Chess legend Fischer dies
Legendary chess player Bobby Fischer dies aged 64 - taken by Chris Lott (This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License)
Friday, 18, Jan 2008 04:38
Legendary chess player Bobby Fischer has died at the age of 64.
The US-born great, viewed by some as the best to have ever lived, died after an unspecified illness in Iceland, according to his spokesman.
Fischer brought chess to the masses in 1972 with his defeat of Boris Spassky bringing an end to Soviet domination of the sport as well as striking a perceived blow for the US in the midst of the Cold War.
But after refusing to play against Anatoly Karpov in 1975, he declined all sponsorship deals and became a recluse - spending much of his life in Iceland.
The former world champion briefly reappeared in 1992, defying international sanctions to play against his great rival Spassky in Yugoslavia, and hit the headlines for controversial reasons after the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks.
In an interview with a Philippine radio station, the American described the attacks as "wonderful news" and said he wanted to see the US "wiped out".
In a later interview Mr Fischer accused the media of attempting to "poison the public against me".
"They constantly use the words eccentric, eccentric, eccentric, weird. I am boring. I am boring!" he said.
Fischer's victory over Spassky in 1972 saw him become the first American to win the world title and take the crown from the Soviets for the first time since the second world war.