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Never_Again

R.I.P. Bobby Fischer

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Former chess World Champion Robert James Fischer, 64, died of kidney failure on Thursday in Iceland. Eight-times US Champion - once with a clean score of 11-0 (!) - single-handedly opposed the Soviet chess machine and wrestled the world champion title from Boris Spassky in Iceland in 1972, never to to take part in official competitions again.
R.I.P., the Crazy Diamond in Caissa's tiara.

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I can't think of much to say about Fischer that hasn't already been said, so I'll just quote myself (from The Mammoth Book of Chess, page 446):

Back in the late 1960s, one man started a revolution in the world's view of chess. His name was Bobby Fischer.

Bobby was brash, charismatic, spoke his mind and stuck to his principles. He was also a winner. He beat the whole Soviet "machine" single-handed, at a time when, politically, that was a very good thing for an American to do.

Bobby's success and notoriety brought unprecedented publicity to chess and greatly increased the prizes typical at chess tournaments. As Bill Hartston pithily put it, it was the start of the Financial Age.

Suddenly chess was a game for the young and for the rebellious. Chess was sexy.

The general media, however, has always seemed a little uneasy about chess. All too often the line taken is how weird chess players are, or how boring the game is.

In the case of Bobby Fischer, the press coverage had a most unfortunate effect, and he developed a deep distrust of the media. Since he didn’t give interviews, reporters had free rein to make up whatever they liked about him. So far as the non-chess-playing world was concerned, the image the media created was Fischer.

Chess experienced an explosion of interest in 1972 when Fischer beat Boris Spassky in their world championship match in Reykjavik. Chess was in the news! Television news bulletins recounted the latest stories from Reykjavik, whether on or off the board. Sales of chess books and equipment sky-rocketed and chess club membership increased dramatically.

Unfortunately, Fischer played no competitive chess in the years after winning the title, and as it became clear that the king would not return, media interest in chess began to wane.


And I'll link to this too.

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Respect for Fischer is due from his magnificent games on the chessboard and affecting better conditions/prizes for future tournament chess players, not his personal conduct... don't throw the baby out with the bathwater...

...And even if personal conduct were taken into account, Fischer hasn't done much harm asides from his anti-semitic remarks (and he is party Jewish, ironically) and occasional rabble-rousing against America, 9/11, etc.

Crazy lunatic or not, Bobby Fischer is a fucking hero for beating the Soviet Chess Machine and changing the decrepit basement conditions of tournament chess into world-class competition with five-star hotels.

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When I was in my teens he was all the rage in Chess, and I would say rightfully so. His legend will live on.... He really took the chess world by storm. Yes, he threw the occasional fit or acted very oddly but what he did for chess will always be. It is the only board games I still play fairly often, and I have the utmost in respect for those who really do it well.

R. I. P. Bobby.

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I'm fairly sure he was a high-functioning autistic. He was a pretty interesting character.

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A good chess player, well missed. Now for someone else to fill the shoes of a crazy chess genius.

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He got a bit loony, but his skills can't be denied.

on a bizzare note, I watched the trinindad vs. jones fight tonight and when it was over one of the commentators tried to use bobby fischer as an analogy to the bout. he failed it in saying that he died TODAY. his counterpart also failed it by say he died YESTERDAY. but this guy went on talking about how, even though was "certifiably insane" at the time, he took a rematch against spassky instead of taking on then world champ kasparov. WTF?!

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JohnnyRancid said:

Doomers dont play chess.

Yeah, uh, did you totally ignore Grazza's post there?

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YMB said:

Yeah, uh, did you totally ignore Grazza's post there?



Also, Silverwyvern illustrated a book about chess.

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JohnnyRancid said:

Doomers dont play chess.


I've been a dedicated doomer for years, and I love chess. I've played it off and on my whole life. You ought to try it. You might like it.

In reference to Grazza, I suspect there are still a few people out there that don't know what qualifies him to speak on the subject. The article he cited above is not just a snippet of an interview somebody did with him. He is in fact a co-author of that and many other books on chess. He is a FIDE Master and is recognized internationally for his work as an author, editor, and publisher. You can check him out further at his current company's website here
http://www.gambitbooks.com/gaminfo.html

Long live Bobby Fischer! He made us all proud as Americans.

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Csonicgo said:
please explain

Well, tell him to PM it to you (or something like that). If this thread turns into a political debate or a slanderfest, people will get hurt. Besides, there's plenty about Fischer on the Internet; that plus knowing BBG's leanings should pretty much illustrate why he said what he did.

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Csonicgo said:

please explain


In his later years he expressed heavy anti-American and anti-Semitic views.

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