 11/17 and the U.S.A. finished fourth. At Havana, he scored an incredible 15/17 for the individual silver, and the Americans again won team silver. Then at Siegen he again won silver with 10/13, and the U.S.A. finished fourth. His overall total was +40, =18, -7, for 49/65 or 75.4 per cent. Fischer turned down further invitations to play in 1964, 1968, and 1972, after which he retired for 20 years.

Fischer won the tournaments at Vinkovci 1968 and Netanya 1968 by large margins. But he then stopped playing for the next 18 months, except for an amazing win in a New York Metropolitan League team match over Anthony Saidy.

The road to the world championship (1969-1972)

Bobby Fischer's score card from his round 3 game against Miguel Najdorf in the 1970 Chess Olympiad.

The 1969 U.S. Championship was also a zonal qualifier, with the top three finishers advancing to the Interzonal. Fischer, however, had sat out the U.S. Championship because of disagreements about the tournament's format and prize fund. To enable Fischer to compete for the title, Grandmaster Pál Benkő gave up his Interzonal place, for which the United States Chess Federation (USCF) paid him a modest $2,000; the other zonal participants waived their right to replace Benkő. This unusual arrangement was the work of Ed Edmondson, then the USCF's Executive Director.

Before the Interzonal, though, in March and April 1970, the world's best players competed in the USSR vs. Rest of the World match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Fischer agreed to allow Bent Larsen of Denmark to play first board for the Rest of the World team in light of Larsen's recent outstanding tournament results, even though Fischer had the higher Elo rating. The USSR team won the match by a hair (20.5-19.5), but Fischer beat Tigran Petrosian, whom Boris Spassky had dethroned as world champion the previous year, 3-1, winning the first two games and drawing the last two.

Later in 1970, Fischer won tournaments at Zagreb and Buenos Aires, where he crushed the field of mostly Grandmasters with 15/17. Clearly, he had taken his game to a new level.

The Interzonal was held in Palma de Mallorca in November and December 1970. Fischer won it with a remarkable 18.5-4.5 score, 3.5 points ahead of Larsen, Efim Geller, and Robert Hübner, who tied for second at 15-8. Fischer finished the tournament with seven consecutive wins (one by default).

Fischer continued his domination in the 1971 Candidates matches, defeating his opponents with a lopsided series of results unparalleled in chess history. He crushed both Mark Taimanov (USSR) and Larsen 6-0 (+6-0=0). The latter result was particularly shocking: Larsen had played first board for the Rest of the World team ahead of Fischer just a year before, and at the Interzonal had in their game handed Fischer his only loss.

Only former World Champion Petrosian, Fischer's final opponent in the Candidates matches, was able to offer resistance. Petrosian unleashed a strong theoretical novelty in the first game and had Fischer on the ropes, but Fischer defended with his customary aplomb and even won the game. This gave Fischer a remarkable streak of 20 consecutive wins, the second longest winning streak in chess history after Steinitz's 25-game streak from 1873 to 1882. Petrosian won decisively in the second game, finally snapping Fischer's winning streak. After three consecutive draws, however, Fischer swept the next four games to win the match 6.5-2.5 (+5=3-1). The final match victory allowed Fischer to challenge World Champion Boris Spassky, whom he had never beaten before (+0=2-3).

1972 World Championship Match

Main article: World Chess Championship 1972

Fischer's career-long stubbornness about match and tournament conditions was again seen in the run-up to his match with Spassky. Of the possible sites, Fischer preferred Yugoslavia, while Spassky wanted Iceland. For a time it appeared that the dispute would be resolved by splitting the match between the two locations, but that arrangement fell through. After that issue was resolved, Fischer refused to play unless the prize fund, which he considered inadequate, was doubled. London financier Jim Slater responded by donating an additional $US 125,000, which brought the prize fund to an unprecedented $250,000. Fischer finally agreed to play.

The match took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, from July through September 1972. Fischer lost the first two games in strange fashion: the first when he played a risky pawn-grab in a dead-drawn endgame, the second by forfeit when he refused to play the game in a dispute over playing conditions. Fischer would likely have forfeited the entire match, but Spassky, not wanting to win by default, yielded to Fischer's demands to move the next game to a back room, away from the cameras whose presence had upset Fischer. The rest of the match proceeded without incident. Fischer won seven of the next 19 games, losing only one and drawing eleven, to win the match 12.5-8.5 and become the 11th World Chess Champion. His winning strategy was mainly based upon avoidance of Spassky's pre-match preparation, by using a varied series of opening surprises. Spassky's play from games 3-10 was probably the worst in his career, as he made several bad blunders. Spassky played better in the second half of the match, but he was too far behind by that stage.

Fischer's win was a momentous victory for the United States during the time of the Cold War: the iconoclastic American almost single-handedly defeating the mighty Soviet chess establishment that had dominated world chess for the past quarter-century.

Fischer was also the (then) highest-rated player in history according to the Elo rating system. He had a rating of 2780 after beating Spassky, which was actually a slight decline from the record 2785 rating he had achieved after routing Taimanov, Larsen, and Petrosian the previous year.

The match was coined "The Match of the Century", and received front-page media coverage in the United States. With his victory, Fischer became an instant celebrity. He received numerous product endorsement offers (all of which he declined) and appeared on the covers of Life and Sports Illustrated. With American Olympic swimming champion Mark Spitz, he also appeared on a Bob Hope TV special. Membership in the United States Chess Federation doubled in 1972 and peaked in 1974; in American chess, these years are commonly referred to as the "Fischer Boom."

Fischer gave the Worldwide Church of God $61,200 of his world championship prize money. However, 1972 was a disastrous year for the church, as prophecies by Herbert W. Armstrong were unfulfilled, and the church was rocked by revelations of a series of sex scandals involving Garner Ted Armstrong. Fischer, who felt betrayed and swindled by the Worldwide Church of God, left the church and publicly denounced it.

Fischer-Karpov 1975

Fischer was scheduled to defend his title against challenger Anatoly Karpov in 1975. Fischer had played no tournament games since winning the title, and he laid down numerous (a total of 64) conditions for the match. While most of them were purely game-oriented in nature, some were as bizarre as a requirement for everyone entering the room where the game is conducted to take off head covering. Many commentators supposed that Fischer's objective in making the demands was to avoid conducting the match in the outcome of which Fischer was not certain. Fischer's demands as to the conduct of the match and victory conditions the following three principal demands:

1. The match should continue until 10 wins, without counting the draws. 2. There is no limit to the total number of games played. 3. In case of a 9:9 score, champion (Fischer) retains his title.

Fischer claimed the usual system (24 games with the first player to get 12.5 points winning, or the champion retaining his title in the event of a 12-12 tie) encouraged the player in the lead to draw games, which he regarded as bad for chess. Fischer instead wanted a match of an unlimited number of games. However, match based on the first two conditions could take several months (In 1927 the Capablanca-Alekhine match to achieve the condition of winning only 6 games continued for 34 games). Many argued that this would be an exercise in stamina rather than skill. The FIDE commission headed by FIDE president Max Euwe and consisting of both, US and USSR, representatives, ruled that the match should continue until 6 wins. However, Fischer replied that he would resign his crown and not participate in the match. Instead of accepting Fischer's forfeit, the commission agreed to allow the match to continue until 9 wins, leaving only one of the 64 conditions set by Fischer unsatisfied. FIDE postulated that the player achieving 9 victories first would win the match, eliminating any advantage for the reigning champion (Fischer). Most observers considered Fischer's demand of his win in case of 9:9 draw to be unfair. It meant that Fischer only needed to win nine games to retain the championship, while Karpov had to win by a 10-8 score. Because FIDE would not agree to that demand, Fischer resigned in a cable to FIDE president Max Euwe on June 27, 1974:

"As I made clear in my telegram to the FIDE delegates, the match conditions I proposed were non-negotiable. Mr. Cramer informs me that the rules of the winner being the first player to win ten games, draws not counting, unlimited number of games and if nine wins to nine match is drawn with champion regaining title and prize fund split equally were rejected by the FIDE delegates. By so doing FIDE has decided against my participating in the 1975 world chess championship. I therefore resign my FIDE world chess champion title. Sincerely, Bobby Fischer."

Former U.S. Champion Arnold Denker, who was in contact with Fischer during the Karpov match negotiations, claimed that Fischer wanted a long match to be able to play himself into shape after a three-year layoff. Karpov became World Champion by default in April 1975. In his 1991 autobiography, Karpov expressed profound regret that the match did not take place, and claimed that the lost opportunity to challenge Fischer held back his own chess development. Karpov met with Fischer several times after 1975, in friendly but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to arrange a match. Garry Kasparov has argued that Karpov would have had a good chance to defeat Fischer in 1975.

Fischer disappeared and did not play competitive chess for nearly 20 years. To this day, he claims that he is still the World Champion because he never lost a title match.

Disappearance and aftermath (1975 to present)

1975-1991

I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse!

I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse!

In 1982, Fischer published a pamphlet, "I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse!", detailing his experiences following his arrest in 1981 after being mistaken for a wanted bank robber. Fischer alleged that the police treated him brutally. He was eventually charged with damaging prison property (a mattress).

The 14-page pamphlet ends with the signature: "Robert D. James (professionally known as Robert J. Fischer or Bobby Fischer, The World Chess Champion)." By this time Fischer had a Nevada driver's license and Social Security card with that name, the same one that appeared in the 1981 Pasadena police report.

In 1984, Fischer wrote to the editors of the Encyclopedia Judaica, stating that he was not, and had never been, Jewish, and asking that his name be removed from the publication. Encyclopedia Judaica complied with the request.

1992 Spassky Match

After 20 years, Fischer emerged from isolation to challenge Spassky (then placed 96-102 on the rating list) to a "Revenge Match of the 20th Century" in 1992. This match took place in Sveti Stefan and Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, in spite of a severe United Nations embargo that included sanctions on sporting events. Fischer demanded that the organizers bill the match as "The World Chess Championship", although Garry Kasparov was the recognized FIDE World Champion. The purse for this match was reported to be $US 5,000,000 with two-thirds to go to the winner. The U.S. Department of the Treasury had warned Fischer beforehand that his participation was illegal. In front of the international press, Fischer was filmed spitting on the U.S. order forbidding him to play. Following the match, the department obtained an arrest warrant for him although some dispute the legality of the Department's claim and question why others who broke the embargo have not been prosecuted. Fischer won the match, 10 wins to 5, with 15 draws. Many grandmasters observing the match said that Fischer was past his prime. In the book Mortal Games, Garry Kasparov is quoted: "He is playing OK. Around 2600 or 2650. It wouldn't be close between us." He has not played any competitive games since.

Fischer insisted he was still the true world champion, and that all the games in the FIDE-sanctioned World Championship matches, involving Karpov, Korchnoi and Kasparov, had been pre-arranged.

Radio interviews

Fischer, whose mother and possible biological father Paul Nemenyi were both of Jewish descent, made occasional hostile comments toward Jews from at least the early 1960s. From the 1980s, however, antisemitism was a major theme of his public remarks. He denied the "Holocaust of the Jews," announced his desire to make "expos[ing] the Jews for the criminals they are [...] the murderers they are" his lifework, and argued that the United States is "a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew bastards."

In 1999, he gave a call-in interview to a radio station in Budapest, Hungary, during which he described himself as the "victim of an international Jewish conspiracy." Fischer's sudden re-emergence was apparently triggered when some of his belongings, which had been stored in a Pasadena, California storage unit, were sold by the landlord, who claimed it was in response to nonpayment of rent. Fischer interpreted this as further evidence of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy perpetrated by "the Jew-controlled U.S. Government" to defame and destroy him . In 2005, some of Fischer's belongings were auctioned on eBay. In 2006, Fischer claimed that his belongings in the storage unit were worth millions.

Fischer participated in at least 33 such broadcasts between 1999 and 2005, mostly with radio stations in the Philippines, but also with stations in Iceland, Colombia, and Russia.

For some years Fischer lived in Budapest, where he lived with the Jewish Polgár family. He played Fischer Random Blitz as well as analyzed many games with Zsuzsa Polgar. He did not get along with her two younger sisters Judit and Zsofia after Zsofia agreed to give a simultaneous exhibition at the Budapest American club. He later lived in Japan. In the televised interview Zsofia also claims that Fischer could get along with Jewish individuals by simply saying that they were good persons, but doing anything for America was a far greater crime in his view.

Radio interview after the September 11, 2001 attacks

Hours after the September 11, 2001 attacks Fischer was interviewed live by Pablo Mercado on the Baguio City station of the Bombo Radyo network, shortly after midnight September 12, 2001 Philippines local time (or shortly after noon on September 11, 2001, New York time). Fischer commented on U.S and Israeli foreign policy that "nobody cares ... [that] the US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians for years". Informed that "the White House and Pentagon have been attacked", he proclaimed "This is all wonderful news". Fischer stated "What goes around comes around even for the United States" and said that if the U.S. fails to change its foreign policy, it "has to be destroyed." After calling for President Bush's death, Fischer also stated he hoped that a Seven Days in May-type military coup d' etat would take over power in the U.S. and then execute "hundreds of thousands of American Jewish leaders", "arrest all the Jews" and "close all synagogues".

Subsequent to that interview, Fischer's "right to membership in the United States Chess Federation [was] cancelled" by a unanimous 7-0 decisionof the USCF Executive Board, taken on October 28 2001. In 2006, that decision was subsequently "vacated" by the same Board.

Detention in 2004 and 2005

File:Fischer arrest.jpg

Fischer being arrested in Japan in July 2004.

After years of evading arrest, on July 13 2004, Fischer was arrested at Narita International Airport in Narita, Japan near Tokyo for allegedly using a revoked U.S. passport while trying to board a Japan Airlines flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines. Fischer used a genuine passport that the United States Embassy in Bern, Switzerland issued to him in 1997. The passport was allegedly revoked in 2003, although Fischer asserts that it was valid.[1].

Fischer has been wanted by the United States government since his 1992 match with Spassky in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The match violated President George H. W. Bush's Executive Order 12810 that implemented United Nations sanctions against engaging in economic activities in Yugoslavia. Fischer's supporters have stated that other U.S. citizens were present at the match, specifically reporters, and were not prosecuted. They also have stated that although Japan and the United States have a mutually binding extradition treaty, Fischer should not have been deported, as violating a U.S. executive order is not a violation of Japanese law. Tokyo-based Canadian journalist and consultant John Bosnitch set up the "Committee to Free Bobby Fischer" after meeting Fischer at Narita airport and offering to assist him. Bosnitch was subsequently allowed to participate as a friend of the court by an Immigration Bureau panel handling Fischer's case. He then worked to block the Japanese Immigration Bureau's efforts to deport Fischer to the United States and coordinated the legal and public relations campaign to free Fischer until his eventual release.

According to the Agence France-Presse, Fischer renounced his United States citizenship. A month later, it was reported that Fischer was marrying Miyoko Watai, the President of the Japanese Chess Association, with whom he had been living since 2000. Fischer also appealed to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell to help him renounce his citizenship. Under pressure from the United States, Japan's Justice Minister rejected Fischer's appeal that he be allowed to remain in the country and ordered him deported.

Political asylum in Iceland

Seeking ways to evade deportation to the United States, Fischer wrote a letter to the government of Iceland in early January 2005 and requested an Icelandic citizenship. (Fischer also attempted, unsuccessfully, to receive Serbian citizenship. He also unsuccessfully requested German citizenship on the grounds that his late father, Hans Gerhardt Fischer, had been a lifelong German citizen.) Sympathetic to Fischer's plight – but reluctant to grant him the full benefits of citizenship – Icelandic authorities granted him an alien's passport. When this proved insufficient for the Japanese authorities, the Alþingi agreed unanimously to grant Fischer full citizenship in late March for humanitarian reasons, as they felt he was being unjustly treated by the U.S. and Japanese governments [2]. Meanwhile, the U.S. government filed charges of tax evasion against Fischer in an effort to prevent him from traveling to Iceland.

When Japanese authorities received confirmation of Fischer's new citizenship, they agreed to release him and allow him to fly to Iceland. Although Iceland has an extradition treaty with the United States, Icelandic law does not permit its own citizens to be extradited. Icelandic officials reiterated their belief that the United States government had singled Fischer out for his political statements.

Shortly before his departure to Iceland on March 23 2005, Fischer and Bosnitch appeared briefly on the BBC World Service, via a telephone link to the Tokyo airport. Bosnitch stated that Fischer would never play traditional chess again. Fischer denounced President Bush as a criminal and Japan as a puppet of the United States. He also stated that he would appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court and said that he would not return to the US while Bush was in power. Upon his arrival in Reykjavík, Fischer was welcomed by a crowd.

In May 2005, a delegation, including Boris Spassky, visited Iceland with the intent of "drawing Fischer back to the chessboard." Fischer appeared interested in playing a Chess960 match against a "worthy opponent." Spassky said that he was not planning to play Fischer. [3]

On Dec. 10, 2006, Fischer phoned in and pointed out a clever winning combination which was missed in a chess game which was televised in Iceland.[4]

Contributions to chess theory

Fischer was renowned for his opening preparation, and made numerous contributions to chess opening theory. He was considered the greatest practitioner of the White side of the Closed Ruy Lopez and the Black side of the Najdorf Sicilian, as well as being one of the greatest theoreticians of the King's Indian Defense. He also demonstrated several important improvements in the Grunfeld Defence. In the Nimzo-Indian Defence, the line beginning with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 is named for him.

Fischer established the viability of the so-called "Poisoned Pawn" variation of the Najdorf Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6!?). Although this bold queen sortie, snatching a pawn at the expense of development, had been considered dubious, Fischer succeeded in proving its soundness, a claim supported by contemporary theory. Fischer won many games with this line; his only loss was in the 11th game of his 1972 match with Spassky.

In 1960, prompted by a painful loss to Spassky, Fischer wrote an article entitled "A Bust to the King's Gambit" for the first issue of Larry Evans' American Chess Quarterly, in which he recommended 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6. This variation has since become known as the Fischer Defense to the King's Gambit. After Fischer's article was published, the opening was seen even less frequently in master-level games, although Fischer took up the White side of it in three games (preferring 3.Bc4 to 3.Nf3), winning them all.

Fischer revived the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez at the Havana Olympiad 1966 (specifically the line beginning 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0), and had great success with it, prompting many other top players to start playing it.

Other contributions to chess

Fischer clock

In 1988, Fischer filed for U.S. patent 4,884,255 for a new type of digital chess clock. Fischer's clock gave each player a fixed period of time at the start of the game and then added a small increment after each completed move. The Fischer clock soon became standard in most major chess tournaments. The patent expired in November 2001 because of overdue maintenance fees.

Fischer Random Chess

On June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fischer announced and advocated a variant of chess called Fischer Random Chess, also known as Chess960, that is intended to allow players to contest games based on their understanding of chess rather than their ability to memorize opening variations. Chess960 has gone on to be moderately popular.

Other Talents

Fischer is an expert at solving the Fifteen puzzle by Sam Loyd, provided that it is in a configuration that can be solved, and he has been timed to be able to solve it every time within 25 seconds. Fischer demonstrated this on November 8, 1972 on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Fischer was also an expert at playing pinball machines.

In popular culture

Law & Order: Criminal Intent used his story as inspiration for the 2004-05 episode "Gone".

Despite not narrating his life but the one of Joshua Waitzkin, the film Searching for Bobby Fischer takes his name in the title (it was named Innocent moves instead in Great Britain).

The American in the musical Chess (Freddie in the American version) is based on Bobby Fischer. The seventh song of the second act, Endgame, lists his name (along with the other modern era world champions through 1980).

Notable chess games

• "The Game of the Century" - an external link: Donald Byrne vs Bobby Fischer, New York 1956, Grünfeld, 5.Bf4 (D92), 0-1 Just 13 years old, Bobby played in a bold combinational style.
• Bobby Fischer vs Bent Larsen, Portoroz Interzonal 1958, Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack (B77), 1-0 The teenager romps with a devastating opposite sides castling attack.
• Bobby Fischer vs Samuel Reshevsky, U.S.A. Championship, New York 1958-59, Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon (B35), 1-0 Fischer starts a brilliant combination on move ten which wins Reshevsky's Queen.
• Paul Keres vs Bobby Fischer, Yugoslavia Candidates 1959, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B99), 0-1 Before the tournament, Keres went on a fishing trip and came up with the idea for this Queen sacrifice, but it couldn't hook Fischer.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Bobby Fischer, Yugoslavia Candidates 1959, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B99), 0-1 Former World Champion Smyslov's opening novelty is refuted in convincing fashion.
• Bobby Fischer vs Mikhail Tal, Bled 1961, Sicilian Defence, Taimanov Variation (B47), 1-0 Tal makes a mistake in the opening, and this time he can't swindle his way out of trouble.
• Bobby Fischer vs Efim Geller, Bled 1961, Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Variation (C73), 1-0 An outright demolition, in just 22 moves, of Geller's ultra-aggressive opening strategy.
• Istvan Bilek vs Bobby Fischer, Stockholm Interzonal 1962, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf / Poisoned Pawn Variation (B97), 0-1 Fischer was starting to play this line with good success, and he surprises Bilek with some new ideas.
• Bobby Fischer vs Viktor Korchnoi, Stockholm Interzonal 1962, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation, C91, 1-0 In a fairly even position, Korchnoi errs badly in time pressure.
• Bobby Fischer vs Paul Keres, Curacao Candidates 1962, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C96), 1-0 No one has ever been able to identify Keres' losing mistake in this game.
• Bobby Fischer vs Miguel Najdorf, Varna Olympiad 1962, Sicilian, Najdorf (B90), 1-0 Fischer shows the originator of this variation a few new tricks.
• Mikhail Botvinnik vs Bobby Fischer, Varna Olympiad 1962, Grunfeld Defence, Russian Variation (D98), 1/2 -1/2 It was to be their only encounter, and the game is one of the most debated and most analyzed in chess history.
• Robert Byrne vs Bobby Fischer, U.S.A. Championship, New York 1963-64, Neo-Grünfeld Defence (D72), 0-1 Some have called this game from Fischer's historic 11-0 U.S. Championship win, "The Real Game of the Century." From an almost symmetrical position, Fischer as Black beats a grandmaster in just 21 moves. Former Chess Life editor Larry Parr reckons that Byrne's resignation after Fischer's 21...Qd7! is the fifth most famous resignation in chess history. Parr explains, "tournament commentators GM Nicolas Rossolimo and IM James Sherwin believed that White had a won game. 'Fischer has nothing at all for his piece,' declared Rossolimo, one of the finest tacticians who ever lived, before a large audience. Whereupon, White resigned!" Fischer (and Byrne) had seen deeper, realizing that Fischer was in fact winning by force.
• Bobby Fischer vs Pal Benko, U.S.A. Championship, New York 1963-64, Pirc Defence, Austrian Attack (B09), 1-0 Another Grandmaster is demolished in just 21 moves.
• Lajos Portisch vs Bobby Fischer, II Piatigorsky Cup, Santa Monica 1966, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E45), 0-1 Fischer sets a deep trap into which Portisch falls and cannot re-emerge.
• Bobby Fischer vs Leonid Stein, Sousse Interzonal 1967, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C92), 1-0 Fischer wins a deep tactical game over the Soviet champion.
• Bobby Fischer vs Llamsuren Myagmarsuren, Sousse Intezonal 1967, King's Indian Attack, A08, 1-0 Fischer comes up with a new idea on his 13th move, and finishes in gorgeous fashion.
• Bobby Fischer vs Tigran Petrosian, Rest of the World vs USSR Match, Belgrade 1970, Caro-Kann Defence (B13), 1-0 Fischer springs an opening surprise with a quiet line, where he has an improvement, and systematically grinds Petrosian down by punishing small mistakes.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Bobby Fischer, Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A36), 0-1 From a quiet opening, Smyslov's position is in ruins after only 20 moves.
• Bobby Fischer vs Bent Larsen, Denver Candidates Semi-Final 1971, 1st match game, French Defense, Winawer Variation (C19), 1-0 Fischer wins a very complex tactical battle, setting the stage for his second straight 6-0 match triumph.
• Bobby Fischer vs Tigran Petrosian, Buenos Aires Candidates Final 1971, 7th match game, Sicilian Defense: Kan. Modern Variation (B42), 1-0 Even Petrosian, the master of defense, was not able to bear the pressure of Fischer's rooks.
• Bobby Fischer vs Boris Spassky, Reykjavik World Championship 1972, 6th match game, Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower Variation (D59), 1-0 One of the most beautiful and most important games of the match.
• Boris Spassky vs Bobby Fischer, Belgrade match 1992, 30th match game, King's Indian Defense, Saemisch Variation, E83, 0-1 The final competitive game of Fischer's career; he defends accurately to turn back Spassky's dangerous sacrificial assault, clinching the match after a 20-year absence from tournament play.

Fischer endgame

International Master Jeremy Silman listed Fischer as one of the five best endgame players. The others he listed were Emanuel Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein, José Capablanca, and Vasily Smyslov. Silman called him a "master of bishop endings" (Silman 2007:510–23).

The endgame of a rook and bishop versus a rook and knight (both sides with pawns) has sometimes been called the "Fischer Endgame" because of three instructive wins by Fischer in 1970 and 1971 (Müller & Lamprecht 2001:304). In all three of the games Fischer had the bishop and Mark Taimanov had the knight. One of the games was in the 1970 Interzonal and the other two were in their 1971 quarter-final candidates match in the World Championship process.

Writings

• My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1969, and Faber and Faber, London, 1969). This book is considered a classic text by most chess masters.
• Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Bobby Fischer, Donn Mosenfelder, Stuart Margulies (Bantam Books, May 1972, ISBN 0-553-26315-3). Uses programmed learning (aka programmed instruction) to help beginners learn how to see very simple chess combinations. This book is widely used by chess instructors.
• Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess by Bobby Fischer (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959). An early collection of 34 lightly-annotated games including the famous "Game of the Century" vs. Donald Byrne.
• Checkmate by Bobby Fischer, from 1966 to 1969 in Boys' Life.

See also

• List of people who have beaten Bobby Fischer in chess
• Game clock - for Fischer delay

Further reading

• Bobby Fischer: A Study of His Approach to Chess by Elie Agur, Cadogan; 1992. ISBN 1-85744-001-3
• Bobby Fischer Goes to War by David Edmonds and John Eidinow, Faber and Faber 2004. ISBN 0-571-21411-8
• Bobby Fischer, Profile of a Prodigy by Frank Brady, McKay 1973. Fischer, in one of his radio interviews, said this book was "full of lies."
• Bobby Fischer vs. the Rest of the World by Brad Darrach, Stein & Day, 1974.
• Bobby Fischer - wie er wirklich ist: Ein Jahr mit dem Schachgenie by Petra Dautov. ISBN 3-9804281-3-3.
• How to Beat Bobby Fischer by Edmar Mednis, Dover; 1998. ISBN 0-486-29844-2 This expanded edition includes Fischer's losses from the 2nd match with Spassky.
• My Great Predecessors, Part IV: On Fischer by Garry Kasparov, London 2004.
• Russians Vs. Fischer, 2nd edition, ed. Dmitry Plisetsky and Sergey Voronkov. Everyman, 2005. ISBN 1-85744-380-2
• World Champion Fischer (Chessbase, CD-ROM) - includes all Fischer's games (around half annotated), biographical notes, and an examination by Robert Hübner of Fischer's annotations in My Sixty Memorable Games.
• World Chess Champions by Edward G. Winter, editor. 1981 ISBN 0-08-024094-1
• Bobby Fischer Rediscovered, by Andrew Soltis, 2003, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8846-8.

References

• Template:Harvard reference

• Template:Harvard reference

External links

• Statements and radio interviews
• "Portrait of a Genius As a Young Chess Master". Ralph Ginzburg's 1962 interview. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• Bobby Fischer: Demise of a chess legend, the BBC on Fischer's personality and downfall
• Fischer Watch Index of Fischer news stories
• Bobby FischerVideos, stories, games, and sounds clips
• Is Bobby Fischer Anti-Semitic? Statements on the Jews and the United States.
• Ambassador Report Fischer's involvement with Armstrong