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Bobby Fischer

American chess player (1943–2008)

AI overview

Bobby Fischer was an American chess player who became a world champion and is widely considered one of the greatest players in the game's history. He matters because his dominance in chess during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly his Cold War rivalry with Soviet player Boris Spassky, brought unprecedented mainstream attention to the sport.

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Person · Open Library

Born: 1943
Died: 2008
Works: 18

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Chicago, Illinois, USA

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess prodigy, grandmaster, and the eleventh World Chess Champion. Many consider him the greatest chess player of all time. At age 13 Fischer won a "brilliancy" that became known as The Game of the Century. Starting at age 14, Fischer played in eight United States Championships, winning each by at least a one-point margin. At age 15, Fischer became…

Known for

The Ghost of Bobby Fischer — Himself (Archive Footage)2024
Pawn Sacrifice — Self (archive footage)2015
The Fight for Fischer's Estate — himself2011
Chess History — Self2011
Bobby Fischer Against the World — Himself (archive footage)2011
Requiem for Bobby Fischer — Himself (archive footage)2010
Me & Bobby Fischer — Bobby Fischer2009
Searching for Bobby Fischer — Self (archive footage)

Article

Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. Qualifying for the 1972 World Championship, Fischer swept matches with Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against Tigran Petrosian, Fischer won the title match against Boris Spassky of the USSR, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.

In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE, chess's international governing body, over the match conditions. Consequently, the Soviet challenger Anatoly Karpov was named World Champion by default. Fischer subsequently disappeared from the public eye, though occasional reports of erratic behavior emerged. In 1992, he reemerged to win an unofficial rematch against Spassky. It was held in Yugoslavia, which at the time was under an embargo of the United Nations. His participation led to a conflict with the US federal government, which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia. The US government ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest; subsequently, Fischer lived as an émigré. In 2004, he was arrested in Japan and held for several months for using a passport that the US government had revoked. Eventually, he was granted Icelandic citizenship by a special act of the Althing, allowing him to live there until his death in 2008. During his life, Fischer made numerous antisemitic statements, including Holocaust denial, despite his Jewish ancestry. His antisemitism was a major theme in his public and private remarks, and there has been speculation concerning his psychological condition based on his extreme views and eccentric behavior.