Bobby Fischer

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Bobby Fischer

Fischer in 1960

Full name Robert James Fischer

Country United States

Iceland (200508)

Born March 9, 1943

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Died January 17, 2008 (aged 64)

Reykjavk, Iceland

Title Grandmaster (1958)

World

Champion

197275

Peak rating 2785 (July 1972 FIDE rating

list)

Bobby FischerFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (March 9, 1943 January 17,2008) was an American chess prodigy, grandmaster, and theeleventh World Chess Champion. Many consider him the

greatest chess player of all time.[1][2][3]

At age 13 Fischer won a "brilliancy" that became known as The

Game of the Century.[4] Starting at age 14, Fischer played ineight United States Championships, winning each one by at leasta one-point margin. At age 15, Fischer became both theyoungest grandmaster up to that time and the youngest candidatefor the World Championship. At age 20, Fischer won the 196364 U.S. Championship with 11/11, the only perfect score in thehistory of the tournament. Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games

(1969) remains a revered work in chess literature.[5]

In 1970, Fischer "dominated his contemporaries"[6] by winningthe 1970 Interzonal Tournament by a record 3-point marginand winning 20 consecutive games, including two unprecedented

60 sweeps in the Candidates Matches.[7] In July 1971, hebecame the first official World Chess Federation (FIDE)number-one-ranked player, spending 54 total months at numberone. In 1972, he captured the World Chess Championship fromBoris Spassky of the USSR in a match, held in Reykjavk,Iceland, publicized as a Cold War confrontation which attractedmore worldwide interest than any chess championship before or

since.[8]

In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreementcould not be reached with FIDE over one of the conditions forthe match. Afterward, Fischer became a recluse, disappearing from the public eye until 1992, when he won anunofficial rematch against Spassky. It was held in Yugoslavia, which was under a United Nations embargo at the

time.[9][10][11] His participation led to a conflict with the U.S. government, which sought income tax on Fischer's match

winnings, and ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest.[12]

In the 1990s, Fischer patented a modified chess timing system which added a time increment after each move, now astandard practice in top tournament and match play, and created a new variant of chess called Fischerandom

(Chess960).[13]

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Fischer lived in Hungary, Germany, the Philippines, Japan, and Iceland, and madeincreasingly anti-American and anti-semitic remarks on various radio stations. Possibly as a result, his U.S. passport

was revoked.[14][15][16] Fischer, unaware of his passport's revocation, traveled to Japan, where he was arrested by

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Japanese authorities,[17] and detained for over eight months (in 2004 and 2005)[18] under threat of deportation. In

March 2005, Iceland granted Fischer full citizenship,[19] leading Japanese authorities to release him from prison.[20]

Fischer flew to Iceland, where he lived until his death on January 17, 2008.[21]

Contents

1 Early years

1.1 Paul Nemenyi as Fischer's father

1.2 Chess beginnings

1.3 The Hawthorne Chess Club

2 Young champion

2.1 Wins first U.S. title

3 Grandmaster, candidate, author

3.1 Drops out of school

4 U.S. Championships

5 Olympiads

6 196061

7 1962: success, setback, accusations of collusion

7.1 Accuses Soviets of collusion

8 Religious affiliation

9 Semi-retirement in the mid-1960s

10 Successful return

10.1 Withdraws while leading Interzonal

10.2 Second semi-retirement

11 World Champion

11.1 Road to the World Championship

11.2 World Championship match

11.3 Forfeiture of title

12 Sudden obscurity

13 1992 Spassky rematch

14 Life as an migr

14.1 Anti-semitic statements

14.2 Anti-American and anti-Israel statements

14.3 Detention in Japan

14.4 Asylum in Iceland

15 Death, estate dispute, and exhumation

16 Contributions to chess



16.1 Opening theory

16.2 Endgame

16.3 Fischer clock

16.4 Fischerandom Chess

16.5 Legacy

16.6 Internet Bobby Fischer theory

16.7 Bobby Fischer on film

17 In popular culture

18 Writings

18.1 Under Fischer's name

19 Tournament and match summaries

19.1 Tournaments

19.2 Matches

19.3 Team events

20 Notable games

21 See also

22 References

23 Further reading

24 External links

Early years

Bobby Fischer was born at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on March 9, 1943.[22] His birth certificate

listed his father as Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, also known as Gerardo Liebscher,[23] a German biophysicist. His mother,

Regina Wender Fischer, was an American citizen of Polish-Russian Jewish[24] descent.[25][26] Born in Switzerland and

raised in St. Louis, Missouri,[22] Regina became a teacher, registered nurse, and later a physician.[27]

After graduating from college in her teens, Regina traveled to Germany to visit her brother. It was there she metgeneticist, and future Nobel Prize winner, Hermann Joseph Muller, who persuaded Regina to move to Moscow tostudy medicine. She enrolled at I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, where she met and married

Hans-Gerhardt in November 1933.[28] In 1938, Hans and Regina had a daughter, Joan Fischer. The reemergence ofanti-Semitism under Joseph Stalin prompted Regina to go with Joan to Paris, France, where Regina became an Englishteacher; the threat of a German invasion led her and Joan to go to the United States in 1939. Hans-Gerhardt attempted

to follow the pair but his German citizenship barred him from entering the United States.[28] Regina and Hans-Gerhardt

had separated in Moscow although they did not officially divorce until 1945.[28]

"In June 1942, Regina became pregnant", and "on March 9, 1943", "Bobby [Fischer] was born at the Michael Reese

Hospital in Chicago".[29] At the time, Regina was "homeless"[29] and shuttled to different jobs and schools around thecountry to support her family. She engaged in political activism, and raised both Bobby and Joan as a single

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parent.[30][31][32]

In 1949, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York,[33] where she could "study for a master's degree in nursing and

subsequently enter a career as a nurse".[32]

Paul Nemenyi as Fischer's father

Sources implying that Paul Nemenyi, a Hungarian Jewish physicist, and an expert in fluid and applied mechanics, mayhave been Fischer's biological father, were first made public in a 2002 investigation by Peter Nicholas and Clea Benson

of The Philadelphia Inquirer.[30][34][35] Throughout the 1950s, the FBI investigated Regina and her circle for her

alleged communist sympathies, as well as her previous life in Moscow.[36] The FBI files identify Paul Nemenyi asBobby Fischer's biological father, showing that Hans-Gerhardt Fischer never entered the United States, having been

refused admission by U.S. immigration officials due to his alleged Communist sympathies.[34][37][38] Not only wereRegina and Nemenyi reported to have had an affair, in 1942, but Nemenyi made monthly child support payments to

Regina, and paid for Bobby's schooling until his own death in 1952.[39] Nemenyi had lodged complaints with socialworkers, saying he was concerned about the way that Regina was raising Bobby, to the point that, on at least one

occasion, Nemenyi broke down in tears.[34] Later on Bobby told the Hungarian chess player Zita Rajcsanyi that Paul

Nemenyi would sometimes show up at the family's Brooklyn apartment and take him on outings.[30] After PaulNemenyi died, in 1952, Regina Fischer wrote a letter to Paul Nemenyi's first son (Peter), asking if Paul had left money

for Bobby in his will:[34]

Bobby was sick 2 days with fever and sore throat and of course a doctor or medicine was out of thequestion. I don't think Paul would have wanted to leave Bobby this way and would ask you most urgentlyto let me know if Paul left anything for Bobby.

On one occasion, Regina told a social worker that the last time she had ever seen Hans-Gerhardt Fischer was in 1939,four years before Bobby was born. On another occasion, she told the same social worker she had traveled to Mexico

to see Hans-Gerhardt in June 1942, and that Bobby was conceived during that meeting.[30] According to BobbyFischer's brother-in-law, Russell Targ, who was married to Bobby's half-sister, Joan, for 40 years, Regina concealed

the fact that Nemenyi was Bobby's father because she wanted to avoid the stigma of an out-of-wedlock birth.[30]

Chess beginnings

In March 1949, six-year-old Bobby, and his sister Joan, learned how to play chess using the instructions from a set

bought at a candy store.[40] When Joan lost interest in chess and Regina didn't have time to play, it left Fischer to play

many of his first games against himself.[41] When the family vacationed at Patchogue, Long Island that summer, Bobby

found a book of old chess games, and studied it intensely.[42] Fischer biographer Frank Brady describes the family's

move from Manhattan to Brooklyn in 1950:[43]

In the fall of 1950, Regina moved the family out of Manhattan and across the bridge to Brooklyn, whereshe rented an inexpensive apartment near the intersection of Union and Franklin streets. It was onlytemporary: She was trying to get closer to a better neighborhood. Robbed of her medical degree inRussia because of the war, she was now determined to acquire a nursing diploma. As soon as she

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enrolled in the Prospect Heights School of Nursing, the peripatetic Fischer family, citizens of nowhere,moved once againits tenth transit in six yearsto a $52-a-month two-bedroom flat at 560 LincolnPlace in Brooklyn.

The family resided in apartment Q, a "small, basic, but habitable" apartment.[32] It was there that "Fischer soon became

so engrossed in the game that Regina feared he was spending too much time alone".[32] As a result, on November 14,1950, Regina sent a postcard to the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, seeking to place an ad, inquiring whether otherchildren of Bobby's age might be interested in playing chess with him. The paper rejected her ad because no one couldfigure out how to classify it, but forwarded her inquiry to Hermann Helms, the "Dean of American Chess", who told her

that Master Max Pavey would be giving a simultaneous exhibition on January 17, 1951.[44][45] Fischer played in theexhibition. Although he held on for 15 minutes, even drawing a crowd of onlookers, he eventually lost to the chess

master.[46] One of the spectators was Brooklyn Chess Club President Carmine Nigro, who was so impressed with

Fischer's play[47] that he introduced him to the club, and began teaching him.[48][49][50] In the summer of 1955, Fischer,

then 12 years old, joined the Manhattan Chess Club, the strongest chess club in the country.[51][52] Fischer's

relationship with Nigro lasted until 1956,[53][54] when Nigro moved away.[54]

Carmine Nigro introduced Fischer to future grandmaster William Lombardy,[55] and, starting in September 1954,[56]

Lombardy began coaching Fischer in private.[57][58] "We spent hours in our sessions, simply playing over qualitygames", said Lombardy, going on to say that "I tried to instill in Bobby the secret of my own speedy rise. Eidetic

Imagery and Total Immersion".[59] Based on a 1956 game Lombardy played against Pavilias Vaitonis (in which heagreed to a draw offer after only 13 moves), he told Fischer: "Do not accept draw offers. For an ambitious andtalented player, accepting a draw is death to a top result. Opponents fear an uncompromising opponent and thus make

more mistakes. Act as I advise and do not copy my timidity".[60] Lombardy played a key part in Fischer becoming

World Champion.[61][62] He was Fischer's aide at Portoro[63][64] where they analyzed Fischer's games.[65] He was

Bobby's second in Reykjavik,[66][67][68][69][70][71] where he analyzed with Fischer,[72][73][74] and helped keep Fischer

in the match.[75][76][77][78][79]

The Hawthorne Chess Club

In June 1956, Fischer began attending the "Hawthorne Chess Club", based in master John "Jack" W. Collins' home.[80]

For years it was believed that Collins was Fischer's teacher and coach,[81][82][83][84] even though Collins stated that he

did not teach Fischer.[85] It is now believed that Collins was Fischer's mentor, not his teacher or coach.[86][87][88][89] Amentor and a friend, Fischer played thousands of blitz and offhand games with Collins and other strong players, studied

the books in Collins' large chess library, and ate almost as many dinners at Collins' home as his own.[90][91][92]

Future grandmaster Arnold Denker was also a mentor to young Bobby, often taking him to watch the New YorkRangers play hockey at Madison Square Garden. Bobby enjoyed those treats and never forgot them; the two became

lifelong friends.[93]

Young champion

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In 1956, Fischer experienced a "meteoric rise" in his playing strength.[94] On the tenth national rating list of the United

States Chess Federation (USCF), published on May 20, 1956, Fischer's rating was 1726,[95] more than 900 points

below top-rated Samuel Reshevsky (2663).[96]

In March 1956, the Log Cabin Chess Club of Orange, New Jersey, took Fischer on a tour to Cuba, where he gave a

12-board simultaneous exhibition at Havana's Capablanca Chess Club, winning ten games and drawing two.[97][98] Onthis tour the club played a series of matches against other clubs. Fischer played second board, behind InternationalMaster Norman Whitaker. Whitaker and Fischer were the leading scorers for the club, each scoring 5 points out of 7

games.[99]

In July 1956, Fischer won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship, scoring 8/10 at Philadelphia to become the

youngest-ever Junior Champion at age 13,[100] At the 1956 U.S. Open Chess Championship in Oklahoma City,

Bobby scored 8/12 to tie for 48th places, with Arthur Bisguier winning.[101] In the first Canadian Open Chess

Championship at Montreal 1956, Bobby scored 7/10 to tie for 812th places, with Larry Evans winning.[102] InNovember, Fischer played in the 1956 Eastern States Open Championship in Washington DC, tying for second withWilliam Lombardy, Nicholas Rossolimo, and Arthur Feuerstein, with Hans Berliner taking first by a half-point

margin.[103]

Fischer accepted an invitation to play in the Third Lessing J. Rosenwald Trophy Tournament in New York City

(1956), a premier tournament limited to the 12 players considered the best in the country.[104] Although Fischer's ratingwas not among the top 12 in the country, he received entry by special consideration. Playing against top opposition, the

13-year-old Fischer could only score 4/11, tying for 89th place.[105] Yet, Bobby won the brilliancy prize[106] for his

'"immortal"'[107] game against International Master[108] Donald Byrne,[104] in which Bobby sacrificed his queen tounleash an unstoppable attack. Hans Kmoch called it "The Game of the Century". Wrote Kmoch, "The following game,a stunning masterpiece of combination play performed by a boy of 13 against a formidable opponent, matches the

finest on record in the history of chess prodigies".[109][110] " 'The Game of the Century' has been talked about,analyzed, and admired for more than fifty years, and it will probably be a part of the canon of chess for many years to

come".[111] "In reflecting on his game a while after it occurred, Bobby was refreshingly modest: 'I just made the moves

I thought were best. I was just lucky.' "[112]

In 1957, Fischer played a two-game match against former World Champion Max Euwe at New York, losing

1.[113][114][115] On the USCF's eleventh national rating list, published on May 5, 1957, Fischer was rated 2231, a

masterover 500 points higher than his rating a year before.[116] This made him, at that time, the country's youngest

ever chess master.[117] In July, Bobby successfully defended his U.S. Junior title, scoring 8/9 at San Francisco.[118]

As a result of his strong tournament results, Fischer's rating went up to 2298, "making him among the top ten active

players in the country".[119] In August, Fischer scored 10/12 at the U.S. Open Chess Championship in Cleveland,

winning on tie-breaking points over Arthur Bisguier.[120][121] This made Bobby the youngest ever U.S. Open

Champion.[122][123] Bobby won the New Jersey Open Championship, scoring 6/7.[124] He then defeated the young

Filipino master Rodolfo Tan Cardoso 62 in a New York match sponsored by Pepsi-Cola.[125][126]

Wins first U.S. title

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Based on Fischer's rating and strong results, the USCF invited him to play in the 195758 U.S. Championship.[127]

The tournament included such luminaries as six-time U.S. champion Samuel Reshevsky, defending U.S. championArthur Bisguier, and World Junior Champion William Lombardy, who in August had won the World Junior

Championship with the only perfect score (110) in the history of the event.[128][129][130] Bisguier predicted that

Fischer would "finish slightly over the center mark".[128][131] Despite all the predictions to the contrary, Fischer scored

eight wins and five draws to win the tournament by a one-point margin, with 10/13.[132][133] Still two months shy of

his 15th birthday, Fischer became the youngest ever U.S. Champion[134] Since the championship that year was also the

U.S. Zonal Championship, Fischer's victory earned him the title of International Master.[135][136] Fischer's victory in the

U.S. Championship sent his rating up to 2626; the second-best U.S. player, behind only Reshevsky (2713),[137] and

qualified him to participate in the 1958 Portoro Interzonal, the next step toward challenging the World Champion.[125]

Grandmaster, candidate, author

Bobby wanted to go to Moscow. At his pleading, "Regina wrote directly to the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev,requesting an invitation for [Bobby] to participate in the World Youth and Student Festival. The replyaffirmative

came too late for him to go".[138] Regina did not have the money to pay the airfare, but in the following year Fischerwas invited onto the game show I've Got a Secret, where, thanks to Regina's efforts, the producers of the show

arranged two round-trip tickets to Russia.[139]

Once in Russia, Fischer was invited by the Soviet Union to Moscow,[140] where International Master Lev Abramov

would serve as a guide to both Bobby and his sister, Joan.[141] Upon arrival, Fischer immediately demanded that he be

taken to the Moscow Central Chess Club,[142] where he played speed chess with "two young Soviet masters", Evgeni

Vasiukov and Alexander Nikitin,[143] winning every game.[142] Chess author V. I. Linder writes about the impressionFischer gave grandmaster Vladimir Alatortsev when he played blitz against the Soviet masters: "Back in 1958, in theCentral Chess Club, Vladimir Alatortsev saw a tall, angular 15-year-old youth, who in blitz games, crushed almosteveryone who crossed his path... Alatortsev was no exception, losing all three games. He was astonished by the play ofthe young American Robert Fischer, his fantastic self-confidence, amazing chess erudition and simply brilliant play! On

arriving home, Vladimir said in admiration to his wife: 'This is the future world champion!' "[144]

Fischer demanded to play against Mikhail Botvinnik, the reigning World Champion. When told that this wasimpossible, Fischer asked to play Keres. "Finally, Tigran Petrosian was, on a semi-official basis, summoned to the

club..." where he played speed games with Fischer, winning the majority.[145] "When Bobby discovered that he wasn't

going to play any formal games... he went into a not-so-silent rage",[146] saying he was fed up "with these Russian

pigs",[147] which angered the Soviets who saw Fischer as their honored guest. It was then that the Yugoslavian chessofficials offered to take in Fischer and Joan as early guests to the Interzonal. Fischer took them up on the offer, arriving

in Yugoslavia to play two short training matches against masters Dragoljub Janoevi and Milan Matulovi.[148] Fischer

drew both games against Janoevi, and then defeated Matulovi in Belgrade by 21.[149]

The top six finishers in the Interzonal would qualify for the Candidates Tournament.[150] Most observers doubted that a15-year-old with no international experience could finish among the six qualifiers at the Interzonal, but Fischer toldjournalist Miro Radoicic, "I can draw with the grandmasters, and there are half-a-dozen patzers in the tournament I

reckon to beat".[151][152] Despite some bumps in the road, and a problematic start, Fischer succeeded in his plan: after

a strong finish, he ended up with 12/20 (+62=12) to tie for 56th.[153] The Soviet grandmaster Yuri Averbakh

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observed, " 'In the struggle at the board this youth, almost still a child, showed himself to be a full-fledged fighter,demonstrating amazing composure, precise calculation and devilish resourcefulness. I was especially struck not even byhis extensive opening knowledge, but his striving everywhere to seek new paths. In Fischer's play an enormous talent

was noticeable, and in addition one sensed an enormous amount of work on the study of chess.' "[154] Sovietgrandmaster Bronstein said of Fischer's time in Portoro: "It was interesting for me to observe Fischer, but for a long

time I couldn't understand why this 15-year-old boy played chess so well."[155] Fischer became the youngest person

ever to qualify for the Candidates, and the youngest ever grandmaster at 15 years, 6 months, 1 day.[156] "By then

everyone knew we had a genius on our hands."[157]

Before the Candidates' Tournament, Fischer won the 195859 U.S. Championship (scoring 8/11).[158] He tied forthird (with Borislav Ivkov) in Mar del Plata (scoring 10/14), a half-point behind Ludek Pachman and Miguel

Najdorf.[159] He tied for 46th in Santiago (scoring 7/12) behind Ivkov, Pachman, and Herman Pilnik.[160]

At the Zrich International Tournament, Fischer finished a point behind future World Champion Mikhail Tal and a half-

point behind Yugoslavian grandmaster Svetozar Gligori.[161][162][163] Tal recalled Fischer's uncompromising style: "Inhis game with the oldest competitor, the Hungarian grandmaster Gedeon Barcza, Fischer had no advantage, but, notwishing to let his opponent go in peace, played on to the 103rd move. The game was adjourned three times and thecontestants used up two score sheets, but even when there were only the kings left on the board, Fischer made twomore moves! Draw! Stunned by such a fanatical onslaught, Barcza could barely get up from his chair, but Bobbynonchalantly suggested: 'Let's have a look at the game from the beginning...' Barcza then began pleading: 'Look, I have

a wife and children. Who's going to support them in the event of my untimely death!' "[164]

Although Fischer had ended his formal education at age 16, he subsequently taught himself several foreign languages so

he could read foreign chess periodicals.[165] According to Latvian chess master Alexander Koblencs, even he and Talcould not match the commitment that Fischer had made to chess. Recalling a conversation from the tournament: " 'Tellme, Bobby,' Tal continued, 'what do you think of the playing style of Larissa Volpert?' 'She's too cautious. But youhave another girl, Dmitrieva. Her games do appeal to me!' Here we were left literally open-mouthed in astonishment.Misha and I have looked at thousands of games, but it never even occurred to us to study the games of our women

players. How could we find the time for this?! Yet Bobby, it turns out, had found the time!' "[166]

Until late 1959, Fischer "had dressed atrociously for a champion, appearing at the most august and distinguished

national and international events in sweaters and corduroys".[167] A director of the Manhattan Chess Club had once

banned Fischer for not being "properly accoutered", forcing Denker to intercede to get him reinstated.[168] Now,encouraged by Pal Benko to dress more smartly, Fischer "began buying suits from all over the world, hand-tailored and

made to order".[169][170] He told journalist Ralph Ginzburg that he had 17 hand-tailored suits, and that all of his shirts

and shoes were handmade.[171]

At the age of 16, Fischer finished equal fifth out of eight (the top non-Soviet player) at the 1959 Candidates

Tournament in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade, Yugoslavia,[172] scoring 12/28. He was outclassed by tournament winner Tal,

who won all four of their individual games.[173] That year, Fischer released his first book of collected games: Bobby

Fischer's Games of Chess, published by Simon & Schuster.[174]

Drops out of school

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Bobby's interest in chess became more important than schoolwork, to the point that "by the time he reached the fourthgrade, he'd been in and out of six schools". In 1952, Regina got Bobby a scholarship (based on his chess talent and

"astronomically high IQ") to Brooklyn Community Woodward.[175][176] Fischer later attended Erasmus Hall High

School at the same time as Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.[177][178] In 1959, its student council awarded him a

gold medal for his chess achievements.[179][180] The same year, Fischer dropped out of high school when he turned age

16, the earliest he could legally do so.[181][182] He later explained to Ralph Ginzburg, "You don't learn anything in

school".[183][184]

When Fischer was 16, his mother moved out of their apartment to pursue medical training. Her friend Joan Rodker,who had met Regina when the two were "idealistic communists" living in Moscow in the 1930s, believes that Fischerresented his mother for being mostly absent as a mother, a communist activist and an admirer of the Soviet Union, andthat this led to his hatred for the Soviet Union. In letters to Rodker, Fischer's mother states her desire to pursue herown "obsession" of training in medicine and writes that her son would have to live in their Brooklyn apartment without

her: "It sounds terrible to leave a 16-year-old to his own devices, but he is probably happier that way".[185] Theapartment was on the edge of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood that had one of the highest homicide and general

crime rates in New York City.[186] Despite the alienation from her son, Regina, in 1960, protested the practices of the

American Chess Foundation,[187] and staged a five-hour protest in front of the White House, urging President DwightEisenhower to send an American team to that year's chess Olympiad (set for Leipzig, East Germany, behind the Iron

Curtain), and to help support the team financially.[188]

U.S. Championships

Fischer played in eight U.S. Championships, winning all of them,[189][190] by at least a one-point margin.[191] His results

were:[189][192][193]

U.S. Champ. Score Place Margin Percentage Age

195758 10/13 (+80=5)[194] First 1 point 81% 14

195859 8/11 (+60=5)[195] First 1 point 77% 15

195960 9/11 (+70=4)[196] First 1 point 82% 16

196061 9/11 (+70=4)[197] First 2 points 82% 17

196263 8/11 (+61=4)[198] First 1 point 73% 19

196364 11/11 (+110=0)[199] First 2 points 100% 20

1965[200] 8/11 (+82=1)[201] First 1 point 77% 22

196667 9/11 (+80=3)[202] First 2 points 86% 23

Fischer missed the 196162 Championship (he was preparing for the 1962 Interzonal), and there was no 196465

event.[203] Out of eight U.S. Chess Championships, Fischer lost only three games; to Edmar Mednis in the 196263event, and in consecutive rounds to Samuel Reshevsky, and Robert Byrne in the 1965 championship, culminating in a

total score of 74/90 (61 wins, 26 draws, 3 losses).[204]

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Fischer at the age of 17 playing

against 23-year-old World Champion

Mikhail Tal in Leipzig

Olympiads

Fischer refused to play in the 1958 Munich Olympiad when his demand to

play first board ahead of Samuel Reshevsky was rejected.[205][206] Somesources claim that 15-year-old Fischer was unable to arrange leave from

attending high school.[207] Fischer would later represent the United States onfirst board at four Men's Chess Olympiads:

Olympiad Individual result U.S. team result

Leipzig 1960 13/18[208] (Bronze) Silver

Varna 1962 11/17[209] (Eighth) Fourth

Havana 1966 15/17[210] (Silver) Silver

Siegen 1970 10/13[211] (Silver) Fourth

Out of four Men's Chess Olympiad's, Fischer scored +407=18, for 49/65:

75.4%.[212][213] In 1966, Fischer narrowly missed the individual gold medal, scoring 88.23% to World Champion

Tigran Petrosian's 88.46%, even though he played four games more than Petrosian, faced stiffer opposition,[214] andwould have won the gold if he had accepted Florin Gheorghiu's draw offer, rather than declining it and suffering his only

loss.[215]

At the 1962 Varna Olympiad, "Fischer met Argentina's famed Miguel Najdorf, and like Babe Ruth's famed three homerun prediction, Bobby made one relative to the Argentinian. He said he would beat him in twenty-five moves; he did it

in twenty-four, accounting for Najdorf's only loss of the tournament".[216] Ironically, Najdorf lost the game whilst

employing the very opening variation named after him: the Sicilian Najdorf.[217]

Fischer had planned to play for the U.S. at the 1968 Lugano Olympiad, but backed out when he saw the poor playing

conditions.[218] Both former World Champion Tigran Petrosian and Belgian-American International Master GeorgeKoltanowski, the "leader of the American team" that year, felt that Fischer was "justified" in not participating in the

Olympiad.[219] According to Lombardy, Fischer's non-participation was due to Reshevsky's refusal to "yield first

board".[220]

196061

In 1960, Fischer tied for first place with Soviet star Boris Spassky at the strong Mar del Plata Tournament in

Argentina, winning by a two-point margin, scoring 13/15 (+131=1),[221][222] ahead of David Bronstein.[223] Fischer

lost only to Spassky; this was the start of their lifelong friendship.[224]

Fischer experienced the only failure in his competitive career[225] at the Buenos Aires Tournament (1960), finishing with

8/19 (+35=11), far behind winners Viktor Korchnoi and Samuel Reshevsky with 13/19.[226] According to Larry

Evans, Fischer's first sexual experience was with a girl to whom Evans introduced him during the tournament.[227][228]

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Pal Benko says that Fischer did horribly in the tournament "because he got caught up in women and sex. Afterwards,

Fischer said he'd never mix women and chess together, and kept the promise".[229] Fischer concluded 1960 by winning

a small tournament in Reykjavk with 4/5,[230] and defeating Klaus Darga in an exhibition game in West Berlin.[231]

In 1961, Fischer started a 16-game match with Reshevsky, split between New York and Los Angeles.[232]

Reshevsky, 32 years Fischer's senior, was considered the favorite, since he had far more match experience and had

never lost a set match.[233] After 11 games and a tie score (two wins apiece with seven draws), the match endedprematurely due to a scheduling dispute between Fischer and match organizer and sponsor Jacqueline

Piatigorsky.[234][235] Reshevsky was declared the winner, by default, and received the winner's share of the prize

fund.[236]

Fischer was second in a super-class field, behind only former World Champion Tal at Bled, 1961.[237] Yet, Fischerdefeated Tal head-to-head for the first time in their individual game, scored 3/4 against the Soviet contingent, and

finished as the only unbeaten player, with 13/19 (+80=11).[238][239]

1962: success, setback, accusations of collusion

Fischer won the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal by a 2-point margin,[240] going undefeated, with 17/22

(+130=9).[241][242] He was the first non-Soviet player to win an Interzonal since FIDE instituted the tournament in

1948.[243] Russian grandmaster Alexander Kotov said of Fischer:[244]

I have discussed Fischer's play with Max Euwe and Gideon Stahlberg. All of us, experienced 'tournamentold-timers', were surprised by Fischer's endgame expertise. When a young player is good at attacking orat combinations, this is understandable, but a faultless endgame technique at the age of 19 is somethingrare. I can recall only one other player who at that age was equally skillful at endgames VasilySmyslov.

Fischer's victory made him a favorite for the Candidates Tournament in Curaao.[245][246] Yet, he finished fourth out of

eight with 14/27 (+87=12),[247] far behind Tigran Petrosian (17/27), Efim Geller, and Paul Keres (both 17/27).[248]

Tal fell very ill during the tournament, and had to withdraw before completion. Fischer, a friend of Tal, was the only

contestant who visited him in the hospital.[249]

Accuses Soviets of collusion

Following his failure[250] in the 1962 Candidates, Fischer asserted, in an August 1962 Sports Illustrated article,entitled The Russians Have Fixed World Chess, that three of the five Soviet players (Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres,and Efim Geller) had a prearranged agreement to quickly draw their games against each other in order to conserve theirenergy for playing against Fischer, and that a fourth, Viktor Korchnoi, had been forced to deliberately lose games toensure that a Soviet player won the tournament. It is generally thought that the former accusation is correct, but not the

latter.[251][252] Fischer stated that he would never again participate in a Candidates' tournament, since the format,combined with the alleged collusion, made it impossible for a non-Soviet player to win. Following Fischer's article,FIDE, in late 1962, voted a radical reform of the playoff system, replacing the Candidates' tournament with a format of

one-on-one knockout matches; the format that Fischer would dominate in 1971.[253][254]

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Fischer defeated Bent Larsen in a summer 1962 exhibition game in Copenhagen for Danish TV. Later that year,

Fischer beat Bogdan liwa in a team match against Poland in Warsaw.[255]

In the 196263 U.S. Championship, Fischer experienced his first single-game loss (to Edmar Mednis) in round one.Bisguier was in excellent form, and Fischer caught up to him only at the end. Tied at 73, the two met in the final round.

Bisguier stood well in the middlegame, but blundered, handing Fischer his fifth consecutive U.S. championship.[256]

Religious affiliation

Although Fischer's mother was Jewish, Fischer disavowed having Jewish roots.[257] In an interview in the January 1962issue of Harper's, Fischer was quoted as saying, "I read a book lately by Nietzsche and he says religion is just to dull

the senses of the people. I agree".[258][259]

Fischer joined the Worldwide Church of God in the mid-1960s. The church prescribed Saturday Sabbath, and

forbade work (and competitive chess) on Sabbath.[260] During the mid 1970s Fischer contributed significant money to

the Worldwide Church of God.[261] In 1972 one journalist stated that "Fischer is almost as serious about religion as he

is about chess", and the champion credited his faith with greatly improving his chess.[262] Yet, prophecies by Herbert

W. Armstrong went unfulfilled,[263] and the church was rocked by revelations of a series of sex scandals involving

Garner Ted Armstrong.[264] Fischer eventually left the church in 1977, "accusing it of being 'Satanic,' and vigorously

attacking its methods and leadership".[265]

Semi-retirement in the mid-1960s

Influenced by ill will over the aborted 1961 match against Reshevsky, Fischer declined an invitation to play in the 1963

Piatigorsky Cup tournament in Los Angeles, which had a world-class field.[266] He instead played in the Western Open

in Bay City, Michigan, which he won with 7/8.[267][268] In AugustSeptember 1963, Fischer won the New York

State Championship at Poughkeepsie, with 7/7, his first perfect score,[269] "ahead of Bisguier and Sherwin".[270]

In the 196364 U.S. Championship, Fischer achieved his second perfect score, this time against the top-ranked chessplayers in the country: "This tournament became, as they say, the stuff of legend. The fact that Fischer won his sixth

U.S. title was no surprise. The way he did it was spectacular".[199] "One by one Fischer mowed down the oppositionas he cut an 110 swathe through the field, to demonstrate convincingly to the opposition that he was now in a class by

himself".[266] This result brought Fischer heightened fame, including a profile in Life magazine.[271] Sports Illustrated

diagrammed each of the 11 games in its article, "The Amazing Victory Streak of Bobby Fischer".[272] Such extensivechess coverage was groundbreaking for the top American sports' magazine. His 110 win in the 196364

Championship is the only perfect score in the history of the tournament,[273][274] and one of about ten perfect scores in

high-level chess tournaments ever.[275][276][277] David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld called it "the most remarkable

achievement of this kind".[275] Fischer recalls:[278]

Motivated by my lopsided result (110!), Dr. [Hans] Kmoch congratulated [Larry] Evans (the runner up)on "winning" the tournament... and then he congratulated me on "winning the exhibition."

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International Master Anthony Saidy recalled his last round encounter with the undefeated Fischer:[279]

Going into the final game I certainly did not expect to upset Fischer. I hardly knew the opening but playedsimply, and he went along with the scenario, opting for a N-v-B [i.e., Knight vs. Bishop] endgame with aminimal edge. In the corridor, Evans said to me, 'Good. Show him we're not all children.'

At adjournment, Saidy saw a way to force a draw, yet "sealed a different, wrong move", and lost. "The rest is

history".[279] "Chess publications around the world wrote of the unparalleled achievement. Only Bent Larsen, always a

Fischer detractor, was unimpressed: 'Fischer was playing against children' ".[280]

Fischer, eligible as U.S. Champion, decided against his participation in the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal, taking himself

out of the 1966 World Championship cycle,[281] even after 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.[271]

Instead, Fischer embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada from February through May, playing a

simultaneous exhibition, and giving a lecture in each of more than 40 cities.[282] His 94% winning percentage over more

than 2,000 games is one of the best ever achieved.[283] Fischer declined an invitation to play for the U.S. in the 1964

Olympiad in Tel Aviv.[284]

Successful return

Fischer wanted to play in the Capablanca Memorial Tournament, Havana in August and September 1965.[285] Since

the State Department refused to endorse Fischer's passport as valid for visiting Cuba,[286] he proposed, and thetournament officials and players accepted, a unique arrangement: Fischer played his moves from a room at the Marshall

Chess Club, which were then transmitted by teleprinter to Cuba.[287][288][289][290] Ludk Pachman observed thatFischer "was handicapped by the longer playing session resulting from the time wasted in transmitting the moves, and

that is one reason why he lost to three of his chief rivals".[291] The tournament was an "ordeal" for Fischer, who had to

endure eight-hour and sometimes even twelve-hour playing sessions.[292] Despite the handicap, Fischer tied for second

through fourth places, with 15/21 (+123=6),[293] behind former World Champion Vasily Smyslov, whom Fischer

defeated in their individual game.[291] The tournament received extensive media coverage.[294][295]

In December, Fischer won his seventh U.S. Championship (1965), with the score of 8/11 (+82=1),[296] despite

losing to Robert Byrne and Reshevsky in the eighth and ninth rounds.[297][298] Fischer also reconciled with Mrs.Piatigorsky, accepting an invitation to the very strong second Piatigorsky Cup (1966) tournament in Santa Monica.Fischer began disastrously and after eight rounds was tied for last with 3/8. He then staged "the most sensationalcomeback in the history of grandmaster chess", scoring 7/8 in the next eight rounds. In the end, World ChessChampionship finalist Boris Spassky edged him out by a half point, scoring 11/18 to Fischer's 11/18

(+73=8).[299][300] Now aged 23, Fischer would win every match or tournament he completed for the rest of his

life.[301]

Fischer won the U.S. Championship (196667) for the eighth and final time, ceding only three draws

(+80=3),[302][303] In MarchApril and AugustSeptember, Fischer won strong tournaments at Monte Carlo, with 7/9

(+61=2),[304] and Skopje, with 13/17 (+122=3).[305][306] In the Philippines, Fischer played nine exhibition games

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against master opponents, scoring 8/9.[307]

Withdraws while leading Interzonal

Fischer's win in the 196667 U.S. Championship qualified him for the next World Championship cycle.[296] At the1967 Sousse Interzonal, Fischer scored 8 points in the first 10 games, to lead the field. His observance of theWorldwide Church of God's seventh-day Sabbath was honored by the organizers, but deprived Fischer of several rest

days, which led to a scheduling dispute,[308] causing Fischer to forfeit two games in protest and later withdraw,

eliminating himself from the 1969 World Championship cycle.[309] Since Fischer had completed less than half of hisscheduled games, all of his results were annulled, meaning players who had played Fischer had those games cancelled,

and the scores nullified from the official tournament record.[253]

Second semi-retirement

In 1968, Fischer won tournaments at Netanya, with 11/13 (+100=3),[310] and Vinkovci, with 11/13

(+90=4),[311] by large margins.[312] Fischer then stopped playing for the next 18 months, except for a win against

Anthony Saidy in a 1969 New York Metropolitan League team match.[313][314] That year, Fischer (assisted bygrandmaster Larry Evans) released his second book of collected games: My 60 Memorable Games, published by

Simon & Schuster. The book "was an immediate success".[315]

World Champion

In 1970, Fischer began a new effort to become World Champion. His dramatic march toward the title made him ahousehold name and made chess front-page news for a time. He won the title in 1972, but forfeited it three years later.

Road to the World Championship

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 andprize fund. Benko, one of the three qualifiers, agreed to give up his spot in the Interzonal in order to give Fischer

another shot at the World Championship.[316][317][318][319] "When it was suggested to Fischer that Benko wasconsidering the gesture based on a large sum of money to be paid to him, Bobby replied that Benko would not give up

his berth for money alone. It was a matter of honor".[320][321] "Lombardy, who was next in line with the right toparticipate, was queried as to whether he would also step aside. 'I would like to play,' he answered, 'but Fischer should

have the chance.' "[320]

Before the Interzonal, in March and April 1970, the world's best players competed in the USSR vs. Rest of the Worldmatch in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, often referred to as "the Match of the Century." Fischer allowed Bent Larsen ofDenmark 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.[322][323] The USSR team eked out a 2019 victory, but on second

board "Fischer was the high scorer for his team, with a 31 score against Petrosian (two wins and two draws)".[324]

After the USSR versus the Rest of the World Match, the unofficial World Championship of Lightning Chess (5-minutegames) was held at Herceg Novi. "[The Russians] figured on teaching Fischer a lesson and on bringing him down a peg

or two".[325] Petrosian and Tal were considered the favorites,[326] but Fischer overwhelmed the super-class field with

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Bobby Fischer's scoresheet from his round 3 game against Miguel Najdorf in

the 1970 Chess Olympiad in Siegen, Germany

Fischer in Belgrade for the USSR vs Rest

of the World match in 1970.

19/22 (+171=4), far ahead of Tal(14), Korchnoi (14), Petrosian

(13), and Bronstein (13).[326][327]

Fischer lost only one game (toKorchnoi, who was also the onlyplayer to achieve an even scoreagainst him in the double round robin

tournament).[328][329] Fischer "crushedsuch blitz kings as Tal, Petrosian and

Vasily Smyslov by a clean score".[330]

Tal marveled that, "During the entiretournament he didn't leave a singlepawn en prise!", while the otherplayers "blundered knights and

bishops galore".[330][331] ForLombardy, whom Bobby had played

many blitz games with,[332] Fischer's4-point margin of victory "came as a

pleasant surprise".[333]

In AprilMay 1970, Fischer won at Rovinj/Zagreb with 13/17(+101=6), by a two-point margin, ahead of Gligori, Hort, Korchnoi,

Smyslov, and Petrosian.[334][335] In JulyAugust, Fischer crushed themostly grandmaster field at Buenos Aires, winning by a 3-point

margin, scoring 15/17 (+130=4).[336] Fischer then played first boardfor the U.S. Team in the 19th Chess Olympiad in Siegen, where he won

an individual Silver medal, scoring 10/13 (+81=4),[211] with his only

loss being to World Champion Boris Spassky.[337] Right after theOlympiad, Fischer defeated Ulf Andersson in an exhibition game for the

Swedish newspaper Expressen.[338] Fischer had taken his game to a

new level.[339]

Fischer won the Interzonal (held in Palma de Mallorca in November

and December 1970) with 18/23 (+151=7),[340] far ahead of

Larsen, Efim Geller, and Robert Hbner, with 15/23.[341][342] Fischer

finished the tournament with seven consecutive wins.[343][344] Settingaside the Sousse Interzonal (which Fischer withdrew from whileleading), Fischer's victory gave him a string of eight consecutive first

prizes in tournaments.[318] Former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnikwas not, however, impressed by Fischer's results, stating: "Fischer hasbeen declared a genius. I do not agree with this... In order to rightly bedeclared a genius in chess, you have to defeat equal opponents by a big

margin. As yet he has not done this".[345] Despite Botvinnik's remarks,

"Fischer began a miraculous year in the history of chess".[346]

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In the 1971 Candidates matches, Fischer was set to play against Soviet grandmaster and concert pianist[347] MarkTaimanov in the quarter-finals. "Their match was to begin in May 1971 in Vancouver, Canada, on the beautiful campus

of the University of British Columbia".[348] "Analysts and players alike predicted that Fischer would win the

Candidates, but not without a struggle. Tal predicted that Fischer would win 54 against Taimanov".[348] "[Fischer]saw himself as the firm favorite in the Taimanov match. He was not alone; the noncommunist press was of the same

mind. Only Taimanov insisted that he could win, dismissing Fischer as a mere computer".[349] Taimanov had reason tobe confident. He was backed by the firm guidance of Botvinnik, who "had thoroughly analysed Fischer's record and

put together a 'dossier' on him", from when he was in talks to play Fischer in a match "a couple of years earlier".[350]

After Fischer defeated Taimanov in the second game of the match, Taimanov asked Fischer how he managed to comeup with the move 12. N1c3, to which Fischer replied "that the idea was not hishe had come across it in the

monograph by the Soviet master Alexander Nikitin in a footnote".[351] Taimanov said of this: "It is staggering that I, anexpert on the Sicilian, should have missed this theoretically significant idea by my compatriot, while Fischer had

uncovered it in a book in a foreign language!"[352] With the score at 40, in Fischer's favor, the fifth game adjournment

was a sight to behold.[353] Schonberg explains the scene:[325]

Taimanov came to Vancouver with two seconds, both grandmasters. Fischer was alone. He thought thatthe sight of Taimanov and his seconds was the funniest thing he had ever seen. There Taimanov and hisseconds would sit, six hands flying, pocket sets waving in the air, while variations were being spouted allover the place. And there sat Taimanov with a confused look on his face. Just before resuming play [in thefifth game] the seconds were giving Taimanov some last-minute advice. When poor Taimanov entered theplaying room and sat down to confront Fischer, his head was so full of conflicting continuations that hebecame rattled, left a Rook en prise and immediately resigned.

Fischer beat Taimanov by the score of 60.[354] "The record books showed that the only comparable achievement tothe 60 score against Taimanov was Wilhelm Steinitz's 70 win against Joseph Henry Blackburne in 1876 in an era of

more primitive defensive technique".[355] "It is difficult to portray to non-chess players the magnitude of such a shutout.

A typical result between well-matched players might be, say, six wins to four, with nine draws".[356] Upon losing the

final game of the match, Taimanov shrugged his shoulders, saying sadly to Fischer: "Well, I still have my music".[357] Asa result of his performance, Taimanov "was thrown out of the USSR team and forbidden to travel for two years. Hewas banned from writing articles, was deprived of his monthly stipend... [and] the authorities prohibited him from

performing on the concert platform".[358] "The crushing loss virtually ended Taimanov's chess career".[359] Fischer wasnext scheduled to play against Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen. "Spassky predicted a tight struggle: 'Larsen is a little

stronger in spirit.' "[360] Before the match, Botvinnik had told a Soviet television audience:[361]

It is hard to say how their match will end, but it is clear that such an easy victory as in Vancouver [againstTaimanov] will not be given to Fischer. I think Larsen has unpleasant surprises in store for [Fischer], allthe more since having dealt with Taimanov thus, Fischer will want to do just the same to Larsen and this isimpossible.

Fischer beat Larsen by the score of 60.[362] Robert Byrne writes: "It is out of the question for me to explain how

Bobby, how anyone, could win six games in a row from such a genius of the game as Bent Larsen".[363] Just a yearbefore, Larsen had played first board for the Rest of the World team ahead of Fischer, and had handed Fischer his

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only loss at the Interzonal. Garry Kasparov later wrote that no player had ever shown a superiority over his rivals

comparable to Fischer's "incredible" 120 score in the two matches.[364] Chess statistician Jeff Sonas concludes that

the victory over Larsen gave Fischer the "highest single-match performance rating ever".[365]

In August 1971, while preparing for his last Candidates match with former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, Fischer

played a strong lightning event at the Manhattan Chess Club, winning with 21/22.[327]

Despite Fischer's results against Taimanov and Larsen, his upcoming match against Petrosian seemed a daunting

task.[366] Nevertheless, the Soviet government was concerned about Fischer.[367][368] "Reporters asked Petrosian

whether the match would last the full twelve games... 'It might be possible that I win it earlier,' Petrosian replied",[369]

and then stated: "Fischer's [nineteen consecutive] wins do not impress me. He is a great chess player but no

genius".[370] Petrosian played a strong theoretical novelty in the first game, gaining the advantage, but Fischer eventually

won the game after Petrosian faltered.[371][372][373] This gave Fischer a run of 20 consecutive wins against the world'stop players (in the Interzonal and Candidates matches), a winning streak topped only by Steinitz's 25 straight wins in

187382.[374] Petrosian won the second game, finally snapping Fischer's streak.[375] After three consecutive draws,

Fischer swept the next four games to win the match 62 (+51=3).[376] Sports Illustrated ran an article on the

match, highlighting Fischer's domination of Petrosian as being due to Petrosian's outdated system of preparation:[377]

Fischer's recent record raises the distinct possibility that he has made a breakthrough in modern chesstheory. His response to Petrosian's elaborately plotted 11th move in the first game is an example: Russianexperts had worked on the variation for weeks, yet when it was thrown at Fischer suddenly, he faced itsconsequences alone and won by applying simple, classic principles.

Upon completion of the match, Petrosian remarked: "After the sixth game Fischer really did become a genius. I on theother hand, either had a breakdown or was tired, or something else happened, but the last three games were no longer

chess".[378][379] "Some experts kept insisting that Petrosian was off form, and that he should have had a plus score atthe end of the sixth game..." to which Fischer replied " 'People have been playing against me below strength for fifteen

years' "[380] Fischer's match results befuddled Botvinnik: "It is hard to talk about Fischer's matches. Since the time that

he has been playing them, miracles have begun".[381] "When Petrosian played like Petrosian, Fischer played like a very

strong grandmaster, but when Petrosian began making mistakes, Fischer was transformed into a genius".[381]

Fischer gained a far higher rating than any player in history up to that time.[382] On the July 1972 FIDE rating list, his

Elo rating of 2785 was 125 points above (World No. 2) Spassky's rating of 2660.[383][384][385] His results put him on

the cover of Life magazine,[386] and allowed him to challenge World Champion Boris Spassky, whom he had never

beaten (+03=2).[387][388]

World Championship match

Fischer's career-long stubbornness about match and tournament conditions was again seen in the run-up to his matchwith Spassky. Of the possible sites, Fischer's first choice was Belgrade, Yugoslavia, while Spassky's was Reykjavk,

Iceland.[389] For a time it appeared that the dispute would be resolved by splitting the match between the two

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Fischer in Amsterdam in 1972, on a

visit to discuss the World Chess

Championship details with the then

FIDE president Max Euwe

Fischer in Amsterdam in 1972

locations, but that arrangement failed.[390] After that issue was resolved, Fischer refused to appear in Iceland until theprize fund was increased. London financier Jim Slater donated an additional US$125,000, bringing the prize fund up to

an unprecedented $250,000 ($1,393,283.49 in 2013),[391] and Fischer finally agreed to play.[392]

Before and during the match, Fischer paid special attention to his physical training and fitness, which was a relativelynovel approach for top chess players at that time. He had developed histennis skills to a good level, and played frequently during off-days inReykjavk. He also had arranged for exclusive use of his hotel's swimmingpool during specified hours, and swam for extended periods, usually late at

night.[393] According to Soviet grandmaster Nikolai Krogius, Fischer "waspaying great attention to sport, and that he was swimming and even

boxing..."[394]

The match took place in Reykjavk from July through September 1972.[395]

Fischer lost the first two games in strange fashion: the first when he played arisky pawn-grab in a drawn endgame, the second by forfeit when he refused

to play the game in a dispute over playing conditions.[396] Fischer wouldlikely have forfeited the entire match, but Spassky, not wanting to win bydefault, yielded to Fischer's demands to move the next game to a back

room, away from the cameras whose presence had upset Fischer.[397][398]

After that game, the match was moved back to the stage and proceededwithout further serious incident. Fischer won seven of the next 19 games,losing only one and drawing eleven, to win the match 128 and become

the 11th World Chess Champion.[395]

The Cold War trappings made the match a media sensation.[399] It was

called "The Match of the Century",[400][401][402] and received front-page

media coverage in the United States and around the world.[403][404] Fischer'swin was an American victory in a field that Soviet players had dominated forthe previous quarter-century; players closely identified with, and subsidizedby, the Soviet state. Kasparov remarked, "Fischer fits ideologically into thecontext of the Cold War era: a lone American genius challenges the Soviet

chess machine and defeats it".[405][406] Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman callsFischer's victory "the story of a lonely hero who overcomes an entire

empire".[407] Fischer's sister observed, "Bobby did all this in a countryalmost totally without a chess culture. It was as if an Eskimo had cleared a

tennis court in the snow and gone on to win the world championship".[408]

Upon Fischer's return to New York,[409] a Bobby Fischer Day was

held.[410] He was offered numerous product endorsement offers worth "at

least $5 million" (all of which he declined).[411] He appeared on the cover of

Sports Illustrated[412] with American Olympic swimming champion Mark

Spitz. Fischer also made an appearance on a Bob Hope TV special.[413]

Membership in the U.S. Chess Federation doubled in 1972,[414] and peaked

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in 1974; in American chess, these years are commonly referred to as the "Fischer Boom". Fischer won the 'Chess

Oscar'[415] (an award, started in 1967, given to the best chess player, determined through votes from chess media and

leading players) for 1970, 1971, and 1972.[416]

Forfeiture of title

Fischer was scheduled to defend his title in 1975 against Anatoly Karpov, who emerged as his challenger.[417] Fischer,who had played no competitive games since his World Championship match with Spassky, laid out a proposal for thematch in September 1973, in consultation with FIDE official Fred Cramer. He made three principal (non-negotiable)demands:

1. The match continues until one player wins 10 games, draws not counting.

2. No limit to the total number of games played.

3. In case of a 99 score, the champion (Fischer) retains the title, and the prize fund is split equally.[418]

A FIDE Congress was held in 1974 during the Nice Olympiad. The delegates voted in favor of Fischer's 10-win

proposal, but rejected his other two proposals, and limited the number of games in the match to 36.[419] In response to

FIDE's ruling, Fischer sent a cable to Euwe on June 27, 1974.[420][421][422]

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 championregaining title and prize fund split equally were rejected by the FIDE delegates. By so doing FIDE hasdecided against my participation in the 1975 World Chess Championship. Therefore, I resign my FIDEWorld Chess Championship title. Sincerely, Bobby Fischer.

The delegates responded by reaffirming their prior decisions, but did not accept Fischer's resignation and requested

that he reconsider.[423] Many observers considered Fischer's requested 99 clause unfair because it would require the

challenger to win by at least two games (108).[424] Botvinnik (who had benefited from both draw odds, the right to anautomatic rematch while champion, and possibly also political intimidation of Paul Keres during the 1948 World

Championship tournament) called the 99 clause "unsporting".[425] Korchnoi, David Bronstein, and Lev Alburt

considered the 99 clause reasonable.[426][427][428]

Due to the continued efforts of U.S. Chess Association officials,[429] a special FIDE Congress was held in March 1975in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands in which it was accepted that the match should be of unlimited duration, but the 99

clause was once again rejected, by a narrow margin of 35 votes to 32.[430] FIDE set a deadline of April 1, 1975, forFischer and Karpov to confirm their participation in the match. No reply was received from Fischer by April 3. Thus,

by default, Karpov officially became World Champion.[431] In his 1991 autobiography, Karpov professed regret thatthe match had not taken place, and claimed that the lost opportunity to challenge Fischer held back his own chessdevelopment. Karpov met with Fischer several times after 1975, in friendly but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to

arrange a match since Karpov would never agree to play to 10.[432]

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Brian Carney opined in The Wall Street Journal that Fischer's victory over Spassky in 1972 left him nothing to prove,except that perhaps someone could someday beat him, and he was not interested in the risk of losing. And thatFischer's refusal to recognize peers also allowed his paranoia to flower: "The world championship he won ... validatedhis view of himself as a chess player, but it also insulated him from the humanizing influences of the world around him.

He descended into what can only be considered a kind of madness".[254]

Bronstein felt that Fischer "had the right to play the match with Karpov on his own conditions".[433] Korchnoi

stated:[434]

Was Fischer right in demanding that the world title be protected by a two point handicap that thechallenger would be considered the winner with a 108 score and that the champion would retain his titlein the event of a 99 draw? Yes, this was quite natural: the champion deserves this, not to mention thefact that further play to the first win in the event of an even score would be nothing short of a lottery thewinner in that case could not claim to have won a convincing victory.

Soviet grandmaster Lev Alburt felt that the decision to not concede to Fischer's demands rested on Karpov's "sober

view of what he was capable of".[435]

Years later, in his 1992 match against Spassky, Fischer indicated to New York Times reporter Roger Cohen that he,Fischer, was not the one who refused to play Karpov, rather that it was Karpov "who refused to play against me

[Fischer]".[436]

Sudden obscurity

After the 1972 World Chess Championship, Fischer did not play a competitive game in public for nearly 20 years.[437]

In 1977, he played three games in Cambridge, Massachusetts against the MIT Greenblatt computer program, winning

all of them.[438]

On May 26, 1981, while walking in Pasadena, Fischer was arrested by a police patrolman, allegedly because Fischer

matched the description of a man who had just committed a bank robbery in the area.[439] Fischer, who was slightly

injured during the arrest,[440] was held for two days, subjected to assault and various types of mistreatment,[441] and

released on $1000 bail.[442] Fischer published a 14-page pamphlet detailing his alleged experiences and saying that his

arrest had been "a frame up and set up".[443][444][445]

In 1981, Fischer stayed at the home of grandmaster Peter Biyiasas, where, over a period of four months, he beat

Biyiasas seventeen times in a series of speed games.[265][446] In an interview with Sports Illustrated reporter William

Nack, Biyiasas assessed Fischer's play:[445][447]

He was too good. There was no use in playing him. It wasn't interesting. I was getting beaten, and itwasn't clear to me why. It wasn't like I made this mistake or that mistake. It was like I was beinggradually outplayed, from the start. He wasn't taking any time to think. The most depressing thing about itis that I wasn't even getting out of the middle game to an endgame. I don't ever remember an endgame.He honestly believes there is no one for him to play, no one worthy of him. I played him, and I can attestto that.

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1992 Spassky rematch

Fischer emerged after twenty years of isolation to play Spassky (then tied for 96th102nd on the FIDE rating list) in a"Revenge Match of the 20th century" in 1992. This match took place in Sveti Stefan and Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in spiteof a United Nations embargo that included sanctions on commercial activities. Fischer demanded that the organizers billthe match as "The World Chess Championship", although Garry Kasparov was the recognized FIDE WorldChampion. Fischer insisted he was still the true World Champion, and that for all the games in the FIDE-sanctioned

World Championship matches, involving Karpov, Korchnoi, and Kasparov, the outcomes had been prearranged.[448]

The purse for the rematch was US$5 million, with $3.35 million of the purse to go to the winner.[449] According to

grandmaster Andrew Soltis:[450]

[The match games] were of a fairly high quality, particularly when compared with Kasparov'schampionship matches of 1993, 1995 and 2000, for example. Yet the games also reminded many fans ofhow out of place Fischer was in 1992. He was still playing the openings of a previous generation. He was,moreover, the only strong player in the world who didn't trust computers and wasn't surrounded byseconds and supplicants.

Fischer won the match with 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws.[451] Kasparov stated, "Bobby is playing OK, nothing

more. Maybe his strength is 2600 or 2650. It wouldn't be close between us".[452] Yasser Seirawan believed that the

match proved that Fischer's playing strength was "somewhere in the top ten in the world".[453]

Fischer and Spassky gave ten press conferences during the match.[454] Seirawan attended the match and met withFischer on several occasions; the two analyzed some match games and had personal discourse. Seirawan later wrote:"After September 23 [1992], I threw most of what I'd ever read about Bobby out of my head. Sheer garbage. Bobby

is the most misunderstood, misquoted celebrity walking the face of the earth".[455] He further wrote that Fischer was

not camera shy, smiled and laughed easily, was "a fine wit" and "wholly enjoyable conversationalist".[456]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury warned Fischer before the start of the match that his participation was illegal, thatit would violate President George H. W. Bush's Executive Order 12810 imposing United Nations Security Council

Resolution 757 sanctions against engaging in economic activities in Yugoslavia.[457] In response, during the firstscheduled press conference on September 1, in front of the international press, Fischer spat on the U.S. order, saying

"this is my reply".[458] His violation of the order led U.S. Federal officials to initiate a warrant for his arrest upon

completion of the match,[459] citing, in pertinent part, "Title 50 USC 1701, 1702, and 1705 and Executive Order

12810".[460][461][462]

Prior to the rematch against Spassky, Fischer had won a training match against Svetozar Gligori in Sveti Stefan with

six wins, one loss and three draws.[463]

Life as an migr

After the 1992 match with Spassky, Fischer, now a fugitive, slid back into relative obscurity, taking up residence in

Budapest, Hungary, and allegedly having a relationship with young Hungarian chess master Zita Rajcsnyi.[464][465]

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Fischer claimed that standard chess was stale and that he now played blitz games of chess variants, such as Chess960.He visited with the Polgr family in Budapest and analyzed many games with Judit, Zsuzsa, and Zsfia

Polgr.[466][467][468]

From 2000 to 2002, Fischer lived in Baguio City in the Philippines,[469] residing in the same compound as the Filipino

grandmaster Eugenio Torre, a close friend who acted as his second during his 1992 match with Spassky.[469] Torre

introduced Fischer to a 22-year-old woman named Marilyn Young.[470] On May 21, 2001 Marilyn Young gave birth

to a daughter named Jinky Young.[471][472] Her mother claimed that Jinky was Fischer's daughter, citing as evidenceJinky's birth and baptismal certificates, photographs, a transaction record dated December 4, 2007 of a bank

remittance by Fischer to Jinky, and Jinky's DNA through her blood samples.[471][473][474] On the other hand, Magns

Sklason, a friend of Fischer's, said that he was certain that Fischer was not the girl's father.[475] On August 17, 2010,

it was reported that a DNA test revealed that Jinky Young was not the daughter of Bobby Fischer.[476][477]

Anti-semitic statements

Fischer made numerous anti-Jewish statements and professed a general hatred for Jews since at least the early

1960s.[259][478] Jan Hein Donner wrote that at the time of Bled 1961, "He idolized Hitler and read everything abouthim that he could lay his hands on. He also championed a brand of anti-semitism that could only be thought up by a

mind completely cut off from reality".[225] Donner took Fischer to a war museum, which "left a great impression, since

[Fischer] is not an evil person, and afterwards he was more restrained in his remarksto me, at least".[225]

Although Fischer described his mother as Jewish in an article he wrote as a teenager,[259] he later denied his Jewish

ancestry.[30] In 1984, Fischer denied being a Jew in a letter to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, insisting that they remove

his name and accusing them of "fraudulently misrepresenting me to be a Jew [...] to promote your religion".[479]

From the 1980s on, Fischer's comments about Jews were a major theme in his public and private remarks.[480] Heopenly denied the Holocaust, and called the United States "a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew

bastards".[481] Between 1999 and 2006, Fischer's primary means of communicating with the public was radiointerviews. He participated in at least 34 such broadcasts, mostly with radio stations in the Philippines, but also inHungary, Iceland, Colombia, and Russia. In 1999, he gave a radio call-in interview to a station in Budapest, Hungary,during which he described himself as the "victim of an international Jewish conspiracy". In another radio interview,Fischer said that it became clear to him in 1977, after reading The Secret World Government by Count Cherep-

Spiridovich, that Jewish agencies were targeting him.[482] Fischer's sudden reemergence was apparently triggered whensome 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.[483]

Fischer's library contained anti-semitic and racist literatu

Documents

Bobby Fischer