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6th chess portrait. Robert "Bobby" James Fischer was the eleventh chess world champion after Boris Spassky, who lost against him in Reykjavik 1972 championship. Bobby was an exceptional player, and his victory created a worldwide event even outside the world of chess, as he ended the absolute domination of Soviets in chess initiated in 1948 with the victory of Mikhaïl Botvinnik. However, besides being an incredible player, Bobby Fischer was also very excentric and demanding. He asked a bunch of favors to the FIDE related to the conditions of the 1972 match (percentage of profit for the player, presence of TV cameras, isolation from spectators). The match Spassky-Fischer is actually called the "Match of the century" principally because of its insane games (especially the 6th which ended with the public and Spassky himself applausing Fischer), but also because of its context and happenings : the political importance of the match, Fischer losing by forfeit the second game (because of the FIDE refusing his conditions), Henry Kissinger calling him twice, Spassky getting sick on the 9th game...

Bobby Fischer kept his title until 1975. This year, he forfeited, without facing once the next world champion Anatoli Karpov, as this time the FIDE didn't want to let Fischer get whatever he wanted. From this year, he vanished from professional chess. He let his beard grow in order to be incognito. His following years were very complicated. He was victim of paranoia during this period : he always brought with him a suitcase full of anti-poisons when he ate in a restaurant, as he was sure that the KGB or the Mossad wanted to poison him. Finally in 1992, he accepted a revenge match against Spassky in Sveti Stefan and next in Belgrade, which he won 17,5 - 12,5. He pretended it was an actual world championship and that he hadn't really lost his title since 1972. However, he had forfeited, in the current world champion was Garry Kasparov. The same Kasparov said when he knew about the 1992 match : "God went down back on Earth."

Bobby Fischer ended his life in Reykjavik, the same city of his victory in 1972, and died in 2008. Garry Kasparov declared this time that he "can simply be considered as the founder of professional chess, and his domination, yet of a short duration, made him the greatest of all time.". A sure thing is that even with his status of enemy of the USSR during the Cold war, he impressed more than one soviet player, and Spassky, who had the reputation of being a true gentleman, had an enormous respect for him and kept a long time in contact with Fischer.

Description

6th chess portrait. Robert "Bobby" James Fischer was the eleventh chess world champion after Boris Spassky, who lost against him in Reykjavik 1972 championship. Bobby was an exceptional player, and his victory created a worldwide event even outside the world of chess, as he ended the absolute domination of Soviets in chess initiated in 1948 with the victory of Mikhaïl Botvinnik. However, besides being an incredible player, Bobby Fischer was also very excentric and demanding. He asked a bunch of favors to the FIDE related to the conditions of the 1972 match (percentage of profit for the player, presence of TV cameras, isolation from spectators). The match Spassky-Fischer is actually called the "Match of the century" principally because of its insane games (especially the 6th which ended with the public and Spassky himself applausing Fischer), but also because of its context and happenings : the political importance of the match, Fischer losing by forfeit the second game (because of the FIDE refusing his conditions), Henry Kissinger calling him twice, Spassky getting sick on the 9th game...

Bobby Fischer kept his title until 1975. This year, he forfeited, without facing once the next world champion Anatoli Karpov, as this time the FIDE didn't want to let Fischer get whatever he wanted. From this year, he vanished from professional chess. He let his beard grow in order to be incognito. His following years were very complicated. He was victim of paranoia during this period : he always brought with him a suitcase full of anti-poisons when he ate in a restaurant, as he was sure that the KGB or the Mossad wanted to poison him. Finally in 1992, he accepted a revenge match against Spassky in Sveti Stefan and next in Belgrade, which he won 17,5 - 12,5. He pretended it was an actual world championship and that he hadn't really lost his title since 1972. However, he had forfeited, in the current world champion was Garry Kasparov. The same Kasparov said when he knew about the 1992 match : "God went down back on Earth."

Bobby Fischer ended his life in Reykjavik, the same city of his victory in 1972, and died in 2008. Garry Kasparov declared this time that he "can simply be considered as the founder of professional chess, and his domination, yet of a short duration, made him the greatest of all time.". A sure thing is that even with his status of enemy of the USSR during the Cold war, he impressed more than one soviet player, and Spassky, who had the reputation of being a true gentleman, had an enormous respect for him and kept a long time in contact with Fischer.