Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland
18.01.2008 – One of the world's greatest chess geniuses, Bobby Fischer, has died at the age of 64. A spokesman for Fischer said the former world chess champion passed away in a Reykjavik hospital yesterday. The US-born former world chess champion, who became famous around the world for beating the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in 1972, had been seriously ill for some time. Rest in Peace, Bobby.
Bobby Fischer, 1943–2008
Robert James Fischer, the reclusive eleventh World Chess Champion, has died
at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he had been living for the last
three years. Fischer moved to Iceland after spending nine months in Japanese
detention while the US sought his extradition for tax evasion. He was released
when Iceland, where in 1972 he had defeated the tenth World Champion Boris Spassky,
granted him citizenship and afforded him refuge in the Nordic state. Fischer
settled in Reykjavik in April 2005, disappearing once again from the limelight
that his arrest and release in Japan had cast on him. He had just two or three
trusted friends whom he occasionally visited, a few shops and the library, where
he could occasionally be seen, and some restaurants where he ate. Fischer generally
refused to talk to journalists or entrepreneurs who approached him in droves
with projects and business proposals.
After a few relatively peaceful years Fischer, who was born on March 9, 1943,
took ill a few months ago and was admitted to hospital. His friend Einar S.
Einarsson informed the international media that in Iceland sickness is catagorized
as private matter, and being sick is not a subject of media reports. The Icelandic
press honored this ground rule and many news services – including ours
– followed suit. We knew that he was suffering from kidney failure and
that there was little hope for long-term survival. Still news of his death,
which caught us during our car journey from Hamburg to Wijk aan Zee, came as
a shock.
Round six of the Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk started with a minute's silence
in remembrance of Fischer. After the games had started attention was concentrated
on the Honorary Group, which is due to start playing their tournament on Saturday.
After a short opening ceremony, all four grandmasters gave first reactions to
the news of Fischer's passing:
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Viktor Kortchnoi: "A chess genius has died; a loss
for humanity."
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Lajos Portisch: "A big shock; the best chess player
in history has passed away."
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Ljubomir Ljubojevic: "A man without frontiers. He
didn't divide the East and the West, he brought them together in their admiration
for him."
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Jan Timman: "A great player and a great example for
many. His book My 60 Memorable Games had a big impact on me. It
is a shame he didn't continue to enrich the world of chess with his unparalleled
understanding after 1972."
Garry Kasparov statement on the death of Bobby Fischer
With the death of Bobby Fischer chess has lost one of its greatest figures.
Fischer’s status as world champion and celebrity came from a charismatic
and combative personality matched with unstoppable play. I recall thrilling
over the games of his 1972 Reykjavik world championship match against Boris
Spassky when I was nine years old. The American had his share of supporters
in the USSR even then, and not only for his chess prowess. His outspokenness
and individuality also earned him the quiet respect of many of my compatriots.
Fischer’s beautiful chess and his immortal games will stand forever as
a central pillar in the history of our game. And the story of the Brooklynite
iconoclast’s rise from prodigy to world champion has few peers for drama.
Apart from a brief and peculiar reappearance in 1992, Bobby Fischer’s
chess career ended in 1972. After conquering the chess Olympus he was unable
to find a new target for his power and passion.
Fischer’s relentless energy exhausted everything it touched – the
resources of the game itself, his opponents on and off the board, and, sadly,
his own mind and body. While we can never entirely separate the deeds from the
man, I would prefer to speak of his global achievements instead of his inner
tragedies. It is with justice that he spent his final days in Iceland, the site
of his greatest triumph. There he has always been loved and seen in the best
possible way: as a chessplayer.
Garry Kasparov
Moscow – January 18, 2008
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