Photo:
Born in Chicago, Fischer barely knew his father, his parents divorcing when he was just two years old. He moved with his mother and older sister to New York, and in 1949 he first discovered chess, through a set that his sister had bought from a local store. After a year, he joined the Brooklyn Chess Club, then the Manhattan chess club. He was mentored and trained by a series of players, such as Arnold Denker and John Collins, who not only trained him in the game, but also filled part of the space left by his father.
Fischer became the youngest ever US Junior Chess Champion in July 1956, aged 12. The following year he became the youngest champion of the US Open tournament, following on with a series of victories that saw him become an International Master in 1958, aged 14. Fischer enjoyed a highly successful international career for several years. During his young career, he told the world of his dream to live in a house designed exactly like a rook.
Then, in 1962, he became aware of the Worldwide Church of God, which was using the radio to preach of impending Apocalypse. Fischer's interest was divided between his chess and his religion. His appearance at competitions became sporadic, although when he did play, he was still a formidable opponent. From 1969 he had a series of victories that led to his challenge of the great Boris Spassky in 1972. The match took place in Iceland, and Fischer's eventual victory was a great piece of propaganda during the Cold War for the Americans. Part of the prize fund was donated to the Worldwide Church of God, but when the Apocalypse failed to materialise and scandals rocked the Church, Fischer abandoned and denounced it. He was due to defend his championship against Anatoly Karpov in 1975, but when his demands as to the conditions of the game were not met, he withdrew his participation.
Fischer would not play another game of competitive chess until for another 17 years. During this time he went into semi-seclusion. He was wrongfully arrested in 1981, mistaken for a bank robber, and alleged being treated harshly while in detention. Then in 1992, he challenged Spassky to a rematch. It was to take place in Yugoslavia, despite strict embargos at the time, but despite being warned not to take part, the match went ahead. Fischer was victorious, but a warrant was put out for his arrest.
Little was heard of him for some years, until he reappeared on Hungarian radio in 1999. He claimed to be the victim of a Jewish conspiracy, and he continued to make such anti-Semitic remarks on radio programmes over the next years, his views existed in spite of the fact that he himself was of partly Jewish ancestry.
In 2004, Fischer was arrested in Japan while using a revoked passport to board an aeroplane. To avoid deportation and imprisonment for his breaking of sanctions in 1992, he appealed to Iceland for political asylum. He was granted citizenship in March 2005, preventing the United States from demanding his extradition, as the Icelandic authorities believed that he was being unfairly singled out for his actions. He would not play competitive chess again, despite an attempt by a delegation including Boris Spassky to draw him back to the game. He became ill and died in Iceland on the 17th January.
.jpg)
