Bobby Fischer
Early Life
Bobby Fischer was born March 9, 1943, and raised in Brooklyn, NY during his early years. At the age of 6, he learned to play chess from his sister, but didn't begin taking chess seriously until around the age of 9. However, the chess community soon realized that Fischer was a prodigy, and he won the National Chess Tournament at the unbelievable age of only 12 years old. The prodigy had made his mark, and continued his rise to fame
Life Before the World Championship
Fischer lived up to his quote very well throughout his career as a tournament player: "All I want to do, ever, is just play chess". In the years leading up to the 1972 World Chess Championship, Bobby would isolate himself in his living quarters, and play chess against himself on several boards in multiple rooms. He considered himself to be his greatest opponent. Fischer also studied Russian chess books in the years leading up to the championship.
1972 World Chess Championship Aftermath
Fischer's victory in the 1972 World Championship marked a turning point in the world of chess. Fischer was well-known even to members outside the chess community, and he even made the cover of Time Magazine. However, Fischer soon disappeared, and when he was challenged for the title by Anatoly Karpov, he forfeited it rather than defending it. Fischer returned in 1992 for a rematch with Boris Spassky, in which he defeated Spassky once again, and disappeared once again as well.
Fischer's Last Years
Fischer's last years were the ones that gave him a very bad reputation for many. After being detained in Japan in 1997 for using a revoked US Passport, Fischer became an open anti-Semite, as well as an Anti-American. After the September 11th attacks, Fischer was featured on a radio program stating that the United States deserved to be attacked, and blamed Israel for the world's problems. Fischer died recently on January 17, 2008 of kidney failure at the age of 64, which is strangely the number of squares on a chess board as well. He is remembered as one of the greatest players chess has ever seen, but also as a man who became engulfed in hate and lost his mind.