As I wrote in an earlier post, American Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) played world championship matches in 1970–1 when he won 20 consecutive games before losing once and drawing 3 times to ex-world champion Russian Tigran Petrosyan. In 1972 Fischer was the first American-born Jewish man to hold the World Champion title when he defeated Russian Boris Spassky in a match held in Reykjavík Iceland. Russia had dominated chess since the end of WW2, so the tournament was highly publicised; the Fischer-Spassky match thus became a metaphorical battle in the Cold War
Spassky and Fischer, 1972
Pinterest
In 1975 when Fischer was to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov, he had certain set guidelines that were non-negotiable. International Chess Federation-FIDE could agree to the first 2 guidelines, but couldn't agree to the third. After sending out a letter to both Karpov and Fischer, Fischer refused to play, and forfeited his title in high dudgeon.
In 1992 he re-emerged to win a rematch against Spassky which was held in Yugoslavia, then under a United Nations embargo. His participation led to a conflict with the US government, warning Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia. The US government issued a warrant for his arrest; so Fischer lived in semi-hiding.
He joined a Californian church whose leader had apocalyptic visions for World’s End. But that made Fischer even more isolated. He began to read and distribute anti-Semitic literature and frequently spoke angrily about Jews & Americans. Bobby rejected everything that he’d come from. He applauded the 3,000 massacres in his infamous 9/11 speech and stopped playing professional chess. Fischer was an example of a very skilled man with a very high IQ who fell from grace, brought about by his own dodgy moral behaviour.
Fischer's angry talking points never varied: He was persecuted by world Jewry. The U.S government was a brutal, evil dictatorship that falsely accused Bobby Fischer of a crime and forced him to live in exile. Fischer was swindled out of a vast fortune in royalties by book publishers, movie studios and clock manufacturers, who had brazenly pilfered his brand name, patents and copyrights. The Jews are a filthy, lying bastard people bent on world domination through such insidious schemes as the Holocaust which was a money-making invention, the mass murder of Christian children (their blood used for black-magic) and junk food (William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin Donuts, was the main culprit).
In 1992 he re-emerged to win a rematch against Spassky which was held in Yugoslavia, then under a United Nations embargo. His participation led to a conflict with the US government, warning Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia. The US government issued a warrant for his arrest; so Fischer lived in semi-hiding.
He joined a Californian church whose leader had apocalyptic visions for World’s End. But that made Fischer even more isolated. He began to read and distribute anti-Semitic literature and frequently spoke angrily about Jews & Americans. Bobby rejected everything that he’d come from. He applauded the 3,000 massacres in his infamous 9/11 speech and stopped playing professional chess. Fischer was an example of a very skilled man with a very high IQ who fell from grace, brought about by his own dodgy moral behaviour.
Fischer's angry talking points never varied: He was persecuted by world Jewry. The U.S government was a brutal, evil dictatorship that falsely accused Bobby Fischer of a crime and forced him to live in exile. Fischer was swindled out of a vast fortune in royalties by book publishers, movie studios and clock manufacturers, who had brazenly pilfered his brand name, patents and copyrights. The Jews are a filthy, lying bastard people bent on world domination through such insidious schemes as the Holocaust which was a money-making invention, the mass murder of Christian children (their blood used for black-magic) and junk food (William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin Donuts, was the main culprit).
Bobby Fischer Rediscovered,
by Andrew Soltis, 2020
Later he lived in Japan where he met and married a chess official, Miyoko Watai. In Jul 2004, acting in response to a tip-off from US officials, Japanese immigration authorities arrested Fischer for using a revoked US passport while boarding a flight to Manila. Naturally he resisted arrest and claimed to have sustained bruises and broken teeth in the process. He was held for 16 days before being moved to a different facility.
Fischer applied for citizenship in Germany because he hoped his father had been German, but his application failed. Bobby was so determined to renounce his US citizenship, he asked US Sec of State Colin Powell for help, which also failed. In the final request, Japanese Justice Minister also rejected his asylum request and ordered his deportation.
Desperate to evade deportation to the USA, Fischer wrote to Iceland in Jan 2005 requesting citizenship. Sympathetic but unwilling to grant full citizenship, Iceland gave him an alien's passport. Then their Parliament unanimously agreed to grant Fischer full citizenship for humanitarian reasons.
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The Bobby Fischer Centre, which opened in 2013 in Selfoss Southern Iceland, displays Spassky´s and Fischer´s score sheets, a replica of their chessboard and items related to Bobby Fischer’s life in Iceland eg his furniture. There is a chess library, and in summer they use the chess classrooms.
Fischer applied for citizenship in Germany because he hoped his father had been German, but his application failed. Bobby was so determined to renounce his US citizenship, he asked US Sec of State Colin Powell for help, which also failed. In the final request, Japanese Justice Minister also rejected his asylum request and ordered his deportation.
Desperate to evade deportation to the USA, Fischer wrote to Iceland in Jan 2005 requesting citizenship. Sympathetic but unwilling to grant full citizenship, Iceland gave him an alien's passport. Then their Parliament unanimously agreed to grant Fischer full citizenship for humanitarian reasons.
Fischer arrived in Iceland in 2005
The Guardian
Being a sociable egalitarian people, Icelanders felt that he was being treated unjustly by the American and Japanese governments in 1972 and wanted to help put Iceland on the map. After landing in Reykjavík, Fischer gave a long press conference in which he claimed that America was out to get him. He then lived out his life as a virtual recluse in Iceland.
Laugardælir Church,
Fischer's resting place, Wiki
Bobby Fischer's lonely grave, Reykjavik
Duskbeforethedawn
In Jan 2008, Fischer (64) died from kidney failure in Reykjavík. He left no will and was buried next to the Christian Laugardælir church near Reykjavík. But then Fischer's $2 million estate became the subject of a 4-way legal battle. Mrs Marilyn Young claimed that Fischer was Jinky's father, providing baptismal certificates, photos and Jinky's DNA. The legitimacy of Miyoko Watai's marriage to Fischer was also challenged. The 4 parties in conflict were a] Fischer's wife; b] Jinky Young and her mother Marilyn; c] his 2 American nephews, Alexander & Nicholas Targ, and d] their father. (The US government also claimed unpaid taxes)
In June 2010 Iceland’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of Jinky Young's petition to have his body exhumed, alongside a doctor and priest. Two years after he was buried in a frozen Icelandic graveyard, Fischer’s body was dug up to determine if a 9-year-old Filipino girl was his child and heir to his $2 mill fortune. DNA results ruled out Fischer as Jinky’s father. In Mar 2011, an Icelandic court ruled that Miyoko Watai and Fischer had legally married in Sept 2004 and that she’d inherit Fischer's estate as his widow. Perhaps in revenge, Fischer's nephews had to pay Watai's $57,000 legal costs.
Fischer was known for his intense personality. This perfectionist was fiercely competitive, but that only seemed to contribute to his poor behaviour. Fischer's mental health deteriorated over time and he was diagnosed with various mental health conditions. His controversial statements and behaviour led to him being ostracised in the chess world, and increasingly isolated from society in general, reinforcing his feelings of paranoia.
In June 2010 Iceland’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of Jinky Young's petition to have his body exhumed, alongside a doctor and priest. Two years after he was buried in a frozen Icelandic graveyard, Fischer’s body was dug up to determine if a 9-year-old Filipino girl was his child and heir to his $2 mill fortune. DNA results ruled out Fischer as Jinky’s father. In Mar 2011, an Icelandic court ruled that Miyoko Watai and Fischer had legally married in Sept 2004 and that she’d inherit Fischer's estate as his widow. Perhaps in revenge, Fischer's nephews had to pay Watai's $57,000 legal costs.
Fischer was known for his intense personality. This perfectionist was fiercely competitive, but that only seemed to contribute to his poor behaviour. Fischer's mental health deteriorated over time and he was diagnosed with various mental health conditions. His controversial statements and behaviour led to him being ostracised in the chess world, and increasingly isolated from society in general, reinforcing his feelings of paranoia.
Bobby Fischer Centre,
Visit South Iceland