The chess maverick and legend Bobby Fischer died this month (on 18th jan 2008) in Iceland at the age of 64.
The US-born player, who became famous for beating Cold War Soviet rival Boris Spassky in 1972, died of an unspecified illness.
He became a US chess champion at 14 and then the youngest grandmaster a year later. He achieved world fame after playing a world championship match in Iceland in 1972, beating title-holder Spassky.
The so-called chess "match of the century" came to be seen as a proxy for the Cold War, as the Soviets had held the world title since World War II.
Mr Fischer, the individual who had triumphed over the might of the Communist system, became an American hero.
The 1972 match made chess fashionable beyond imagination. Every person ,be it a chess player or a layman, seemed to know who Fischer was and how the match went about...especially Fischer's eccentricities.
He lost the world chess crown in 1975 after refusing to play against his Soviet rival Anatoly Karpov and retired from chess when he was at his peak possibly bcoz he didnt find any player worthy enuf to challenge him.
He was an extremely reclusive personality and lived undetected in Japan for a number of years. US tried to extradite him to US to punish him for illegally playing Boris Spassky in a return match in 1992 in Yogoslavia an alien country for US at that time.
BORIS SPASSKY HIMSELF WROTE A LETTER TO THE US PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH IN 2004 REQUESTNG TO PARDON BOBBY FISCHER.
What can be a more fitting tribute than ur sworn opponent praising and fighting for u? REPRODUCING THE LETTER HERE.
"Appeal to President Bush from Boris Spassky
Mr. President,
In 1972 Bobby Fischer became national hero. He smashed me in the match in Reykjavik. The Soviet chess hegemony collapsed. One man won against a whole army. Soon after that Fischer stopped playing. He repeated the sad story of Paul Morphy. At the age of 21, legendary Paul had beaten all leading European masters and became unofficial champion. He stopped playing and finished his tragic life at the age of 47 in New Orleans in 1884.
In 1992, twenty years after Reykjavik, there was a miracle. Bobby resuscitated and we played a match in Yugoslavia. But at that time there were sanctions against Yugoslavia forbidding American citizens any sort of activity on the territory of Yugoslavia. Bobby violated the instructions of the State Department. He became the subject of a warrant for arrest issued on December 15, 1992 by the US District Court. As for me, as a French citizen since 1978, I did not get any sanctions from the French government.
Spassky vs Fischer during the match of the century in Reykjavik in 1972
Since July 13, 2004, Bobby has been detained at Narita airport on immigration violations. Further events have been described by media.
It is clear that the law is the law. But Fischer’s case is not usual. I am an old friend of Bobby since 1960 when we played in Mar-del-Plata and shared 1-2 places. Bobby is a tragic personality. I realized this at that time. He is an honest and good natured man. Absolutely not social. He is not adaptable to everybody’s standards of life. He has a very high sense of justice and is unwilling to compromise as well as with his own conscience as with surrounding people. He is a person who is doing almost everything against himself.
I would not like to defend or justify Bobby Fischer. He is what he is. I am asking only for one thing. For mercy, charity.
If for some reason it is impossible, I would like to ask you the following: Please correct the mistake of President François Mitterand in 1992. Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set.
Boris Spassky10-th Chess World Champion08.07.2004 "
He was granted Icelandic citizenship in 2005 as a way to avoid being deported to the US.This was the same country where the historic Fischer- Spassky match 1972 had happened. Bcoz of this match Iceland became hugely popular and this was a great way to repay Bobby Fischer.
His cult book " My 60 Memorable Games" is a source of inspiration to each and every chess enthusiast . Like his book , Bobby Fischer will be etched in my memory for ever.
