Bobby Fischer was born on 9th March 1943 at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a single-parent family. He lived with mother Regina Wender Ficher and his elder sister, Joan Fischer. His living place was often changed throughout his childhood as his mother desired to have a better neighborhood. His had moved from one place to another, including Mobile, Arizona (1945) and Brooklyn, New York (1949), ten times in six years.
Bobby Fischer had no idea what a chess set was until March 1949, when he started learning to play chess with his elder sister without any chess professionals’ help: they followed the instructions printed inside their box of chess set which was purchased from a candy store near their home. As Joan gradually lost her interest in chess, Bobby Fischer had to train himself on his own. Observing that Bobby was really very keen on playing chess, Regina wondered if there were some kids at the same age who were willing to play chess with him. She initially asked a newspaper to post an advertisement for her but she was rejected. Luckily, her request finally reached Hermann Helms, the Dean of American Chess.
Bobby had a gift for playing chess. His performance in the play against Senior Master Max Pavey, recommended by Hermann, on 17th January 1951 was so impressive that Carmine Nigro, the Brooklyn Chess Club President, could spot him and decided to be his chess teacher. Since then, he was on the way to success. At the age of 12, Bobby Fischer joined the Manhattan Chess Club. Because he could win all 12 games within 2 hours and 20 minutes, he got a watch and a check from the club. His name also appeared in the December, 1955 issue of Chess Life. In September 1954, he received the first private coaching session offered by Grandmaster William Lombardy who made the greatest contribution to Fischer’s path to World Champion, along which he could earn a large amount of money. When he was 13 years old, he became the youngest winner in the United States Junior Championship. He was famous for being The Game of the Century as well. Two years later, he became the youngest international grandmaster.
When he became 16 years old, he decided to drop out of school as he thought that he could not learn anything in school. He had made a right decision. Devoting all his time to playing chess, he could further enhance his talent. He learned several foreign languages himself so as to read foreign chess periodicals. He participated in World Chess Championship held in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1972. He successfully defeated his opponent, Boris Spassky of the USSR. Since that match, Bobby had not played any competitive games. His title was, however, lost to Anatoly Karpov in 1975. His life became much tougher in September 2001, when the 911 terrorist attacks took place in the United States. In a Philippine radio program – Radio Bomba in Baguio – he praised the terrorists, criticized the U.S. and described Jews as “lying bastards”. He also expressed his wish that the US would be taken over by the military. His words had triggered many people’s anger. In October 2011, the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) published a newsletter declaring that the comments about the New York terrorist and Pentagon attacks were Bobby’s personal opinions. USCF had also deactivated his membership.
Throughout his life, he had experienced living in various places: Hungary, Brazil, the Philippines, England and Iceland. When living in Japan, he met his girlfriend, Miyoko Watai and he planned to get married with her in August 2003. Bobby Fischer had asked U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell for assistance in renouncing U.S. citizenship but got rejected. In January 2005, he wrote a letter to the government of Iceland requesting for Icelandic citizenship and he succeeded. He was granted an alien’s passport but he was not allowed to leave Japan until 23rd March 2005. He eventually got an official passport on 27th April 2005.
He had to struggle with diseases in his final years. He was diagnosed with having a urinary tract blockage. When advised to undergo a surgery or receive medical treatment, he agreed to neither of the suggestions. That was understandable since he was not happy spiritually. A typical piece of heart-breaking experience was that he realized he was cheated by Worldwide Church of God which he joined in the mid-1960s. His life ended in a Reykjavik hospital named National University Hospital of Iceland, due to degenerative renal failure on 17thJanuary 2008, with his final words “Nothing is as healing as the human touch”. His grave was located at Church of Laugardælir.
Bobby Fischer, yet, could not rest in peace at first. Since he had left approximately US$2,000,000 as inheritance but his wife, Miyoko Watai, was unable to show their marriage certificate, there was doubt if they had really got married and therefore a legal battle for the inheritance was triggered. His body had to be re-buried due to the need of DNA sample. The Icelandic district court ruled that the married was valid on 3rd March 2011. Miyoko Watai could inherit Bobby Fischer’s estate and the battle was settled in the end.
In spite of the madness in the life, it was undeniable that Bobby Fischer had contributed a lot towards chess. His way to play, showing no noticeable weaknesses, could be compared to a computer chess algorithm. His brilliance had allowed him to be famous for his opening preparation, dedication to chess opening theory and endgame techniques. Not only was he a professional chess player, but he was also the author of article entitled “A Bust to the King’s Gambit” which was published in the first issue of the American Chess Quarterly. Many leading chess players were benefited by applying the Poisoned Pawn Variation of the Najdorf Sicilian which was established by Bobby. He was called “perhaps the most mythological shrouded figure in chess” and ranked as the greatest player ever.
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