Chess master Bobby Fischer, 64
Posted: Friday, January 18th, 2008 4:55 pm
REYKJAVIK (AFP) — Bobby Fischer, who died on Thursday aged 64, was a high school dropout who may have been the greatest chess player of all time, but ended his life in eccentric seclusion.
The US-born player had lived for the last two years in Iceland, after serving eight months behind bars in Japan in a new twist to a life that had gone downhill ever since his moment of glory at age 29.
The Brooklyn-bred genius made headlines around the world when he wrested the world chess title from Soviet domination in 1972, beating world champion Boris Spassky, in a Cold War chess showdown in Reykjavik known as the match of the century. …
Despite having a Jewish mother, Fischer was a vicious anti-Semite, using broadcasts at far-flung radio stations to accuse Jews of everything from his legal woes to an alleged conspiracy to kill off elephants. …
The reclusive Fischer’s return to the spotlight began on September 11, 2001 when he rang up a Filipino radio station to hail the “wonderful news” of the terrorist attacks and launch a profanity-laden anti-Jewish tirade. … Read full obituary
