Bobby Fischer in 1972

Playing chess is a strange adventure. I used to play a lot. Back when I was in high school and college, I entered a few chess tournaments.
At one point I thought I would get more serious about the game, but took the advice of a friend who was ranked second in the state who advised me to get a real life.
He said it is torture to play chess at higher levels. He often would lay awake at night looking at the ceiling, picturing the chess board and chess moves.
I've gotten away from the game at that level but still enjoy playing a friendly game, or challenging the computer.
I say all this to get to the death of Bobby Fischer, the most exciting chess player I've ever known. Unfortunately, the rest of his life was a disaster -- as the Atlantic Monthly said in a headline from its in-depth story in 2000, "Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame" (click here to read it.)
There are many terrific chess players but none that could match Fischer for creativity, action, excitement, drama and genius, at least not to my knowledge. I used to go over the games in his book, "My 60 Most Memorable Games," move for move and marvel at the way he would set things up and then create magic on the board. Most great chess players are like tanks, plodding ahead against their opponent, slowly putting the squeeze on, methodically winning a point here or a point there, until they eke out a win or safely settle for a draw.
Not Fischer. He played chess like the Brazilians play soccer. Draws were the last thing on his mind, he wanted to win.
It was thrilling to analyze his games, especially with his own commentary explaining his strategy.
But Bobby Fischer also was a man who, very sadly, had psychological problems.
He disappeared for 20 years after winning the world championship. When last seen, he was a thin, brown-haired young man always wearing a suit and tie.
Then he reappeared in 1992, with a beard and thinning hair, but other than the march of time looking OK, and beat Boris Spassky again in a rematch.
Things got really weird after that.

Fischer in 2004

He let his beard grow wild, had all his fillings removed from his teeth, saying he feared that someone might have tried to implant electronic devices in them in an effort to control his thoughts. And launched into his infamous tirades against the United States and Jews.
This genius had gone certifiably mad.
Still, his contributions to the world chess scene were extraordinary, and the good that he did for the game will outlast his own personal downfalls.
I plan to take some time and review a few of Bobby's famous chess games, as a tribute to this legendary player.

* * *
I think it's better to see an example of Fischer's madness firsthand, rather than only hear about it from others, so here's a letter he wrote to a U.S. Embassy official in Japan after Japanese immigration officials detained him at Narita Airpor. (The actual letter was hand-written on legal pad). This is pretty tame compared to some of his tirades:

August 6, 2004 From: Robert James Fischer at the Narita Airport Immigration lockup. To: “Peter” at the Tokyo U.S. Embassy.

Dear “Peter” (you won’t tell me what your last name is) I called you yesterday at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo at about 10:00 am and we discussed some of the various vicious crimes the U.S. and the Japanese governments have committed against me working in collusion and in conspiracy since at least July 13, 2004. I say “at least” because obviously the conspiracy to commit those crimes had to begin some time before July 13, 2004. I also told you that I wished to renounce my U.S. citizenship on that very day August 5, 2004. I asked that either you or someone else from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo come over to the Narita International Airport Detention center lockup immediately so I could officially renounce my U.S. citizenship on that very day, yesterday August 5, 2004. You made one excuse after another as to why neither you nor anyone else from the Embassy could come over to do it. Such as: you had no time that day, and no one else at the Embassy had time that day, you didn’t know the law and you’d have to study it first, also you would have to check with Washington D.C. first. I said could you or someone else from the Embassy come over tomorrow (i.e. today) to do it. You said you didn’t know and you couldn’t say. Judging by your jittery, jumpy nervous answers to my demand to officially renounce my U.S. citizenship I realized I’d hit a nerve. Apparently my renouncing my U.S. citizenship does not fit in too conveniently with the U.S.-Japanese plot to illegally deport me to my “home” country the U.S.A. and illegally try, convict, imprison, torture and murder me there. At about 9:30 am this morning I will request my kidnappers here to place a call with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo for about 10:00 am. I will again demand that either you or someone else from the Embassy come over here so that I can officially renounce my U.S. citizenship today. I’m quite sure that in violation of my rights you will not. (If I’m wrong so much the better.) But assuming that you won’t I will now do the job myself. Since you are refusing to cooperate as the U.S. law commands you to I believe this renunciation has full validity under the law. That is if one can even speak seriously about “law” in a lawless country like the U.S.A. Here goes: I am Robert James Fischer. I am a U.S. citizen. I was born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago, Ill. U.S.A. My U.S. passport no. is or was Z7792702. It was issued at the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland. The issue date is January 24, 1997 and the expiry date is January 23, 2007. I Robert James Fischer do hereby irrevocably and permanently renounce my U.S. citizenship and all the supposed rights and privileges of United States citizenship. I will do my very best to get this letter hand delivered to you at the Tokyo U.S. Embassy today. Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I am free at last.

Sincerely,
Robert James Fischer
* * *
I think that's enough to illustrate the severity of Mr. Fischer's mental problems.

Toledo, Ohio
January 20, 2008