Posted on 01/18/2008 3:39:45 AM PST by lunarbicep
Controversial former world chess champion Bobby Fischer has died aged 64, Iceland's media says. The US-born player, who became famous around the world for beating the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in 1972, had been seriously ill for some time.
Mr Fischer was granted Icelandic citizenship in 2005 as a way to avoid being deported the US.
Mr Fischer was wanted for breaking international sanctions by playing a match in the former Yugoslavia in 1992.
He also had alienated many in his homeland by broadcasting anti-Semitic diatribes and expressing support for the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York.
The reclusive player had lived undetected in Japan for a number of years before moving to Iceland.
Checkmate.
Great chess player, awful human.
RIP.
He ran as a opposition leader against Putnam and was jailed by Putnam.
I wonder if he ate the mushrooms.
He was an extremely troubled man, and at least his troubles are over. Even with his weirdness, years from know he'll probably just be known as the greatest chess player ever. After all, his weirdness never hurt anybody, but his chess playing inspired millions and gave America a big boost during the Cold War.
Another ridiculous priority for using my tax money.
Great artists, chess players, actors, etc. don’t always come in “Normal.”
(Anyone else remember that old National Lampoon spoof? It was the ad in their “Deadman” comic book parody.)
Apparently not a FReeper.
"He was an extremely troubled man, and at least his troubles are over. Even with his weirdness, years from know he'll probably just be known as the greatest chess player ever."
Fischer's personality was much like a chess set...there was a black side and a white side.
True. And have you noticed the age he died at?
64
How fitting.
That hadn’t occurred to me, but indeed, quite appropriate.
The first time that I ever heard of Bobby Fisher was in Boys Life where he had a column.
The 1972 tournament was amazing. The local PBS channel was posting the moves on a big board as they were announced. I was very excited when he won that series.
Later I learned about some of his tactics that he used while playing. Things such as picking his nose in the face of his opponent were to me so disgusting that I could never really take the man seriously again.
Great player, but a first class jackass.
Hemingway comes to mind, as do Kafka and Van Gogh.
Who's Putnam?
If you meant Putin, then no, Fischer did not run against him. You're thinking of another chess player.
Garry Kasparov. He’s a political thorn in Putin’s side, and was briefly thrown in jail a couple of times, and generally harassed by the government, various dirty tricks used to keep him from running for president.
Good riddance!
Anyone who says that we deserved the attacks on 9/11 and hoped that there would be more attacks to “wipe us out” is a traitor.
He also said the following:
“The United States is evil. There’s this axis of evil. What about the allies of evil - the United States, England, Japan, Australia? These are the evildoers,” Fischer said.
Yeah he’s a traitor.
No, he was insane. I don't think he had the capacity to understand a treasonous act.
“No, he was insane. I don’t think he had the capacity to understand a treasonous act.”
I don’t buy the insanity bit.
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