Chess champion Bobby Fischer died in Iceland from an undisclosed illness, according to his rep Gardar Sverrisson. He was living in exile in Iceland after being wanted for an arrest warrant in the U.S. He was 64.
Bobby Fischer was one of the most formidable chess players in the US and gained worldwide fame after he beat Soviet player Boris Spassky in a classic match in the Reykjavik, capital of Iceland. He
died today in the same country because of an undisclosed illness which he had seemed to suffer since last year, according to his rep Gardar Sverrisson.
After he won the match in 1972, his fame went downhill. He had a rematch against
Spassky in 1992 in violation against the international sanctions and the U.S. Department of the Treasury drafted an arrest warrant against Fischer because of it. But Fischer never returned to the U.S.
He remained in Japan anonymously for some years but then triggered more controversy when he made comments on the radio about the US foreign policy after 9/11 and against Jews in Israel.
As a result, his Chess Federation membership was canceled unanimously. Fischer was later arrested in Japan after U.S. officials also revoked his passport. He was about to be deported to the US, but he escaped when he was given asylum in Iceland and lived there until his death today.
His chess opponents have a different view of him despite the controversies,
Spassky said he was "very sorry" to hear of Mr. Fischer's death, the Associated Press reported.
Russia's Garry Kasparov, a former world champion, said that Mr. Fischer's ascent through the chess world in the 1960s was "a revolutionary breakthrough" for the game.
Fischer became the youngest U.S. champion when he was 14 years old and he became the international grandmaster the next year.
The chess match between Spassky and Fisher was called the “match of the century” and made chess immensely popular in the world soon after.
Should we remember him for his chess talent or for his politics?
