View source for Bobby Fischer

{{Short description|American chess grandmaster (1943–2008)}}
{{hatnote group|
{{for|the English footballer|Bobby Fisher (footballer)}}
{{similar names|Bob Fischer (disambiguation){{!}}Bob Fischer|Bob Fisher (disambiguation){{!}}Bob Fisher}}
}}
{{Good article}}
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{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox chess biography
| name          = Bobby Fischer
| image         = Bobby Fischer 1972.jpg
| caption       = Fischer in 1972
| alt           =
| birthname     = Robert James Fischer
| country       = United States<!-- please see the section "Fischer didn't play for Iceland" on the talk page before re-adding Iceland -->
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1943|3|9}}
| birth_place   = Chicago, Illinois, US
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2008|1|17|1943|3|9}}
| death_place   = [[Reykjavík]], Iceland
| title         = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (1958)
| worldchampion = 1972–1975
| peakrating    = 2785 (July 1972)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Fischer,%20Robert%20James.html |title=Fischer, Robert James |work=Olimpbase |access-date=September 18, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131034/http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Fischer,%20Robert%20James.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| peakranking   = [[List of FIDE chess world number ones|No. 1]] (July 1971)
}}

'''Robert James Fischer''' (March 9, 1943{{spaced ndash}}January 17, 2008) was an American <!-- Please do not change this to "Icelandic" or "Icelandic-American" or other iterations --> [[Grandmaster (chess)|chess grandmaster]] and the eleventh [[World Chess Championship|World Chess Champion]]. A [[chess prodigy]], he won his first of a record eight [[US Chess Championship|US Championships]] at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament.  Qualifying for the [[World Chess Championship 1972|1972 World Championship]], Fischer swept matches with [[Mark Taimanov]] and [[Bent Larsen]] by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against [[Tigran Petrosian]], Fischer won the title match against [[Boris Spassky]] of the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], in [[Reykjavík]], Iceland. Publicized as a [[Cold War]] confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.

In 1975, Fischer [[World Chess Championship 1975|refused to defend his title]] when an agreement could not be reached with [[FIDE]], chess's international governing body, over the match conditions. Consequently, the Soviet challenger [[Anatoly Karpov]] was named World Champion by default. Fischer subsequently disappeared from the public eye, though occasional reports of erratic behavior emerged. In 1992, he reemerged to win an unofficial [[Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)|rematch against Spassky]]. It was held in [[Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslavia]], which at the time was under an [[embargo]] of the [[United Nations]]. His participation led to a conflict with the [[US federal government]], which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an [[executive order]] imposing US [[sanctions on Yugoslavia]]. The US government ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest; subsequently, Fischer lived as an [[émigré]]. In 2004, he was arrested in Japan and held for several months for using a passport that the US government had revoked. Eventually, he was granted Icelandic citizenship by a special act of the [[Althing]], allowing him to live there until his death in 2008.

Fischer made many lasting contributions to chess. His book ''[[My 60 Memorable Games]]'', published in 1969, is regarded as essential reading in chess literature. In the 1990s, he patented a modified [[Chess clock|chess timing]] system that added a time increment after each move, now a standard practice in top tournament and match play. He also invented [[Fischer random chess]], also known as Chess960, a [[chess variant]] in which the initial position of the pieces is randomized to one of 960 possible positions.

Fischer made numerous [[antisemitic]] statements, including [[Holocaust denial]], despite his Jewish ancestry. His antisemitism was a major theme in his public and private remarks, and there has been speculation concerning his psychological condition based on his extreme views and eccentric behavior.

==Early life==
Bobby Fischer was born at [[Michael Reese Hospital]] in Chicago, Illinois, on March 9, 1943.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=2}} His mother, Regina Wender Fischer, was a US citizen,<ref>{{cite web|author=William Addams Reitwiesner|url=http://www.wargs.com/other/fischer.html|title=Ancestry of Bobby Fischer (Extracts from the U.S. Federal Decennial Census)|publisher=ancestry.com|access-date=January 28, 2014|archive-date=October 21, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021044918/http://www.wargs.com/other/fischer.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Quinn">{{cite news|author=Ben Quinn |author2=Alan Hamilton|name-list-style=amp|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3261419.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516053441/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3261419.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 16, 2008|title=Bobby Fischer, chess genius, heartless son|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=January 28, 2008|access-date=September 14, 2008}}{{subscription required}}</ref> born in Switzerland; her parents were [[Polish Jews]].<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 313.</ref><ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 27. "…{{nbsp}}she appears to have been religiously unobservant."</ref> Raised in [[St. Louis]], Missouri,{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=2}} Regina became a teacher, a [[registered nurse]], and later a physician.<ref>{{cite web|author=André Schulz|url=http://www.chessbase.de/nachrichten.asp?newsid=3433|title=Mutmaßungen über Fischer|publisher=chessbase.com|date=October 8, 2004|access-date=October 17, 2008|archive-date=May 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521151159/http://www.chessbase.de/nachrichten.asp?newsid=3433|url-status=live}}</ref>

After graduating from college in her teens, Regina traveled to Germany to visit her brother. It was there she met geneticist and future Nobel Prize winner [[Hermann Joseph Muller]], who persuaded her to move to Moscow to study medicine. She enrolled at [[First Moscow State Medical University]], where she met Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, also known as Gerardo Liebscher,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 2004|title=WHO WAS FISCHER'S FATHER?|magazine=Chess Life|publisher=US Chess Federation|page=10}}</ref> a German [[Biophysics|biophysicist]], whom she married in November 1933.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=7-8}} In 1938, Hans-Gerhardt and Regina had a daughter, [[Joan Targ|Joan Fischer]]. The reemergence of antisemitism under [[Stalin]] prompted Regina to go with Joan to Paris, where Regina became an English teacher. The threat of a German invasion led her and Joan to go to the United States in 1939. Regina and Hans-Gerhardt had already separated in Moscow, although they did not officially divorce until 1945.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=7-8}}

At the time of her son's birth, Regina was homeless.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=8}} For several years, she took jobs around the country to support her family. She engaged in political activism and raised both Bobby and Joan as a single parent.<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=9}} "The family lived in [California, Idaho, Oregon, Illinois, and Arizona] before moving to New York. Regina's flexibility and desperation led her to a surprising gamut of jobs. She was a welder, schoolteacher, riveter, farm worker, toxicologist's assistant, and stenographer, all throughout the early and mid 1940s."</ref><ref name="Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 5">[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 5.</ref><ref name="la-times">{{cite web|last=Nicholas|first=Peter|date=September 21, 2009|title=Chasing the king of chess|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bobby-fischer21-2009sep21,0,1824779,full.story|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925033341/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bobby-fischer21-2009sep21,0,1824779,full.story|archive-date=September 25, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1949, Regina moved the family to [[Manhattan]], New York City,{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=10}} and the following year to [[Brooklyn]], where she studied for her master's degree in nursing and subsequently began working in that field.<ref name="Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 5"/>

===Paul Neményi as Fischer's father===
In 2002, Peter Nicholas and Clea Benson of ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' published an investigative report which stated that Bobby Fischer's [[biological father]] was actually [[Paul Neményi]].<ref name=NicholasBenson>{{cite web|first1=Peter|last1=Nicholas|first2=Clea|last2=Benson|date=November 17, 2002|title=Files reveal how FBI hounded chess king|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/news/13896736.html|website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123044933/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/news/13896736.html|archive-date=January 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=LifeGame>{{cite web|first1=Peter|last1=Nicholas|first2=Clea|last2=Benson|date=February 9, 2003|title=Life is not a board game|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/news/13891951.html|website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123044921/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/news/13891951.html|archive-date=January 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="la-times"/>

Neményi, a Hungarian mathematician and [[physicist]] of [[History of the Jews in Hungary|Jewish heritage]], specialized in continuum mechanics. His work applied geometrical solutions to fluid dynamics. He had been a child prodigy and had won the Hungarian national mathematics competition at the age of 17.

Benson and Nicholas continued their work and gathered additional evidence in court records, personal interviews, and a summary of an FBI investigation written by [[J. Edgar Hoover]], which confirmed their earlier conclusions.<ref name="la-times" />

Throughout the 1950s, the [[FBI]] investigated Regina and her circle due to her supposed communist views and due to her time living in Moscow.<ref>{{cite news|author=Charles Laurence|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3304339/FBI-targeted-chess-genius-Bobby-Fischer-and-his-mother.html|title=FBI targeted chess genius Bobby Fischer and his mother|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=November 24, 2002|access-date=September 13, 2008|location=London|archive-date=July 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701020929/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3304339/FBI-targeted-chess-genius-Bobby-Fischer-and-his-mother.html|url-status=live}}</ref> FBI files note that Hans-Gerhardt Fischer never entered the United States, while recording that Neményi took a keen interest in Fischer's upbringing.<ref name=NicholasBenson/><ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], p. 22.</ref><ref>Regina Fischer entry, passenger manifest, {{SS|Manhattan|1931|6}}, January 18, 1939, p. 74, line 6, accessed January 20, 2008, via ancestry.com</ref> Not only were Regina and Neményi reported to have had an affair in 1942, but Neményi made monthly child support payments to Regina and paid for Bobby's schooling until Paul Neményi's death in 1952.<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 22, 135.</ref><ref name="la-times" />

===Chess beginnings===
[[File:JWC Lombardy Fischer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[William Lombardy]] and Fischer analyzing, with [[John W. Collins|Jack Collins]] looking on]]
In March 1949, six-year-old Bobby and his sister Joan learned how to play [[chess]] using the instructions from a set bought at a candy store.<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|pp=10-11}}, taken from {{cite magazine|magazine=Parade|date=October 27, 1957|page=22|title=Bobby Fischer Autobiographical Essay}}</ref> When Joan lost interest in chess and Regina did not have time to play, Fischer was left to play many of his first games against himself.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=10-12}} When the family vacationed at [[Patchogue, New York|Patchogue, Long Island, New York]], that summer, Bobby found a book of old chess games and studied it intensely.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=5}}

In 1950, the family moved to Brooklyn, first to an apartment at the corner of Union Street and Franklin Avenue and later to a two-bedroom apartment at 560 Lincoln Place.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=12}} It was there that "Fischer soon became so engrossed in the game that Regina feared he was spending too much time alone."<ref name="Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 5"/> As a result, on November 14, 1950, Regina sent a postcard to the ''[[Brooklyn Eagle]]'' newspaper, seeking to place an ad inquiring whether other children of Bobby's age might be interested in playing chess with him. The paper rejected her ad, because no one could figure out how to classify it, but forwarded her inquiry to [[Hermann Helms]], the "Dean of American Chess", who told her that [[Max Pavey]], former Scottish champion, would be giving a [[simultaneous exhibition]] on January 17, 1951.<ref>[[#F1959|Fischer 1959]], p. xi.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=5-6}} Fischer played in the exhibition, and although he held on for 15 minutes, drawing a crowd of onlookers, he eventually lost to Pavey.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=17-18}}

One of the spectators was Brooklyn Chess Club President{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=18}} [[Carmine Nigro]], an American [[chess expert]] of near master strength and an instructor.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=20}} Nigro was so impressed with Fischer's play{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=18}} that he introduced him to the club and began teaching him.<ref>[[#F1959|Fischer 1959]], pp. xi–xii.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=7}}{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=19-21}} Fischer noted of his time with Nigro: "Mr. Nigro was possibly not the best player in the world, but he was a very good teacher. Meeting him was probably a decisive factor in my going ahead with chess."<ref>[[#F1959|Fischer 1959]], p. 2.</ref>

Nigro hosted Fischer's first chess tournament at his home in 1952.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=21}} In the summer of 1955, Fischer, then 12 years old, joined the [[Manhattan Chess Club]].<ref>[[#F1959|Fischer 1959]], p. xii.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=38-39}} Fischer's relationship with Nigro lasted until 1956, when Nigro moved away.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=51}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/us/carmine-nigro-91-bobby-fischer-s-first-chess-teacher.html|title=Carmine Nigro, 91, Bobby Fischer's First Chess Teacher|date=September 2, 2001|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 24, 2013|archive-date=September 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915104312/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/us/carmine-nigro-91-bobby-fischer-s-first-chess-teacher.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===The Hawthorne Chess Club===
In June 1956, Fischer began attending the Hawthorne Chess Club, based in master [[John W. Collins|John "Jack" W. Collins]]'s home.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=6}} Collins taught chess to children, and has been described as Fischer's teacher,<ref name="nytbio">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/04/nyregion/john-w-collins-89-dies-was-fischer-s-chess-tutor.html|title=John W. Collins, 89, Dies; Was Fischer's Chess Tutor|newspaper=The New York Times|author=Dylan Loeb McClain|date=December 4, 2001|access-date=January 4, 2014|archive-date=September 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915160949/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/04/nyregion/john-w-collins-89-dies-was-fischer-s-chess-tutor.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[#Collins|Collins 1974]], p. 47. "'He taught Bobby Fischer to play chess' is the way I am sometimes publicly and privately introduced."</ref> but Collins himself suggested that he did not actually teach Fischer,<ref>"Collins, for his part, said that he never 'taught' Bobby in the strictest sense" and that Fischer "knew before instructed". [[#Collins|Collins 1974]], pp. 48–49. Quoted in {{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=52}}</ref> and the relationship might be more accurately described as one of mentorship.<ref>"Fischer was also extremely fortunate in having John W. (Jack) Collins, a chess master, who was a friend, guide, and mentor to him during his early formative years". Arthur Bisguier, in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 44.</ref>

Fischer played thousands of [[Fast chess|blitz]] and offhand games with Collins and other strong players, studied the books in Collins' large chess library, and ate almost as many dinners at Collins' home as his own.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=10-11}}<ref>[[#Collins|Collins 1974]], pp. 34–35.</ref><ref>[[#F1959|Fischer 1959]], p. xiii.</ref>

==Young champion==
[[File:Bobby Fisher in Cuba (trimmed).jpg|thumb|left|Fischer in Cuba, March 1956]]
In March 1956, the Log Cabin Chess Club of [[West Orange, New Jersey]] (based in the home of the club's eccentric multi-millionaire founder and patron Elliott Forry Laucks), took Fischer on a tour to [[Cuba]], where he gave a 12-board simultaneous exhibition at Havana's Capablanca Chess Club, winning ten games and drawing two.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=15}}<ref>[[#Collins|Collins 1974]], pp. 55–56.</ref> On this tour the club played a series of matches against other clubs. Fischer played {{chessgloss|first board|second board}}, behind International Master [[Norman Whitaker]]. Whitaker and Fischer were the club's leading scorers, each scoring 5½ points out of 7 games.<ref>''The New York Times'', March 5, 1956, p. 36. Quoted in {{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=49}}</ref>

Fischer experienced a "meteoric rise" in his playing strength during 1956.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=56}} Fischer's first real tournament success occurred in July 1956, when he won the US Junior Chess Championship in Philadelphia. He scored 8½/10 to become the youngest-ever Junior Champion at age 13,<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Chess Life]] |author=William Rojam |title=It's Fischer! In Junior |page=1 |date=July 20, 1956 |access-date=February 11, 2025 |url=https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CL-ALL/1956/1956_07_2.pdf}}</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 100.</ref> a record that still stands. At the 1956 [[US Open Chess Championship]] in [[Oklahoma City]], he scored 8½/12 to tie for 4th–8th places, with [[Arthur Bisguier]] winning.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 101.</ref> In the first [[Canadian Open Chess Championship]] at Montreal 1956, he scored 7/10 to tie for 8th–12th places, with [[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]] winning.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 105.</ref> In November, Fischer played in the 1956 Eastern States Open Championship in Washington, D.C., tying for second with [[William Lombardy]], [[Nicholas Rossolimo]], and [[Arthur Feuerstein]], with [[Hans Berliner]] taking first by a half-point.<ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 76.</ref>

Fischer accepted an invitation to play in the Third [[Lessing J. Rosenwald]] Trophy Tournament in New York City in October 1956, a premier tournament limited to the 12 players considered the best in the US.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=16}} Playing against top opposition, the 13-year-old Fischer could only score 4½/11, tying for 8th–9th place.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 108.</ref> Yet he won the {{chessgloss|brilliancy prize}}{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=65}} for his game against International Master [[Donald Byrne]],{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=16}} in which Fischer sacrificed his queen to unleash an unstoppable attack. [[Hans Kmoch]] called it "[[The Game of the Century (chess)|The Game of the Century]]",<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Chess Review]] |author=Hans Kmoch |title=Game of the Century |page=374 |date=December 1956 |access-date=February 11, 2025 |url=https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CR-ALL/CR1956/CR1956_12.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author =Fred Wilson|quote=While, objectively, it is not one of the greatest games ever played, it is certainly the finest game ever produced by one so young
|title=A Picture History of Chess
|year=1981|page=170
|publisher=Dover
|isbn=978-0-486-23856-2
}}</ref> and the game is still widely published and analyzed.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=64}}<ref>{{cite web |website=US Chess |title=Throwback Thursday: Game of the Century Goes Viral in November 1956 |author=Brian Jerauld |date=November 19, 2020 |url=https://new.uschess.org/news/throwback-thursday-game-century-goes-viral-november-1956}}</ref>

In 1957, Fischer played a two-game match against former world champion [[Max Euwe]] at New York, losing ½–1½.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 123.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=17}}<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=67}} "To wrest a draw from a former World Champion was neither small cheese nor minor chess, but Bobby was unhappy since he'd lost the match, 1½–½."</ref> When the [[US Chess Federation]] published its rating list in May, Fischer had the rank of Master, the youngest player to earn that title up to that point.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=17}} In July, he successfully defended his US Junior title, scoring 8½/9 at San Francisco.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 127.</ref> In August, he scored 10/12 at the US Open Chess Championship in [[Cleveland]], winning on [[Tie-breaking in Swiss system tournaments|tie-breaking points]] over Arthur Bisguier.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 130.</ref><ref name="Collins 1974, p. 56">[[#Collins|Collins 1974]], p. 56.</ref> This made Fischer the youngest ever US Open Champion.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Chess Review]] |title=Triumph at Fourteen! |page=260 |date=September 1957 |access-date=February 11, 2025 |url=https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CR-ALL/CR1957/CR1957_09.pdf |archive-date=February 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225181946/https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CR-ALL/CR1957/CR1957_09.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=75}} "No one as young as Bobby had won the United States Open before, and no one had ever held the United States Junior and Open titles concurrently. When Bobby returned to New York, both the Marshall and Manhattan chess clubs conducted victory celebrations, and he was lauded as America's new chess hero."</ref> He won the New Jersey Open Championship, scoring 6½/7.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 138–40.</ref> He then defeated the young Filipino master [[Rodolfo Tan Cardoso]] 6–2 in a New York match sponsored by [[Pepsi|Pepsi-Cola]].{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=19}}<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 135–37.</ref>

===Wins first US title===
Based on Fischer's rating and strong results, the USCF invited him to play in the 1957/58 [[U.S. Chess Championship|US Championship]].<ref>{{cite book
|author=Kenneth Harkness
|title=Official Chess Handbook
|year=1967|page=272
|publisher=David McKay
|asin=B009NNTGSM
}}</ref> The tournament included [[Samuel Reshevsky]], the defending US champion Arthur Bisguier, and William Lombardy, who in August had won the [[World Junior Chess Championship|World Junior Championship]].{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=20}} Bisguier predicted that Fischer would "finish slightly over the center mark".{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=20}} Despite all the predictions to the contrary, Fischer scored eight wins and five draws to win the tournament by a one-point margin, with 10½/13.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 51.</ref><ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 196.</ref> Still two months shy of his 15th birthday, Fischer became the youngest ever US Champion.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=20-21}} Since the championship that year was also the US [[Zonal Tournament|Zonal Championship]], Fischer's victory qualified him to participate in the 1958 [[Portorož]] [[Interzonal chess tournaments|Interzonal]], the next step toward challenging the World Champion.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=19}} It also earned him the title of [[International Master]].<ref>[[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]], [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter65.html#6424._Quiz_question Chess Note 6428] (citing ''Chess Life'', February 5, 1958).</ref><ref>Edward Winter, [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter65.html#6434._St_Petersburg_1895-96 Chess Note 6436] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804082407/http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter65.html#6434._St_Petersburg_1895-96 |date=August 4, 2019 }} (citing ''FIDE Revue'', April 1958, p. 106).</ref>

==Grandmaster, candidate, and author==
In 1957, Fischer wanted to go to Moscow. At his pleading, "Regina wrote directly to the Soviet leader, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], requesting an invitation for Fischer to participate in the 6th [[World Festival of Youth and Students|World Youth and Student Festival]] of 1957. The reply—affirmative—came too late for him to go."<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 8.</ref> Regina did not have the money to pay the airfare, but in 1958, Fischer was invited onto the game show ''[[I've Got a Secret]]'', where, thanks to Regina's efforts, the producers of the show arranged two round-trip tickets to the Soviet Union, for Bobby and his sister Joan.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=89-90}}<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ortpQ8nQuH8 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/ortpQ8nQuH8| archive-date=October 28, 2021|title="Teenage Appreciation" episode of "I've Got a Secret" |date=March 26, 1958|time=17:40|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Fischer was invited by the Soviet Union to Moscow,{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=93}} where [[:ru:Абрамов, Лев Иоахимович|Lev Abramov]] would serve as a guide to Bobby and his sister, Joan.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=91}} Upon arrival, Fischer immediately demanded that he be taken to the Moscow Central Chess Club,{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=92}} where he played [[speed chess]] with two young masters, [[Evgeni Vasiukov]] and [[Aleksandr Nikitin (chess player)|Alexandr Nikitin]], winning every game.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=92}} Chess author V. I. Linder writes about the impression Fischer gave [[Vladimir Alatortsev]] when he played blitz against the Soviet masters: {{blockquote|Back in 1958, in the Central Chess Club, Vladimir Alatortsev saw a tall, angular 15-year-old youth, who in blitz games, crushed almost everyone who crossed his path… Alatortsev was no exception, losing all three games. He was astonished by the young American Robert Fischer's play, his fantastic self-confidence, amazing chess erudition, and simply brilliant play! Vladimir said in admiration to his wife on arriving home: "This is the future world champion!"<ref>Linder V.I. & Linder I.M. 1994. Quoted in [[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 120–21.</ref>}}

Fischer demanded to play against [[Mikhail Botvinnik]], the reigning World Champion. When told that this was impossible, Fischer asked to play [[Paul Keres]]. [[Tigran Petrosian]] was summoned to the club, and played speed games with Fischer, winning the majority.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=23-24}} Fischer was disappointed that he could not get more serious games against strong opposition, and his angry remarks appeared in the Russian press.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=94-95}} Yugoslavian chess officials offered to take in Fischer and Joan as early guests to the [[Interzonal]]. Fischer took them up on the offer, arriving in Yugoslavia to play two short training matches against masters [[Dragoljub Janošević]] and [[Milan Matulović]].{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=94-96}} Fischer drew both games against Janošević and then defeated Matulović in [[Belgrade]] by 2½–1½.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 163–64.</ref>

At Portorož, Fischer was accompanied by Lombardy.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=98-100}}<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 26.</ref> The top six finishers in the Interzonal would qualify for the [[Candidates Tournament]].{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=25}} Most observers doubted that a 15-year-old with no international experience could finish among the six qualifiers at the Interzonal, but Fischer told journalist Miro Radoicic, "I can draw with the grandmasters, and there are half-a-dozen {{chessgloss|patzer|patzers}} in the tournament I reckon to beat."<ref>[[Leonard Barden]], "From Portorož to Petrosian", in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 332.</ref>{{efn|1=Just before Larsen played Fischer in their individual game, Larsen predicted that he would be victorious, only to find out quite the opposite: "Once we were well into the tournament, Larsen, [[Fridrik Olafsson]] and I were engaged in a friendly debate over Fischer's performance. 'Lucky to have 50%!' quipped Larsen, who went on to say, 'I will spank that baby!'… With wisdom Fridrik supplied a thought for me, 'Watch out the baby doesn't spank you!' At that comment, Larsen waved his hand. In the very next round, Fischer crushed Larsen{{nbsp}}..."<ref>[[#Lombardy|Lombardy 2011]], p. 87.</ref>}} Despite some bumps in the road and a problematic start, Fischer succeeded in his plan: after a strong finish, he ended up with 12/20 (+6−2=12) to tie for 5th–6th.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]]. pp. 332–34, 347.</ref> [[Yuri Averbakh]] observed,

{{blockquote|In the struggle at the board this youth, almost still a child, showed himself to be a full-fledged fighter, demonstrating amazing composure, precise calculation and devilish resourcefulness. I was especially struck not even by his extensive opening knowledge, but his striving everywhere to seek new paths. In Fischer's play an enormous talent was noticeable, and in addition one sensed an enormous amount of work on the study of chess.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], pp. 225–26.</ref>}}

[[David Bronstein]] said of Fischer's time in Portorož: "It was interesting for me to observe Fischer, but for a long time I couldn't understand why this 15-year-old boy played chess so well."<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 20–21.</ref> Fischer became the youngest person ever to qualify for the Candidates and the youngest-ever grandmaster at the time, aged 15 years, 6 months, 1 day.{{efn|1=This record stood until 1991, when it was broken by [[Judit Polgár]].<ref>{{cite book
|author =Cathy Forbes|page=171
|title=The Polgar Sisters: Training or Genius?
|year=1992
|publisher=Henry Holt
|isbn=978-0-8050-2426-5
}}</ref>}}

Before the Candidates' Tournament, Fischer won the 1958/59 US Championship (scoring 8½/11).<ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 301.</ref> He tied for third (with [[Borislav Ivkov]]) in [[Mar del Plata chess tournaments|Mar del Plata]] (scoring 10/14), a half-point behind [[Luděk Pachman]] and [[Miguel Najdorf]].<ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 340.</ref> He tied for 4th–6th at [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] (scoring 7½/12) behind Ivkov, Pachman, and [[Herman Pilnik]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wall|first=Bill|title=Bobby Fischer's Tournaments and Matches|url=http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/articles/fischer_tourneys.htm|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=billwall.phpwebhosting.com|archive-date=June 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624141515/http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/articles/fischer_tourneys.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 356.</ref> At the [[Zürich]] International Tournament, spring 1959, Fischer finished a point behind [[Mikhail Tal]] and a half-point behind [[Svetozar Gligorić]].{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=28}}<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 27.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 165, 171, 176.</ref>

Although Fischer had ended his formal education at age 16, dropping out of [[Erasmus Hall High School]] in Brooklyn, he subsequently taught himself several foreign languages, including [[Russian language|Russian]], so he could read foreign chess periodicals.<ref>Paul Keres "From the Opposite Side of the Board" in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]]</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barden |first=Leonard |date=March 4, 2011 |title=Fascination with Bobby Fischer shows no sign of reaching its endgame |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/mar/04/chess-bobby-fischer |access-date=January 16, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leitão |first=Rafael |date=August 20, 2017 |title=Lies And Truths About Bobby Fischer: Take The Test! |url=https://rafaelleitao.com/lies-and-truths-bobby-fischer/ |access-date=January 16, 2024 |website=Rafael Leitão |language=en-US |archive-date=January 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116060848/https://rafaelleitao.com/lies-and-truths-bobby-fischer/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Alexander Koblencs]], even he and Tal could not match the commitment that Fischer had made to chess. Recalling a conversation from the tournament: {{blockquote|"Tell me, Bobby," Tal continued, "what do you think of the playing style of [[Larissa Volpert]]?" "She's too cautious. But you have another girl, [[:ru:Дмитриева, Флора Алексеевна|Dmitrieva]]. Her games do appeal to me!" Here we were left literally open-mouthed in astonishment. Misha and I have looked at thousands of games, but it never occurred to us to study our women players' games. How could we find the time for this?! Yet Bobby, it turns out, had found the time!<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 41.</ref>}}

Until late 1959, Fischer "had dressed atrociously for a champion, appearing at the most august and distinguished national and international events in sweaters and corduroys."{{sfn|Brady|1965|p=34}} Now, encouraged by [[Pal Benko]] to dress more smartly, Fischer "began buying suits from all over the world, hand-tailored and made to order."{{sfn|Brady|1965|p=35}} He told the journalist [[Ralph Ginzburg]] that he had 17 hand-tailored suits and that all of his shirts and shoes were handmade.<ref>[[#Ginzburg|Ginzburg 1962]], pp. 53–54.</ref>

At the age of 16, Fischer finished equal fifth out of eight at the [[World Chess Championship 1960#1959 Candidates tournament|1959 Candidates Tournament]] in [[Bled]]/[[Zagreb]]/[[Belgrade]], Yugoslavia,<ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 310.</ref> scoring 12½/28. He was outclassed by tournament winner Tal, who won all four of their individual games.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 356.</ref> That year, Fischer released his first book of collected games: ''Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess'', published by Simon & Schuster.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=105, 125}}

===Drops out of school===
Fischer's interest in chess became more important than schoolwork, to the point that "by the time he reached the fourth grade, he'd been in and out of six schools."<ref>{{cite book
|author=Joseph G. Ponterotto
|title=A Psychobiography of Bobby Fischer
|url=https://archive.org/details/psychobiographyb00gjos
|url-access=limited
|year=2012|page=[https://archive.org/details/psychobiographyb00gjos/page/n61 29]
|publisher=Charles C. Thomas
|isbn=978-0-398-08742-5
}}</ref> In 1952, Regina got Bobby a scholarship (based on his chess talent and "astronomically high IQ") to Brooklyn Community Woodward.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=25}} Fischer later attended [[Erasmus Hall High School]] at the same time as [[Barbra Streisand]] and [[Neil Diamond]].<ref>{{Cite book
|author=Christopher Andersen|author-link=Christopher Andersen
|title=Barbra: The Way She Is
|url=https://archive.org/details/barbrawaysheis00ande_234|url-access=limited|year=2006
|publisher=HarperCollins
|isbn=978-0-06-056256-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/barbrawaysheis00ande_234/page/n26 15], 41
}} Streisand later said that Fischer was "always alone and very peculiar&nbsp;… But I found him very sexy." ''Id.'' at 41.</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=David Boyer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/11/nyregion/neighborhood-report-flatbush-grads-hail-erasmus-as-it-enters-a-fourth-century.html |title=NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FLATBUSH; Grads Hail Erasmus as It Enters a Fourth Century |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 11, 2001 |access-date=August 15, 2009 |archive-date=February 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204182956/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EED8143AF932A25750C0A9679C8B63 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1959, its student council awarded him a gold medal for his chess achievements.{{sfn|Brady|1965|pp=1, 25}}<ref>[[#Collins|Collins 1974]], p. 52.</ref> The same year, Fischer dropped out of high school when he turned 16, the earliest he could legally do so.<ref>Arthur Bisguier, in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 47.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1965|p=25}} He later explained to Ralph Ginzburg, "You don't learn anything in school."<ref>[[#Ginzburg|Ginzburg 1962]], p. 51.</ref><ref>[[#Schonberg|Schonberg 1973]], p. 261. "In his junior year Bobby left school for good because 'the stuff they teach you in school I can't use one way or the other.{{'"}}</ref>

When Fischer was 16, his mother moved out of their apartment to pursue medical training. Her friend [[Joan Rodker]], who had met Regina when the two were "idealistic communists" living in Moscow in the 1930s, believes that Fischer resented his mother for being mostly absent, a communist activist, and an admirer of the Soviet Union, and that this led to his hatred for the Soviets. In letters to Rodker, Fischer's mother stated her desire to pursue her own "obsession" of training in medicine and wrote that her son would have to live in their Brooklyn apartment without her: "It sounds terrible to leave a 16-year-old to his own devices, but he is probably happier that way".<ref name="Quinn"/> The apartment was on the edge of [[Bedford-Stuyvesant]], a neighborhood that had one of the highest homicide and general crime rates in New York City.<ref>[[#Ginzburg|Ginzburg 1962]], p. 55.</ref> Despite the alienation from her son, Regina, in 1960, protested the practices of the American Chess Foundation{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=131}} and staged a five-hour protest in front of the [[White House]], urging President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to send an American team to [[14th Chess Olympiad|that year's chess Olympiad]] (set for [[Leipzig]], [[East Germany]], behind the [[Iron Curtain]]) and to help support the team financially.<ref name=LifeGame/>

==US Championships==
Fischer played in eight US Championships, winning all of them by at least a one-point margin.<ref name="Bisguier & Soltis 1974, pp. 282-84">[[#Bisguier|Bisguier & Soltis 1974]], pp. 282–84.</ref><ref>[[#Whyld|Hooper & Whyld 1992]], pp. 136–37.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 51 (1-point margin in 1957/58), 57 (1-point margin in 1958/59), 62 (1-point margin in 1959/60), 67 (2-point margin in 1960/61), 71 (1-point margin in 1962/63), 77 (2½-point margin in 1963/64), 82 (1-point margin in 1965), 87 (2-point margin in 1966/67).</ref> His results were as follows:<ref name="Bisguier & Soltis 1974, pp. 282-84"/><ref name="Müller 2009, pp. 399-400">[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], pp. 399–400.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 51, 57, 62, 67, 71, 76, 82, 87.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left"
|-
!US Champ.
!Score
!Place
!Margin of victory
!Percentage
!Age
|-
| 1957/58 || 10½/13 (+8−0=5)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 85.</ref> || First || 1 point || 81% || 14
|-
| 1958/59 || 8½/11 (+6−0=5)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 104.</ref> || First || 1 point || 77% || 15
|-
| 1959/60 || 9/11 (+7−0=4)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 148.</ref> || First || 1 point || 82% || 16
|-
| 1960/61 || 9/11 (+7−0=4)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 181.</ref> || First || 2 points || 82% || 17
|-
| 1962/63 || 8/11 (+6−1=4)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 231.</ref> || First || 1 point || 73% || 19
|-
| 1963/64 || 11/11 (+11−0=0)<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 243">[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 243.</ref> || First || 3½ points || 100% || 20
|-
| 1965<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 262.</ref>|| 8½/11 (+8−2=1)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 263.</ref> || First || 1 point || 77% || 22
|-
| 1966/67 || 9½/11 (+8−0=3)<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 285.</ref> || First || 2 points || 86% || 23
|}

Fischer missed the 1961/62 Championship (he was preparing for the 1962 Interzonal), and there was no 1964/65 event.<ref>[[#Bisguier|Bisguier & Soltis 1974]], p. 283.</ref> In his eight US Chess Championships, Fischer lost only three games; to [[Edmar Mednis]] in the 1962/63 event, and in consecutive rounds to Samuel Reshevsky, and Robert Byrne in the 1965 championship, culminating in a total score of 74/90 (61 wins, 26 draws, 3 losses).<ref>[[#Mednis|Mednis 1997]], pp. x–xi, 179–83, 202–11.</ref>

==Olympiads==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-76052-0335, Schacholympiade, Tal (UdSSR) gegen Fischer (USA).jpg|thumb|Fischer at 17 playing 23-year-old World Champion [[Mikhail Tal]] in Leipzig, [[East Germany]]]]
Fischer refused to play in the [[13th Chess Olympiad|1958 Munich Olympiad]] when his demand to play {{chessgloss|first board}} ahead of Samuel Reshevsky was rejected.<ref>Larry Evans, in [[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 7.</ref> Some sources claim that 15-year-old Fischer was unable to arrange leave from attending high school.<ref>{{cite book|editor1=Robert G. Wade|editor2=Kevin J. O'Connell|name-list-style=amp|title=The Games of Robert J. Fischer|publisher=Batsford|date=1972|chapter=Olympiads|author-link=Robert Wade (chess player)|author=Robert Wade|isbn=978-0-713-40370-1}}</ref> Fischer later represented the United States on first board at four Men's Chess [[Chess Olympiad|Olympiads]], winning two individual Silver and one individual Bronze medals:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/players/p9dxbr3n.html |title=Fischer, Robert James, Men's Chess Olympiads |work=Olimpbase |date=2015 |access-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923120725/http://www.olimpbase.org/players/p9dxbr3n.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left"
|-
!Olympiad
!Individual result
!Percentage
!US team result
!Percentage<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/teams/usa_tea.html |title=United States (USA) Men's Chess Olympiads |work=Olimpbase |date=2015 |access-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-date=June 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608162338/http://www.olimpbase.org/teams/usa_tea.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[14th Chess Olympiad|Leipzig 1960]] || 13/18<ref>[[#DiFelice2010|Di Felice 2010]], p. 485.</ref> (Bronze) || 72.2% || Silver || 72.5%
|-
|[[15th Chess Olympiad|Varna 1962]] || 11/17<ref>[[#DiFelice2013a|Di Felice 2013a]], p. 251.</ref> (Eighth) || 64.7% || Fourth || 68.1%
|-
|[[17th Chess Olympiad|Havana 1966]] || 15/17<ref>[[#DiFelice2013b|Di Felice 2013b]], p. 326.</ref> (Silver) || 88.2% || Silver ||68.4%
|-
|[[19th Chess Olympiad|Siegen 1970]] || 10/13<ref name="Di Felice 2013c, p. 366">[[#DiFelice2013c|Di Felice 2013c]], p. 366.</ref> (Silver) || 76.9% || Fourth || 67.8%
|}

Out of four Men's Chess Olympiads, Fischer scored +40−7=18, for 49/65: 75.4%.<ref>[[#Kazic|Kažić 1974]], pp. 75, 81, 94, 108.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/players/q8aycaol.html |title=Fischer, Robert James |work=Olimpbase |date=August 2003 |access-date=February 17, 2014 |archive-date=September 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923085622/http://www.olimpbase.org/players/q8aycaol.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1966, Fischer narrowly missed the individual gold medal, scoring 88.23% to World Champion Tigran Petrosian's 88.46%. He played four games more than Petrosian, faced stiffer opposition,<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], pp. 276–77.</ref> and would have won the gold if he had accepted [[Florin Gheorghiu]]'s draw offer, rather than declining it and suffering his only loss.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=120}}

At the 1962 Varna Olympiad, Fischer predicted that he would defeat [[Miguel Najdorf]] in 25 moves. Fischer actually did it in 24, becoming the only player to beat Najdorf in the tournament.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=65}} Najdorf lost the game while employing the very opening variation named after him: the [[Sicilian Najdorf]].<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], pp. 224–25.</ref>

Fischer had planned to play for the US at the [[18th Chess Olympiad|1968 Lugano Olympiad]], but backed out when he saw the poor playing conditions.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 286–87.</ref> Both former world champion Tigran Petrosian and Belgian-American International Master [[George Koltanowski]], the leader of the American team that year, felt that Fischer was justified in not participating in the Olympiad.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 335.</ref> According to Lombardy, Fischer's non-participation was due to Reshevsky's refusal to yield first board.<ref>[[#Lombardy|Lombardy 2011]], p. 184. "Fischer was clearly the best and highest rated U.S. player and also the U.S. Champion. But in consideration of his lifelong prestige, Reshevsky would not yield first board."</ref>

In 1974, Fischer was willing to play the [[21st Chess Olympiad]] in Nice, France, but FIDE rejected his demand to play in a separate room with only Fischer, his opponent, and spectators.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olimpbase.org/1974/1974in.html|title=OlimpBase :: 21st Chess Olympiad, Nice 1974, information|website=Olimpbase.org|access-date=December 7, 2021|archive-date=December 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203075629/http://www.olimpbase.org/1974/1974in.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==1960–61==
In 1960, Fischer tied for first place with Soviet star Boris Spassky at the strong Mar del Plata Tournament in Argentina, winning by a two-point margin, scoring 13½/15 (+13−1=1),<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 156.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 183.</ref> ahead of David Bronstein.<ref name=EEp12>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 12.</ref> Fischer lost only to Spassky; this was the start of their lifelong friendship and rivalry.<ref>[[#Bronstein|Bronstein & Fürstenberg 1995]], p. 121. "They became friends instantly and have remained so until this day."</ref>

Fischer experienced a rare failure in his competitive career<ref name="Donner 2006, p. 228">[[#Donner|Donner 2006]], p. 228.</ref> at the Buenos Aires Tournament (1960), finishing with 8½/19 (+3−5=11), far behind the winners [[Viktor Korchnoi]] and Samuel Reshevsky with 13/19.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 189.</ref> According to Larry Evans, Fischer's first sexual experience was with a girl to whom Evans introduced him during the tournament.<ref>[[#Benko|Benko & Silman 2003]], p. 422 (interview with Evans).</ref> Pal Benko said that Fischer did horribly in the tournament "because he got caught up in women and sex. Afterwards, Fischer said he'd never mix women and chess together, and kept the promise."<ref>[[#Benko|Benko & Silman 2003]], pp. 426–27 (interview with Benko).</ref> Fischer concluded 1960 by winning a small tournament in [[Reykjavík]] with 4½/5,<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 196–97.</ref> and defeating [[Klaus Darga]] in an exhibition game in West Berlin.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 198.</ref>

In 1961, Fischer started a 16-game match with Reshevsky, split between New York and Los Angeles.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=135}} Reshevsky, 32 years Fischer's senior, was considered the favorite since he had far more match experience and had never lost a set match. After 11 games and a tie score (two wins apiece with seven draws), the match ended prematurely due to a scheduling dispute between Fischer and the match organizer and sponsor [[Jacqueline Piatigorsky]]. Fischer forfeited 2 games, and even though the score was now 7½ to 5½, with 8½ required to win, Reshevsky was declared the winner, by default, and received the winner's share of the prize fund.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=42-46}}

Fischer was second in a super-class field, behind only former world champion Tal, at Bled, 1961.<ref>[[#DiFelice2013a|Di Felice 2013a]], p. 17.</ref> Yet, Fischer defeated Tal head-to-head for the first time in their individual game, scored 3½/4 against the Soviet contingent, and finished as the only unbeaten player, with 13½/19 (+8−0=11).<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 68.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 199.</ref>

==1962: success, setback, accusations of Soviet collusion==

Fischer won the 1962 [[Stockholm]] Interzonal by a 2½-point margin,<ref>[[#DiFelice2013a|Di Felice 2013a]], p. 223.</ref> going undefeated, with 17½/22 (+13−0=9).<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 75.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 369.</ref> He was the first non-Soviet player to win an Interzonal since FIDE instituted the tournament in 1948.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=51}} [[Alexander Kotov]] said of Fischer:<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 81.</ref>

{{blockquote|I have discussed Fischer's play with Max Euwe and Gideon Stahlberg. All of us, experienced 'tournament old-timers', were surprised by Fischer's endgame expertise. When a young player is good at attacking or at combinations, this is understandable, but a faultless endgame technique at the age of 19 is something rare. I can recall only one other player who at that age was equally skillful at endgames – [[Vasily Smyslov]].}}

Fischer's victory made him a favorite for the [[Candidates Tournament]] in [[Curaçao]].{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=53-54}}<ref name=lbobt>{{cite news |author=Leonard Barden |url=https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2243089,00.html |title=Obituary, Bobby Fischer |newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=January 28, 2014 |archive-date=July 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728153215/https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2243089,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Yet, despite his result in the Interzonal, Fischer only finished fourth out of eight with 14/27 (+8−7=12),<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 82.</ref> far behind Tigran Petrosian (17½/27), [[Efim Geller]], and [[Paul Keres]] (both 17/27).<ref>[[#Kazic|Kažić 1974]], pp. 188–89.</ref> Tal fell very ill during the tournament, and had to withdraw before completion. Fischer, a friend of Tal's, was the only contestant who visited him in the hospital.<ref name=BSp155>[[#Benko|Benko & Silman 2003]], p. 155.</ref>

===Accuses Soviets of collusion===
{{see also|World Chess Championship 1963}}
Following his failure in the 1962 Candidates,{{efn|1=According to Lombardy, Fischer's lack of a sole second proved a main reason for his failure.<ref>[[#Lombardy|Lombardy 2011]], p. 122. "As a second, Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier had to divide his talents between Bobby and Pal Benko… Bobby was hopping mad over the miserable arrangement made by the American Chess Foundation, which was responsible for the funding for the American participants at Curaçao."</ref>}} Fischer asserted in a ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' article<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Bobby Fischer|date=August 20, 1962|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|title=The Russians Have Fixed World Chess|volume=17|number=8|pages=18–19, 64–65|url=https://www.si.com/vault/issue/42447/25|access-date=January 14, 2020}}</ref> that three of the five Soviet players (Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, and Efim Geller) had a prearranged agreement to quickly draw their games against each other in order to conserve their energy for playing against Fischer. It is generally thought that this accusation is correct.<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 29–30, 37, 40, 83.</ref><ref name="His Own Success 2008">{{cite news|title=Victim of His Own Success: The Tragedy of Bobby Fischer|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=January 22, 2008|page=D8}}</ref>{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=148}} Fischer stated that he would never again participate in a Candidates' tournament, since the format, combined with the alleged [[collusion]], made it impossible for a non-Soviet player to win. Following Fischer's article, [[FIDE]], in late 1962, voted to implement a radical reform of the playoff system, replacing the Candidates' tournament with a format of one-on-one knockout matches—the format that Fischer would dominate in 1971.<ref name="His Own Success 2008"/><ref name="Wade & O'Connell 1972, p. 331">[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 331–46.</ref>

Fischer defeated [[Bent Larsen]] in a summer 1962 exhibition game in [[Copenhagen]] for Danish TV. Later that year, Fischer beat [[Bogdan Śliwa]] in a team match against Poland in Warsaw.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 207–08.</ref>

In the 1962/63 US Championship, Fischer lost to [[Edmar Mednis]] in round one. It was his first loss ever in a US Championship. Bisguier was in excellent form, and Fischer caught up to him only at the end. Tied at 7–3, the two met in the final round. Bisguier stood well in the middlegame, but blundered, handing Fischer his fifth consecutive US championship.<ref name="Bisguier, in Wade & O'Connell 1973, p. 49"/>

==Semi-retirement in the mid-1960s==
Influenced by ill will over the aborted 1961 match against Reshevsky, Fischer declined an invitation to play in the 1963 [[Piatigorsky Cup]] tournament in Los Angeles, which had a world-class field.<ref name="Bisguier, in Wade & O'Connell 1973, p. 49">Arthur Bisguier, in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 49.</ref> He instead played in the Western Open in [[Bay City, Michigan]], which he won with 7½/8.<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 237. "At the time he was also writing for ''Chess Life'', a column called "Fischer Talks Chess," and he made some very favorable comments about the overall quality of the opposition he faced as well as the organization of the tournaments."</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 49, 149–51.</ref> In August–September 1963, Fischer won the New York State Championship at [[Poughkeepsie, New York|Poughkeepsie]], with 7/7, his first perfect score,<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 49, 152–53.</ref> ahead of Arthur Bisguier and [[James Sherwin]].{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=70}}

In the 1963/64 US Championship, Fischer achieved his second perfect score, this time against the top-ranked chess players in the country.<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 243"/><ref name="Bisguier, in Wade & O'Connell 1973, p. 49"/> This result brought Fischer heightened fame, including a profile in [[Life Magazine|''Life'']] magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVQEAAAAMBAJ |title=LIFE - Google Books |date=February 21, 1964 |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Levy 1975, p. 91">{{cite book
|author=David Levy|author-link=David Levy (chess player)
|title=How Fischer Plays Chess
|year=1975|page=91
|publisher=R.H.M. Press
|isbn=978-0-89058-011-0
}}</ref> ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' diagrammed each of the 11 games in its article, "The Amazing Victory Streak of Bobby Fischer".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1964/01/13/608156/the-amazing-victory-streak-of-bobby-fischer |title=The Amazing Victory Streak of Bobby Fischer |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=January 13, 1964 |access-date=May 12, 2007 |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313034001/http://www.si.com/vault/1964/01/13/608156/the-amazing-victory-streak-of-bobby-fischer |url-status=live }}</ref> Such extensive chess coverage was groundbreaking for the top American sports magazine. His 11–0 win in the 1963/64 Championship is the only perfect score in the history of the tournament,<ref>Arthur Bisguier, in Wade & Connell 1973, pp. 49–50.</ref> and one of about ten [[World records in chess#Perfect tournament scores|perfect scores]] in high-level chess tournaments ever.<ref name="Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 81">[[#Whyld|Hooper & Whyld 1992]], p. 81.</ref><ref name=s2002>{{cite book
|author=Andy Soltis|author-link=Andrew Soltis
|title=Chess Lists
|year=2002|pages=81–83
|edition=2nd
|publisher=McFarland and Company
|isbn=978-0-7864-1296-9
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Anne Sunnucks|author-link=Anne Sunnucks
|year=1976 |orig-year=1970
|title=The Encyclopaedia of Chess
|edition=2nd|page=76
|publisher=St. Martin's Press
|isbn=978-0-7091-4697-1
}}</ref> Fischer recalled:<ref>[[#F1969|Fischer 1969]], p. 305.</ref> "Motivated by my lopsided result (11–0!), Dr. [Hans] Kmoch congratulated [Larry] Evans (the runner up) on 'winning' the tournament… and then he congratulated me on 'winning the exhibition'."

Fischer's 21-move victory against [[Robert Byrne (chess player)|Robert Byrne]] won the brilliancy prize for the tournament. Byrne wrote: {{blockquote|The culminating combination is of such depth that, even at the very moment at which I resigned, both grandmasters who were commenting on the play for the spectators in a separate room believed I had a won game!<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Brady|1973|p=74}}.</ref>}}

International Master [[Anthony Saidy]] recalled his last round encounter with the undefeated Fischer:<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 248">[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 248.</ref>

{{blockquote|Going into the final game I certainly did not expect to upset Fischer. I hardly knew the opening but played simply, and he went along with the scenario, opting for a N-v-B [i.e., Knight vs. Bishop] endgame with a minimal edge. In the corridor, Evans said to me, "Good. Show him we're not all children."}}

At adjournment, Saidy saw a way to force a draw, yet he had already "sealed a different, wrong move", and lost.<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 248"/> "Chess publications around the world wrote of the unparalleled achievement. Only Bent Larsen, always a Fischer detractor, was unimpressed: 'Fischer was playing against children.{{'"}}<ref>''Chess Life'', August 1964, p. 202. Quoted in {{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=155}}.</ref>

Fischer, eligible as US Champion, decided against his participation in the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal, taking himself out of the [[World Chess Championship 1966|1966 World Championship cycle]],{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=80-81}} even after FIDE changed the format of the eight-player Candidates Tournament from a [[Round-robin tournament|round-robin]] to a series of [[Single-elimination tournament|knockout]] matches, which eliminated the possibility of collusion.<ref name="Levy 1975, p. 91"/> Instead, Fischer embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada from February through May, playing a [[simultaneous exhibition]], and giving a lecture in each of more than 40 cities.<ref name=don>{{cite book
|author=John Donaldson
|title=A Legend on the Road: Bobby Fischer's 1964 Simul Tour
|year=2005|pages=7, 11
|publisher=International Chess Enterprises
|isbn=978-1-888690-25-5
}}</ref> He had a 94% winning percentage over more than 2,000 games.<ref name=don/> Fischer declined an invitation to play for the US in the [[16th Chess Olympiad|1964 Olympiad]] in [[Tel Aviv]].<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 285.</ref>

==Successful return==
[[File:Schaker Bobby Fisher aan bord (archief), Bestanddeelnr 924-7362.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|Fischer in 1971]]
Fischer wanted to play in the [[Capablanca Memorial|Capablanca Memorial Tournament]] in Havana in August and September 1965.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 127–28.</ref> Since the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] refused to endorse Fischer's passport as valid for visiting Cuba,<ref name="Wade p. 209">[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 209.</ref> he proposed, and the tournament officials and players accepted, a unique arrangement: Fischer played his moves from a room at the [[Marshall Chess Club]], which were then transmitted by [[teleprinter]] to Cuba.<ref>[[#Bisguier|Bisguier & Soltis 1974]], p. 213.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=86-69}}<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 127–31.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 160, 209.</ref> All of Fischer's playing sessions went from eight to twelve hours, leading to fatigue in the late rounds.<ref name="Pachman 1975, p. 215">{{cite book|author= Luděk Pachman
|title=Pachman's Decisive Games
|year=1975|page=215
|publisher=Pitman
|isbn=978-0-273-31812-5
}}</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=88-89}} Despite the handicap, Fischer tied for second through fourth places, with 15/21 (+12−3=6),<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 127.</ref> behind former world champion Vasily Smyslov, whom Fischer defeated in their individual game.<ref name="Pachman 1975, p. 215"/> The tournament received extensive media coverage.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=86-88}}<ref name="Wade p. 209"/>

In December, Fischer won his seventh US Championship (1965), with the score of 8½/11 (+8−2=1),<ref name="Di Felice 2013b, p. 167">[[#DiFelice2013b|Di Felice 2013b]], p. 167.</ref> despite losing to Robert Byrne and Reshevsky in the eighth and ninth rounds.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=92-94}}<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 82–86.</ref> Fischer also reconciled with Mrs. Piatigorsky, accepting an invitation to the very strong second [[Piatigorsky Cup]] (1966) tournament in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]]. Fischer began disastrously and after eight rounds was tied for last with 3/8. He then staged a strong comeback, scoring 7/8 in the next eight rounds. In the end, World Chess Championship finalist Boris Spassky edged him out by a half point, scoring 11½/18 to Fischer's 11/18 (+7−3=8).<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 134.</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Isaac Kashdan|author-link=Isaac Kashdan
|title=Second Piatigorsky Cup: International Grandmaster Tournament held in Santa Monica, California August 1966
|year=1977 |orig-year=1968
|publisher=Dover
|isbn=978-0-486-23572-1|page=v}}</ref>

Now aged 23, Fischer would win every match or tournament he completed for the rest of his life.<ref name="Kasparov 2004, p. 322">[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 322.</ref>

Fischer won the US Championship (1966/67) for the eighth and final time, ceding only three draws (+8−0=3).<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], pp. 284–85.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 87–91.</ref> In March–April and August–September, Fischer won strong tournaments at [[Monte Carlo]], with 7/9 (+6−1=2),<ref>[[#DiFelice2013b|Di Felice 2013b]], p. 396.</ref> and [[Skopje]], with 13½/17 (+12−2=3).<ref>[[#DiFelice2013b|Di Felice 2013b]], pp. 423–24.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 236–47.</ref> In the Philippines, Fischer played nine exhibition games against master opponents, scoring 8½/9.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 450–53.</ref>

===Withdrawal while leading Interzonal===
Fischer's win in the 1966/67 US Championship qualified him for the next World Championship cycle.<ref name="Di Felice 2013b, p. 167"/>

At the 1967 Interzonal, held at [[Sousse]], [[Tunisia]], Fischer scored 8½ points in the first 10 games, to lead the field. His observance of the [[Grace Communion International|Worldwide Church of God's]] [[seventh-day Sabbath]] was honored by the organizers, but the resulting schedule deprived Fischer of several rest days. This started a scheduling dispute, which led to further disputes.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pages=135-139}}<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], pp. 332–334.</ref> Fischer forfeited two games in protest and later withdrew, eliminating himself from the [[World Chess Championship 1969|1969 World Championship cycle]].<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 161–66.</ref> Communications difficulties with the highly inexperienced local organizers were also a significant factor since Fischer knew little French and the organizers had very limited English. No one in Tunisian chess had previous experience running an event of this stature.<ref>[[Al Horowitz]] (1973) ''The World Chess Championship: A History''. Macmillan. New York.</ref>

Since Fischer had completed fewer than half of his scheduled games, all of his results were annulled, meaning players who had played Fischer had those games cancelled, and the scores nullified from the official tournament record.<ref name="Wade & O'Connell 1972, p. 331"/>

===Second semi-retirement===

In 1968, Fischer won tournaments at [[Netanya]], with 11½/13 (+10−0=3),<ref>[[#DiFelice2013c|Di Felice 2013c]], pp. 56–57.</ref> and [[Vinkovci]], with 11/13 (+9−0=4),<ref>[[#DiFelice2013c|Di Felice 2013c]], p. 91.</ref> by large margins.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 248–59.</ref> Fischer then stopped playing for the next 18 months, except for a win against Anthony Saidy in a 1969 New York Metropolitan League team match.<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], pp. 320–21.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 154–55.</ref> That year, Fischer (assisted by Larry Evans) released his second book of collected games: ''[[My 60 Memorable Games]]'', published by Simon & Schuster.<ref>[[#Donaldson|Donaldson & Tangborn 1999]], p. 170.</ref> The book was well-received; it was praised for its copious and careful notes. The games annotated included some draws and losses.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=162-163}}

==1969–1972: Road to World Champion==
In 1970, Fischer began a new effort to become World Champion. His dramatic march toward the title made him a household name and made chess front-page news for a time. He won the title in 1972, but forfeited it three years later.

===Entry into World Championship cycle===
[[File:Fischer Score Card.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.75|Fischer's [[scoresheet (chess)|scoresheet]] from his round 3 game against [[Miguel Najdorf]] in the 1970 [[Chess Olympiad]] in [[Siegen]], Germany]]

The 1969 US Championship was also a zonal qualifier, with the top three finishers advancing to the Interzonal. Fischer, however, had sat out the US Championship, as he had sat out the 1968 championship. In his reply to the invitation, he complained that the tournament was too small and short: {{blockquote|The reason I did not play last year and will not play this year is the same{{emdash}}the tournament is too short. I feel the tournament should be 22 rounds as it is in the Soviet Union, Hungary, Romania, and other East European countries where chess is taken seriously, rather than 11 rounds that the present U.S. Championship is.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=155}}}}
[[Ed Edmondson (chess official)|Ed Edmondson]], executive director of the [[United States Chess Federation|US Chess Federation]], tried to persuade Fischer to change his mind, but to no avail.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=156}}  At the start of 1970 Fischer was ineligible to play in the upcoming [[Palma de Mallorca]] Interzonal.

Before the Interzonal, in March and April 1970, the world's best players competed in the [[Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World|USSR vs. Rest of the World]] match in [[Belgrade]], Yugoslavia, often referred to as "the Match of the Century". There was much surprise when Fischer decided to participate.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 82.</ref>

Fischer flew to Belgrade with the intention of playing {{chessgloss|first board}} for the rest of the world.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=164}}<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 321">[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 321.</ref> Bent Larsen, however, due to his recent tournament victories, demanded to play first board instead of Fischer, even though Fischer had the higher [[Elo rating]].<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 321"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/1970g/1970in.html |title=USSR vs Rest of the World: Belgrade 1970 |work=Olimpbase |date=August 2003 |access-date=September 19, 2015 |archive-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929084625/http://www.olimpbase.org/1970g/1970in.html |url-status=live }}</ref> To the surprise of everyone, Fischer agreed.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=161}}<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 82–83.</ref> The USSR team eked out a 20½–19½ victory, but Fischer scored 3-1 against Petrosian, winning the first two games and drawing the last two.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=165}}<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 321"/>

After the USSR versus the Rest of the World Match, the unofficial World Championship of Speed Chess (5-minute games) was held at [[Herceg Novi]]. "[The Russians] figured on teaching Fischer a lesson and on bringing him down a peg or two".<ref name="Schonberg 1973, p. 267">[[#Schonberg|Schonberg 1973]], p. 267.</ref> Petrosian and Tal were considered the favorites,<ref name=CD>{{cite book
|title=Bobby Fischer: His Games and His Openings 1969 through 1971
|year=1971|pages=83–92
|publisher=Chess Digest
}}</ref> but Fischer overwhelmed the super-class field with 19/22 (+17−1=4), far ahead of Tal (14½), Korchnoi (14), Petrosian (13½), and Bronstein (13).<ref name=CD/><ref name="Denker & Parr 1995, p. 105">[[#Denker|Denker & Parr 1995]], p. 105.</ref> Fischer lost only one game (to Korchnoi, who was also the only player to achieve an even score against him in the double [[round robin tournament]]).<ref name=CD/><ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 188–89.</ref> Fischer "crushed such blitz kings as Tal, Petrosian and Vasily Smyslov by a clean score".<ref name="Kasparov 2004, p. 343">[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 343.</ref> Tal marveled that, "During the entire tournament he didn't leave a single pawn [[en prise]]!", while the other players "blundered knights and bishops galore".<ref name="Kasparov 2004, p. 343"/><ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 183.</ref>

[[File:Stevan Kragujevic, Bobi Fiser u Beogradu.jpg|upright=0.75|thumb|left|Fischer in [[Belgrade]] for the [[Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World|USSR vs. Rest of the World]] match in 1970]]
In April–May 1970, Fischer won at [[Rovinj]]/[[Zagreb]] with 13/17 (+10−1=6), by a two-point margin, ahead of Gligorić, [[Vlastimil Hort|Hort]], Korchnoi, Smyslov, and Petrosian.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 342.</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 263–70.</ref> In July–August, Fischer crushed the mostly grandmaster field at [[Buenos Aires]], winning by a 3½-point margin, scoring 15/17 (+13−0=4).<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 271–78.</ref>

Fischer then played first board for the US Team in the 19th Chess Olympiad in Siegen, where he won an individual Silver medal, scoring 10/13 (+8−1=4),<ref name="Di Felice 2013c, p. 366"/> with his only loss being to World Champion Boris Spassky.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 201–02.</ref> Right after the Olympiad, Fischer defeated [[Ulf Andersson]] in an exhibition game for the Swedish newspaper ''Expressen''.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 279.</ref>

At the FIDE Congress, held in conjunction with the Olympiad, the possibility of modifying the Interzonal roster to allow Fischer to play was discussed. This was voted down, but it was decided that if one of the three US qualifiers would drop out on Fischer's behalf, the US Chess Federation was authorized to revise its list of entrants.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=173}} Benko, one of the three qualifiers, agreed to give up his spot in the Interzonal to give Fischer another shot at the World Championship; Lombardy, who would have been "next in line" after Benko, did the same.<ref>[[#Benko|Benko & Silman 2003]], p. 426.</ref><ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 84–86.</ref><ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 343.</ref><ref>[[Leonard Barden]], in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p.&nbsp;342.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=174}}<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Chess Life & Review |date=July 1975 |volume=XXX |number=7 |author=Pal Benko |author-link=Pal Benko |title=In the Arena |page=439 |url=https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CL-ALL/1975/1975_07.pdf}} "The only condition I asked for stepping down was for Fischer to agree not to withdraw from the Interzonal or the ensuing matches should he qualify for them – and he fulfilled this condition."</ref>

Fischer won the Interzonal (held in [[Palma de Mallorca]] in November and December 1970) with 18½/23 (+15−1=7),<ref>[[#DiFelice2013c|Di Felice 2013c]], pp. 320–21.</ref> far ahead of Larsen, [[Efim Geller]], and [[Robert Hübner]], with 15/23.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mark Weeks |url=http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/7072$iix.htm |title=World Chess Championship 1970 Palma de Mallorca Interzonal Tournament |publisher=Printer |date=1997–2008 |access-date=October 4, 2008 |archive-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228121851/http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/7072$iix.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[#Kazic|Kažić 1974]], pp. 171–72. "Fischer's 3½-point margin set a new record for an Interzonal, beating Alexander Kotov's 3-point margin at [[Saltsjöbaden]] 1952."</ref> Fischer finished the tournament with seven consecutive wins.<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|1973|p=179}} "Panno refused to play in protest of the organizers' rescheduling of the game to accommodate Fischer's desire not to play on his religion's [[seventh-day Sabbath|Sabbath]]. Panno was not present when the game was to begin. Fischer waited ten minutes before playing his first move (1.c4) and went to get Panno to convince him to play. Forty-five minutes later, Panno came to the board and resigned."</ref><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 344, 410.</ref>

===Candidates Matches===
In the 1971 Candidates matches, Fischer was set to play against the Soviet grandmaster and concert pianist [[Mark Taimanov]] in the quarter-finals. The match began in mid-May in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=167}} Fischer was generally favored to win.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=167}}<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 88.</ref> Taimanov's preparation for the match included a detailed dossier on Fischer, prepared by Botvinnik when he was in talks to play a match with Fischer in early 1970.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 220–22.</ref><ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 370.</ref> After Fischer defeated Taimanov in the second game of the match, Taimanov asked Fischer how he managed to come up with the move 12. N1c3, to which Fischer replied "that the idea was not his—he had come across it in the monograph by the Soviet master [[Aleksandr Nikitin (chess player)|Alexandr Nikitin]] in a footnote".<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 225–26.</ref> Taimanov said of this: "It is staggering that I, an expert on the Sicilian, should have missed this theoretically significant idea by my compatriot, while Fischer had uncovered it in a book in a foreign language!"<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 226.</ref> With the score at 4–0, in Fischer's favor, the fifth game adjournment was a sight to behold.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 232. {{"'}}What happened next during the resumption of the 5th game,' Tal wrote later, 'had to be seen to be believed. It is simply incredible that three grandmasters could have left a rook en prise a mere three moves after the resumption of the game.{{'"}}</ref> Schonberg explains the scene:<ref name="Schonberg 1973, p. 267"/>

{{blockquote|Taimanov came to Vancouver with two seconds, both grandmasters. Fischer was alone. He thought that the sight of Taimanov and his seconds was the funniest thing he had ever seen. There Taimanov and his seconds would sit, six hands flying, pocket sets waving in the air, while variations were being spouted all over the place. And there sat Taimanov with a confused look on his face. Just before resuming play [in the fifth game] the seconds were giving Taimanov some last-minute advice. When poor Taimanov entered the playing room and sat down to confront Fischer, his head was so full of conflicting continuations that he became rattled, left a Rook ''en prise'' and immediately resigned.}}

Fischer beat Taimanov by the score of 6–0.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 412–16.</ref> There was little precedent for such a lopsided score in a match leading to the World Championship.<ref>[[Leonard Barden]] "From Portorož to Petrosian", in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 345. "The record books showed that the only comparable achievement to the 6–0 score against Taimanov was [[Wilhelm Steinitz]]'s 7–0 win against [[Joseph Henry Blackburne]] in 1876 in an era of more primitive defensive technique."</ref>

Upon losing the final game of the match, Taimanov shrugged his shoulders, saying sadly to Fischer: "Well, I still have my music."{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=188}} As a result of his performance, Taimanov "was thrown out of the USSR team and forbidden to travel for two years. He was banned from writing articles, was deprived of his monthly stipend… [and] the authorities prohibited him from performing on the concert platform."<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 91–92.</ref> "The crushing loss virtually ended Taimanov's chess career."{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=168}}

Fischer was next scheduled to play against Bent Larsen. "Spassky predicted a tight struggle. 'Larsen is a little stronger in spirit.{{' "}}<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 92.</ref> Before the match, Botvinnik had told a Soviet television audience:<ref>{{cite book
|author=Bernard Cafferty
|title=Candidates Matches 1971
|year=1972|page=102
|publisher=The Chess Player
|asin=B0007APXZK
}}</ref>

{{blockquote|It is hard to say how their match will end, but it is clear that such an easy victory as in Vancouver [against Taimanov] will not be given to Fischer. I think Larsen has unpleasant surprises in store for [Fischer], all the more since having dealt with Taimanov thus, Fischer will want to do just the same to Larsen and this is impossible.}}

Fischer beat Larsen by the identical score of 6–0.<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 360. "…{{nbsp}}the chess world… was positively sent reeling by Bobby's crushing 6–0 defeat of Larsen."</ref> Robert Byrne writes: "To a certain extent I could grasp the Taimanov match as a kind of curiosity—almost a freak, a strange chess occurrence that would never occur again. But now I am at a loss for anything whatever to say… So, it is out of the question for me to explain how Bobby, how anyone, could win six games in a row from such a genius of the game as Bent Larsen".<ref>[[#Byrne|Byrne & Nei 1974]], p. 19.</ref> Just a year before, Larsen had played first board for the Rest of the World team ahead of Fischer, and had handed Fischer his only loss at the Interzonal. [[Garry Kasparov]] later wrote that no player had ever shown a superiority over his rivals comparable to Fischer's "incredible" 12–0 score in the two matches.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], pp. 405–06.</ref>

On August 8, 1971, while preparing for his last Candidates match with former world champion Tigran Petrosian, Fischer won the [[Manhattan Chess Club]] Rapid Tournament, scoring 21½/22 against a strong field.<ref name="Denker & Parr 1995, p. 105"/><ref>{{cite book
|author=Gino Di Felice
|title=Chess Results, 1971–1974: A Comprehensive Record with 966 Tournament Crosstables and 148 Match Scores, with Sources
|publisher=McFarland
|year=2014|pages=48–49
|isbn=978-1-4766-1891-3
}}</ref>

Despite Fischer's results against Taimanov and Larsen, his upcoming match against Petrosian seemed a daunting task.<ref>[[#Steiner|Steiner 1974]], p. 21. "Petrosian's opponents have declared him to be 'the hardest player in history to defeat.{{'"}}</ref> Nevertheless, the Soviet government was concerned about Fischer.<ref>[[#Karpov|Karpov 1991]], p. 114.</ref><ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 273.</ref> "Reporters asked Petrosian whether the match would last the full twelve games… 'It might be possible that I win it earlier,' Petrosian replied",{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=169}} and then stated: "Fischer's [nineteen consecutive] wins do not impress me. He is a great chess player but no genius."{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=195}} Petrosian played a strong {{chessgloss|theoretical novelty}} in the first game, gaining the advantage, but Fischer eventually won the game after Petrosian faltered.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], pp. 408–17.</ref><ref>[[Jan Timman]] (1980) ''The Art of Chess Analysis'', R.H.M. Press, pp. 36–42. {{ISBN|0-89058-048-0}}.</ref><ref>[[#Soltis2003|Soltis 2003]], pp. 259–62.</ref> This gave Fischer a run of 20 consecutive wins against the world's top players (in the Interzonal and Candidates matches), a [[winning streak (sports)|winning streak]] topped only by Steinitz's 25 straight wins in 1873–1882.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 311–12.</ref><ref name=s2002/> Petrosian won the second game, finally snapping Fischer's streak.<ref>[[#Mednis|Mednis 1997]], pp. 266–70.</ref>{{efn|1=According to Miguel Quinteros, Fischer had the flu at the beginning of the match.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/opinion/2020/07/23/bobby-fischer-el-vincent-van-gogh-de-nuestro-tiempo/|title=Bobby Fischer, el Vincent van Gogh de nuestro tiempo|first=Miguel|last=Quinteros|date=July 23, 2020|website=Infobae.com|access-date=December 7, 2021|archive-date=December 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219094637/https://www.infobae.com/opinion/2020/07/23/bobby-fischer-el-vincent-van-gogh-de-nuestro-tiempo/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} After three consecutive draws, Fischer swept the next four games to win the match 6½–2½ (+5−1=3).<ref>[[Reuben Fine]] (1971) ''The Final Candidates Match Buenos Aires, 1971: Fischer vs Petrosian'', Hostel Chess Association. pp. 13–32.</ref> ''Sports Illustrated'' ran an article on the match.<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Robert Cantwell |author=Robert Cantwell |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1971/11/08/612506/bobby-clears-the-board-for-the-title |title=Bobby Clears The Board For The Title |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=November 8, 1971 |access-date=February 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313034013/https://www.si.com/vault/1971/11/08/612506/bobby-clears-the-board-for-the-title |archive-date=March 13, 2016}}</ref>

Upon completion of the match, Petrosian remarked: "After the sixth game Fischer really did become a genius. I on the other hand, either had a breakdown or was tired, or something else happened, but the last three games were no longer chess."<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 96.</ref><ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 289.</ref> "Some experts kept insisting that Petrosian was off form, and that he should have had a plus score at the end of the sixth game{{nbsp}}…" to which Fischer replied, "People have been playing against me below strength for fifteen years."<ref>[[#Schonberg|Schonberg 1973]], p. 269.</ref> Fischer's match results befuddled Botvinnik: "It is hard to talk about Fischer's matches. Since the time that he has been playing them, miracles have begun."<ref name="Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005, p. 293">[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 293.</ref> "When Petrosian played like Petrosian, Fischer played like a very strong grandmaster, but when Petrosian began making mistakes, Fischer was transformed into a genius."<ref name="Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005, p. 293"/>

Fischer gained a far higher rating than any player in history up to that time.<ref>[[#Alexander|Alexander 1972]], p. 74.</ref> On the July 1972 FIDE rating list, his [[Elo rating]] of 2785 was 125 points above (World No. 2) Spassky's rating of 2660.<ref name="Informant14ratinglist">''[[Chess Informant]]'', Volume 14, Šahovski Informator, 1973, pp. 302–07.</ref><ref name="AllTimeRankings">{{cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo197207e.html |title=FIDE Rating List July 1972 |access-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209102617/http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo197207e.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Arpad Elo
|title=The Rating of Chess Players, Past and Present
|year=1978|page=43
|publisher=Batsford
|isbn=978-0-668-04721-0
}}</ref><ref name=domination>Albert Silver, [https://en.chessbase.com/(X(1)S(llg5s3n25xhqbvopexo5w3mx))/post/the-name-of-the-game-is-domination The name of the game is domination] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209102633/https://en.chessbase.com/(X(1)S(llg5s3n25xhqbvopexo5w3mx))/post/the-name-of-the-game-is-domination |date=December 9, 2020 }}, ChessBase, March 1, 2013</ref> His results put him on the cover of [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]],<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Brad Darrach|date=November 12, 1971|title=Bobby Fischer is a ferocious winner|magazine=Life|volume=71|number=20|pages=50A–53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49|access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref> and allowed him to challenge World Champion Boris Spassky, whom he had never beaten (+0−3=2).<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 429.</ref>

===World Championship match===
{{Main|World Chess Championship 1972}}

Fischer's career-long stubbornness about match and tournament conditions was again seen in the run-up to his match with Spassky. Of the possible sites, Fischer's first choice was [[Belgrade]], [[SFR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], while Spassky's was [[Reykjavík]], Iceland.<ref>[[#Gligoric|Gligorić 1972]], pp. 10–11.</ref> For a time it appeared that the dispute would be resolved by splitting the match between the two locations, but that arrangement failed.<ref>[[#Gligoric|Gligorić 1972]], pp. 11–12.</ref> After that issue was resolved, Fischer refused to appear in Iceland until the prize fund was increased. The London financier [[Jim Slater (accountant)|Jim Slater]] donated an additional US$125,000, bringing the prize fund up to an unprecedented $250,000 (${{Inflation|US|0.250|1972|fmt=c|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) and Fischer finally agreed to play.<ref name="Gligoric 1972, p. 13">[[#Gligoric|Gligorić 1972]], p. 13.</ref>

Before and during the match, Fischer paid special attention to his physical training and fitness, which was a relatively novel approach for top chess players at that time. Leading up to this match he conducted interviews with ''[[60 Minutes]]'' and [[Dick Cavett]] explaining the importance of physical fitness in his preparation. He had developed his tennis skills to a good level, and played frequently during off-days in Reykjavík. He had also arranged for exclusive use of his hotel's swimming pool during specified hours, and swam for extended periods, usually late at night.<ref>[[#Gligoric|Gligorić 1972]], p. 47.</ref> According to Soviet [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] [[Nikolai Krogius]], Fischer "was paying great attention to sport, and that he was swimming and even boxing{{nbsp}}…"<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 308.</ref>

The match took place in Reykjavík from July to September 1972. Fischer was accompanied by William Lombardy; besides assisting with analysis,{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=225, 253}} Lombardy may have played an important role in getting Fischer to play in the match and to stay in it.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=248}} The match was the first to receive an American broadcast in prime time.<ref name="Alexander 1972, p. 141">[[#Alexander|Alexander 1972]], p. 141.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/19/chess.sport|title=Death of a madman driven sane by chess|author=Stephen Moss|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 19, 2008|access-date=January 4, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222517/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/19/chess.sport|url-status=live}}</ref> Fischer lost the first two games in strange fashion: the first when he played a risky pawn-grab in a drawn [[chess endgame|endgame]], the second by forfeit when he refused to play the game in a dispute over playing conditions.<ref>[[#Alexander|Alexander 1972]], pp. 84–87.</ref> Fischer would likely have forfeited the entire match, but Spassky, not wanting to win by default, yielded to Fischer's demands to move the next game to a back room, away from the cameras, whose presence had upset Fischer.<ref>[[#Gligoric|Gligorić 1972]], p. 37.</ref><ref>[[#Alexander|Alexander 1972]], p. 87.</ref> After that game, the match was moved back to the stage and proceeded without further serious incident. Fischer won seven of the next 19 games, losing only one and drawing eleven, to win the match 12½–8½ and become the 11th World Chess Champion.<ref name="Alexander 1972, p. 141"/>

The [[Cold War]] trappings made the match a media sensation.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 271–73.</ref> It was called "The Match of the Century",<ref>[[#Byrne|Byrne & Nei 1974]], p. vii.</ref><ref>[[#Donner|Donner 2006]], p. 136 (originally published in ''De Tijd'', June 28, 1972).</ref>{{efn|1=Perhaps the best-selling book on the match was subtitled ''The New York Times Report on the Chess Match of the Century''.<ref name=Roberts/>}} and received front-page media coverage in the United States and around the world.<ref name=Roberts>{{cite book|author=Richard Roberts |author2=Harold C. Schonberg |author3=I. A. Horowitz |author4=Samuel Reshevsky|name-list-style=amp
|title=Fischer/Spassky: The New York Times Report on the Chess Match of the Century
|year=1972|pages=195–96
|publisher=Bantam Books
|isbn=978-0-553-07667-7
}}</ref><ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 370. The match made the covers of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''[[Newsweek]]''. ''Id.'' at 19.</ref> Fischer's win was an American victory in a field that Soviet players – closely identified with and subsidized by the state – had dominated for the previous quarter-century. Kasparov remarked, "Fischer fits ideologically into the context of the Cold War era: a lone American genius challenges the Soviet chess machine and defeats it".<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 206.</ref><ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 15.</ref> Dutch Grandmaster [[Jan Timman]] called Fischer's victory "the story of a lonely hero who overcomes an entire empire".<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], p. 89.</ref> Fischer's sister observed, "Bobby did all this in a country almost totally without a chess culture. It was as if an [[Eskimo]] had cleared a tennis court in the snow and gone on to win the world championship".<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 13.</ref>

Upon Fischer's return to New York,<ref>[[#Soltis2003|Soltis 2003]], pp. 10–11.</ref> a Bobby Fischer Day was held.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Anthony Saidy |author2=Norman Lessing|name-list-style=amp
|title=The World of Chess
|year=1974|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said/page/224 224]–226
|publisher=Random House
|isbn=978-0-394-48777-9
|url=https://archive.org/details/worldofchess00said
|url-access=registration |quote=Wearing city's gold medal and accompanied by Mayor [[John Lindsay]], Bobby shakes hands with some 3,000 fans attending{{nbsp}}...
}}</ref> He was offered numerous product endorsement offers worth "at least $5 million" (${{Inflation|US|5|1972|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), all of which he declined.<ref>Larry Evans, in [[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 13.</ref> He appeared on the cover of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]''<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1972/08/14/how-to-cook-a-russian-goose |title=Bobby's Chessboard Mastery |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=August 14, 1972 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}</ref> with the American Olympic swimming champion [[Mark Spitz]] and also appeared on ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'', as well as on a [[Bob Hope]] TV special.<ref name="Cavett">{{cite news |author=Dick Cavett |url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/was-it-only-a-game/ |title=Was It Only a Game? |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 8, 2008 |access-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref> Membership in the US Chess Federation doubled in 1972,<ref>{{cite web |year=2016 |title=2016 US Chess Yearbook |website=uschess.org |url=http://www.uschess.org/images/stories/Yearbooks/2016yearbook.pdf |access-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205162607/http://www.uschess.org/images/stories/Yearbooks/2016yearbook.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and peaked in 1974; in American chess, these years are commonly referred to as the "Fischer Boom".

===Forfeiture of title===
Fischer was scheduled to defend his title in 1975 against [[Anatoly Karpov]], who had [[World Chess Championship 1975|emerged as his challenger]].<ref>{{cite book
|author=Robert Byrne
|title=Anatoly Karpov: The Road to the World Chess Championship
|year=1976
|publisher=Bantam Books
|isbn=978-0-553-02876-8
}}</ref> Fischer, who had played no competitive games since his World Championship match with Spassky, laid out a proposal for the match in September 1973, in consultation with FIDE official Fred Cramer. He made three principal (non-negotiable) demands:

#The match continues until one player wins 10 games, draws not counting.
#No limit to the total number of games played.
#In case of a 9–9 score, the champion (Fischer) retains the title, and the prize fund is split equally.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 471.</ref>

Fischer argued that these demands were reasonable because otherwise a player who had taken the lead could trade some pieces and draw some games, coasting towards the title. This was arguably what had happened in the 1972 match (games 14–20 were all drawn), but it was a style of chess that Fischer found offensive. Under the proposed 10-win format, one would still have to play for a win.<ref name="SeirawanBrilliancies">{{cite book|author=Yasser Seirawan|title=Winning Chess Brilliancies|year=2003|publisher=Microsoft Press}}</ref><ref>[[#Donaldson|Donaldson & Tangborn 1999]], p. 159. "In a letter to Larry Evans, published in ''[[Chess Life]]'' in November 1974, Fischer claimed the usual system (24 games with the first player to get 12½ points winning, and the champion retaining his title in the event of a 12–12 tie) encouraged the player in the lead to draw games, which he regarded as bad for chess. Not counting draws would be 'an accurate test of who is the world's best player'."</ref> 

Many observers considered Fischer's requested 9–9 clause unfair because it would require the challenger to win by at least two games (10–8).<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], p. 46.</ref> Botvinnik called the 9–9 clause "unsporting".<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 417–18.</ref> Korchnoi, [[David Bronstein]], and [[Lev Alburt]] considered the 9–9 clause reasonable.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 418–19.</ref><ref>[[#Denker|Denker & Parr 1995]], pp. 110–11. "Former US Champion [[Arnold Denker]], who was in contact with Fischer during the negotiations with FIDE, claimed that Fischer wanted a long match to be able to play himself into shape after a three-year layoff."</ref> Korchnoi in particular stated:<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 418.</ref>

{{blockquote|Was Fischer right in demanding that the world title be protected by a two point handicap – that the challenger would be considered the winner with a 10–8 score and that the champion would retain his title in the event of a 9–9 draw? Yes, this was quite natural: the champion deserves this, not to mention the fact that further play to the first win in the event of an even score would be nothing short of a lottery – the winner in that case could not claim to have won a convincing victory.}}

There was also the practical issue of hosting an unlimited match. If neither player could prove their superiority and there were an endless series of draws, the cost of the match would be astronomical.<ref name="SeirawanBrilliancies" />

A FIDE Congress was held in 1974 during the [[Nice, France|Nice]] [[Chess Olympiad|Olympiad]]. The delegates voted in favor of Fischer's 10-win proposal, but rejected his other two proposals, and limited the number of games in the match to 36.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 412–13.</ref> In response to FIDE's ruling, Fischer sent a cable to Euwe on June 27, 1974:{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=218-219}}<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 472.</ref><ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 413–14.</ref>

{{blockquote|As I made clear in my telegram to the FIDE delegates, the match conditions I proposed were non-negotiable. Mr. Cramer informs me that the rules of the winner being the first player to win ten games, draws not counting, unlimited number of games and if nine wins to nine match is drawn with champion regaining title and prize fund split equally were rejected by the FIDE delegates. By so doing FIDE has decided against my participation in the 1975 World Chess Championship. Therefore, I resign my FIDE World Chess Championship title. Sincerely, Bobby Fischer.}}

The delegates responded by reaffirming their prior decisions, but did not accept Fischer's resignation and requested that he reconsider.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 414.</ref> 

Due to the continued efforts of US Chess Federation officials,<ref>[[#Mednis|Mednis 1997]], p. 282.</ref> a special FIDE Congress was held in March 1975 in Bergen, Netherlands,<ref>Bozidar Kazic (1975). "Anatoly Karpov New World Champion." ''Chess Informant'' 19.</ref> in which it was accepted that the match should be of unlimited duration, but the 9–9 clause was once again rejected, by a narrow margin of 35 votes to 32.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 414–16.</ref> FIDE set a deadline of April 1, 1975, for Fischer and Karpov to confirm their participation in the match. No reply was received from Fischer by April 3. Thus, by default, Karpov officially became World Champion.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 473.</ref> In his 1991 autobiography, Karpov professed regret that the match had not taken place, and claimed that the lost opportunity to challenge Fischer held back his own chess development. Karpov met with Fischer several times after 1975, in friendly but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to arrange a match, since Karpov would never agree to play to 10.<ref>[[#Karpov|Karpov 1991]], pp. 159–65.</ref>

[[Brian Carney (editorialist)|Brian Carney]] opined in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' that Fischer's victory over Spassky in 1972 left him nothing to prove, except that perhaps someone could someday beat him, and he was not interested in the risk of losing. He also opined that Fischer's refusal to recognize peers also allowed his paranoia to flower: "The world championship he won&nbsp;... validated his view of himself as a chess player, but it also insulated him from the humanizing influences of the world around him. He descended into what can only be considered a kind of madness".<ref name="His Own Success 2008"/>

Bronstein felt that Fischer "had the right to play the match with Karpov on his own conditions".<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 419–20.</ref> Years later, in his 1992 match against Spassky, Fischer similarly said that it was Karpov who refused to play against him under Fischer's conditions.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=247}}

Whether Karpov could have beaten Fischer is a matter of speculation. Lev Alburt felt that the decision to not concede to Fischer's demands rested on Karpov's "sober view of what he was capable of".<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 419.</ref> Spassky thought that Fischer would have won in 1975 but Karpov would have qualified again and beaten Fischer in 1978.<ref name="Polgar" /> According to [[Susan Polgar]], commentators are divided, with a slight majority believing Fischer would have won, an opinion she shares.<ref name="Polgar">"''From all of the people I spoke to, the opinions split right down the middle with a small edge for Bobby.''" [https://web.archive.org/web/20050204000611/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/polgar26.pdf Q&A about Fischer, Kasparov, Karpov and more], [[Susan Polgar]], Chesscafe, 2004</ref> [[Garry Kasparov]] argued that Karpov would have had good chances, because he had beaten Spassky convincingly and was a new breed of tough professional, and indeed had higher-quality games, while Fischer had been inactive for three years.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 474.</ref> Karpov himself said in 2020 that he thought he had chances, although he could not say he would be favored.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/karpov-interview-tania-sachdev|title=Karpov on Fischer, Korchnoi, Kasparov and the chess world today|publisher=Chessbase|date=February 5, 2020|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref>

==Sudden obscurity==
After the 1972 World Chess Championship, Fischer did not play a competitive game in public for nearly 20&nbsp;years.<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic (1992)]], p. 22.</ref> In 1977 he published three games he played against the [[MIT]] [[Richard Greenblatt (programmer)|Greenblatt]] computer program [[Mac Hack]], winning them all.<ref>{{cite web |author=Penrod, Douglas |date=7 April 1977 |title=Computer Chess Newsletter, Issue 1|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/chess/doc-431614f6d632c/ |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Bisguier, Arthur |date=June 22, 1988 |title=When Bobby Fischer took on a computer |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0622/lchs22.html|access-date=October 7, 2024}}</ref>

He moved to the Los Angeles area and associated with the [[Worldwide Church of God]] for a time, though he was not a registered member.<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=210}}</ref> On May 26, 1981, while walking in Pasadena, Fischer was arrested by a police patrolman, because he resembled a man who had just committed a robbery in the area.<ref>[[#F1982|Fischer 1982]], p. 1.</ref> Fischer, who alleged that he was slightly injured during the arrest,<ref>[[#F1982|Fischer 1982]], p. 2.</ref> said that he was held for two days, subjected to assault and various types of mistreatment,<ref>[[#F1982|Fischer 1982]], pp. 3–14.</ref> and released on $1,000 [[Bail in the United States|bail]].<ref>[[#F1982|Fischer 1982]], pp. 10–12.</ref> Fischer published a 14-page pamphlet detailing his allegations of police misconduct, saying that his arrest had been "a frame up and set up".<ref>[[#F1982|Fischer 1982]], p. 14.</ref><ref name="chun_atlantic">{{cite magazine |author=Chun, Rene |date=December 2002 |title=''Bobby Fischer's pathetic endgame'' |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200212/chun |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref>

In 1981, Fischer stayed at the home of grandmaster [[Peter Biyiasas]] in San Francisco, where, over a period of four months, he defeated Biyiasas seventeen times in a series of speed games.<ref name="Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 302"/>{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=224}} In an interview with ''Sports Illustrated'' reporter William Nack, Biyiasas assessed Fischer's play:<ref name="chun_atlantic" /><ref name=Nack>{{cite magazine |author=Nack, William |date=July 29, 1985 |title=Bobby Fischer |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1985/07/29/620937/bobby-fischer |access-date=March 12, 2016}}</ref>

{{blockquote|He was too good. There was no use in playing him. It wasn't interesting. I was getting beaten, and it wasn't clear to me why. It wasn't like I made this mistake or that mistake. It was like I was being gradually outplayed, from the start. He wasn't taking any time to think. The most depressing thing about it is that I wasn't even getting out of the middle game to an endgame. I don't ever remember an endgame. He honestly believes there is no one for him to play, no one worthy of him. I played him, and I can attest to that.}}

In 1988–1990, Fischer had a relationship with German chess player Petra Stadler, who had been put in touch with Fischer by Spassky. When Stadler later published a book about the affair,<ref>{{cite book |author=Dautov, Petra |year=1995 |title=Bobby Fischer – wie er wirklich ist. Ein Jahr mit dem Schachgenie |trans-title=Bobby Fischer – how he really is. A year with the chess genius |place=Darmstadt |publisher=California-Verlag |isbn=9783980428132 |language=de}}</ref> Spassky apologized to Fischer.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=233-234}}

==1992 Spassky rematch==
{{Main|Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)}}
Fischer emerged after twenty years of isolation to play Spassky (then tied for 96th–102nd on the FIDE rating list) in a "Revenge Match of the 20th century" in 1992. This match took place in [[Sveti Stefan]] and [[Belgrade]], [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], in spite of a United Nations [[embargo]] that included sanctions on commercial activities. Fischer demanded that the organizers bill the match as "The World Chess Championship", although [[Garry Kasparov]] was the recognized FIDE World Champion. Fischer insisted he was still the true World Champion, and that for all the games in the FIDE-sanctioned World Championship matches, involving Karpov, Korchnoi, and Kasparov, the outcomes had been prearranged.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mark Weeks|url=http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/92fs$$.htm |title=1992 Fischer – Spassky Rematch Highlights |publisher=Printer |date=1997–2008 |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> The purse for the rematch was US$5&nbsp;million, with $3.35&nbsp;million of the purse going to the winner.<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic 1992]], p. 8.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374811.stm |title=Bobby Fischer arrives in Iceland |work=BBC News|date=March 25, 2005 |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> This was, and still is, the largest purse for a match in chess history.

According to [[Andrew Soltis]]:<ref>[[#Soltis2003|Soltis 2003]], p. 280.</ref>

{{blockquote|[The match games] were of a fairly high quality, particularly when compared with Kasparov's championship matches of 1993, 1995 and 2000, for example. Yet the games also reminded many fans of how out of place Fischer was in 1992. He was still playing the openings of a previous generation. He was, moreover, the only strong player in the world who didn't trust computers and wasn't surrounded by seconds and supplicants.}}

Fischer won the match with 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws.<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 382">[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 382.</ref> Kasparov stated, "Bobby is playing OK, nothing more. Maybe his strength is 2600 or 2650. It wouldn't be close between us".<ref>[[#Waitzkin|Waitzkin 1993]], p. 298.</ref> [[Yasser Seirawan]] believed that the match proved that Fischer's playing strength was "somewhere in the top ten in the world".<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic 1992]], p. 283.</ref>

Fischer and Spassky gave ten press conferences during the match.<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic 1992]]. The content of the first nine press conferences, in full, at pp. 13, 15–21, 53–57, 86–90, 114–18, 149–54, 170–75, 208–14, 227–31, 256–60. The tenth press conference was not transcribed, p. 272.</ref> Seirawan attended the match and met with Fischer on several occasions; the two analyzed some match games and had personal discourse. Seirawan later wrote: "After September 23 [1992], I threw most of what I'd ever read about Bobby out of my head. Sheer garbage. Bobby is the most misunderstood, misquoted celebrity walking the face of the earth."<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic 1992]], p. 291.</ref> He added that Fischer was not camera shy, smiled and laughed easily, was "a fine wit" and "wholly enjoyable conversationalist".<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic 1992]], pp. 85, 96, 303.</ref>

The [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Department of the Treasury]] warned Fischer before the start of the match that his participation was illegal, that it would violate President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s {{Executive Order|12810}} imposing [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 757]] sanctions against engaging in economic activities in Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=243-244}} In response, during the first scheduled press conference on September 1, 1992, in front of the international press, Fischer spat on the US order, saying "this is my reply".<ref>{{cite news |author=Roger Cohen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/02/arts/bobby-fischer-ends-silence-with-rancor.html |title=Bobby Fischer Ends Silence With Rancor |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 2, 1992 |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> His violation of the order led US Federal officials to initiate a warrant for his arrest upon completion of the match,<ref>{{cite news |author=Stephen Labaton|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/16/world/fischer-is-indicted-over-chess-match.html |title=FISCHER IS INDICTED OVER CHESS MATCH |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 16, 1992 |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> citing, in pertinent part, "[[50 USC|Title 50]] [[United States Code|USC]] §§1701, 1702, and 1705 and Executive Order 12810".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.chessbase.com/portals/4/files/images2/2004/fischer10.pdf |title=Indictment |publisher=U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Federal Circuit) |date=December 15, 1992 |access-date=January 28, 2014|via=chessbase.com}}</ref>{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=255}}

Before the rematch against Spassky, Fischer had won a training match against Svetozar Gligorić in Sveti Stefan with six wins, one loss, and three draws.<ref>Edward Winter. "[http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fischergligoric.html Fischer v Gligorić Training Match (1992)]", ''Chess Notes''</ref>

==Later life and death==

===Life as an émigré===
After the 1992 match with Spassky, Fischer, now a fugitive, slid back into relative obscurity, taking up residence in [[Budapest]], Hungary, and allegedly having a relationship with young Hungarian chess master Zita Rajcsányi.<ref name="chun_atlantic" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Daniszewski, John |date=September 4, 1992 |title=Fischer's 19&nbsp;year-old companion shares chess limelight |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920904&slug=1511077 |access-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref> Fischer stated that standard chess was stale and that he now played blitz games of [[chess variant]]s, such as [[Chess960]]. He visited the Polgár family in Budapest and analyzed many games with [[Judit Polgár|Judit]], [[Susan Polgar|Zsuzsa]], and [[Zsófia Polgár]].<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 65, 106–09.</ref>{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=255-262}}<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Sofia Polgar discussing Bobby Fischer |via=YouTube |medium=video |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpHyqg-gM-s |access-date=November 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727061618/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpHyqg-gM-s |archive-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref> In 1998 and 1999, he also stayed at the house of the young Hungarian grandmaster [[Peter Leko]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Peter Leko talks about Bobby Fischer staying at his home |date=April 8, 2018 |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5SioDLPbc |access-date=April 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/eX5SioDLPbc |archive-date=October 28, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

From 2000 to 2002, Fischer lived in [[Baguio]] in the Philippines, residing in the same compound as the Filipino grandmaster [[Eugene Torre]], a close friend who had acted as his {{chessgloss|second}} during his 1992 match with Spassky.<ref name=pdi>{{cite news |author=Cabreza, Vincent |date=January 19, 2008 |title=Fischer has a Pinoy heir born in Baguio – friends |newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080119-113499/Fischer-has-a-Pinoy-heir-born-in-Baguio----friends |access-date=January 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222093201/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080119-113499/Fischer-has-a-Pinoy-heir-born-in-Baguio----friends |archive-date=February 22, 2008}}</ref> Torre introduced Fischer to a 22-year-old woman named Marilyn Young.{{efn| Marilyn Young's name was written behind a photograph dated December 14, 2000, sent to her by Fischer.<ref name=chessbase_fischerchild/>}} On May 21, 2001, Young gave birth to a daughter named Jinky Young and claimed that Fischer was the child's father.<ref name=pdi_filheirs>{{cite news |author=Ochoa, Francis |title=Fischer's Filipino heirs going after estate |newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |date=February 7, 2008 |url=http://sports.inquirer.net/inquirersports/inquirersports/view/20080207-117275/Fischers-Filipino-heirs-going-after-estate |access-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625170210/http://sports.inquirer.net/inquirersports/inquirersports/view/20080207-117275/Fischers-Filipino-heirs-going-after-estate |archive-date=June 25, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bobby Fischer's Pinay heir may get settlement |website=GMANews.tv |date=February 26, 2008 |url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/82348/Bobby-Fischers-Pinay-heir-may-get-settlement |access-date=January 3, 2010}}</ref> Her claim was ultimately disproven through DNA testing after Fischer's death.<ref name=ReutersNotDaughter>{{cite news |title=DNA tests on chess champion's corpse exclude paternity |date=August 17, 2010 |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iceland-fischer-idUSTRE67G4TK20100817 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924145820/http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/17/us-iceland-fischer-idUSTRE67G4TK20100817 |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name=CNNnotDaughter>{{cite news |title=DNA results settle Bobby Fischer paternity case |website=CNN |date=August 18, 2010 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/18/iceland.bobby.fischer/index.html?hpt=T2 |access-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref>

===Comments on September 11 attacks===
Shortly after midnight on September 12, 2001, Philippines local time (approximately four hours after the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks]] in the US), Fischer was interviewed live by Pablo Mercado on the [[Baguio]] station of the [[Bombo Radyo Philippines|Bombo Radyo]] network. Fischer stated that he was happy that the attacks had happened, while expressing his view on United States and Israeli [[foreign policy]], saying, "I applaud the act. Look, nobody gets&nbsp;... that the US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians&nbsp;... for years."<ref name="Sunday_Telegraph">{{cite news|author=David Bamber|author2=Chris Hastings|name-list-style=amp|title=Bobby Fischer speaks out to applaud Trade Centre attacks|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1364118/Bobby-Fischer-speaks-out-to-applaud-Trade-Centre-attacks.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1364118/Bobby-Fischer-speaks-out-to-applaud-Trade-Centre-attacks.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph|date=December 2, 2001|page=17}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Harper's_Magazine">{{cite magazine| title=The Bin Laden defense; Diatribe; Bobby Fischer speaks out in favor of 9/11 attacks; Brief Article; Transcript| magazine=Harper's Magazine |volume=304 |issue=1822 |page=27 |date=March 1, 2002 |id=0017-789X}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/finding-bobby-fischer-baffling-moves-chess-genius-article-1.343679 |title=Finding Bobby Fischer: The baffling moves of a chess genius |work=New York Daily News |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=March 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], p. 122.</ref> He also said, "The horrible behavior that the US is committing all over the world&nbsp;... This just shows you, that what goes around, comes around, even for the United States."<ref name="Sunday_Telegraph"/><ref name="Harper's_Magazine"/> Fischer also referenced the movie ''[[Seven Days in May]]'' (1964) and said he hoped for a [[coup d'état]] in the US: "[I hope] the country will be taken over by the military—they'll close down all the synagogues, arrest all the Jews, execute hundreds of thousands of Jewish ringleaders."<ref name="Weber">{{cite news |author=Bruce Weber|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/crosswords/chess/19fischer.html |title=Bobby Fischer, Troubled Genius of Chess, Dies at 64 |work=The New York Times |date=January 19, 2008 |access-date=January 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="BöhmJongkind">Fischer's radio broadcasts show that he was "out of his mind&nbsp;... a victim of his own mental illness". [[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 66–67.</ref> In response to Fischer's statements about 9/11, the [[United States Chess Federation|US Chess Federation]] passed a motion to cancel his right to membership in the organization.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://archive.uschess.org/docs/pdf/15EBactionsvolex02.PDF |title= Executive Board Actions (EB 02-40) |publisher= USCF |year= 2002 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140225230222/http://archive.uschess.org/docs/pdf/15EBactionsvolex02.PDF |archive-date= February 25, 2014}}</ref> Fischer's right to become a member was reinstated in 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.uschess.org/docs/gov/reports/2007.02.03-04_EB_Meeting_-_Unofficial_Summary.pdf |title=Unofficial summary of the February, 2007, meeting of the USCF Executive Board |access-date=March 17, 2016}}</ref>

===Detention in Japan===
Fischer lived for a time in Japan. On July 13, 2004, acting in response to a letter from US officials, Japanese immigration authorities arrested him at [[Narita International Airport]] near Tokyo for allegedly using a revoked [[US passport]] while trying to board a [[Japan Airlines]] flight to [[Ninoy Aquino International Airport]] in [[Manila]], Philippines.<ref name=TimeKingsGambit>{{cite magazine |author= Jim Frederick |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,686101,00.html |title= King's Gambit |magazine= TIME |date= August 23, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708163358/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,686101,00.html |access-date= July 5, 2010|url-status= dead |archive-date=July 8, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/will-fischer-be-extradited- |title=Will Fischer be extradited? |publisher=chessbase.com |date=July 19, 2004 |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=2}} "[Fischer's] worry was that the U.S. government might finally have caught up with him. He'd violated State Department economic sanctions against Yugoslavia by playing a $5 million chess match against Boris Spassky in [[Sveti Stefan]], [[Montenegro]], in 1992, and an arrest warrant had been issued at that time. If he went back to the United States, he'd have to stand trial, and the penalty, if he was convicted, would be anywhere from ten years in prison to $250,000 in fines, or both, plus possible forfeiture of his $3.5 million winnings."</ref> Fischer resisted arrest, and claimed to have sustained bruises, cuts and a broken tooth in the process.<ref name="mbl.is">{{cite web|url=http://mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=811183|title=Fischer er jákvæður og skýr í hugsun|language=is}}</ref> At the time, Fischer had a passport issued in 1997 but updated in 2003 to add more pages. According to US officials, the passport had been revoked in November 2003 due to Fischer's outstanding arrest warrant for the Yugoslavia sanctions violation.<ref name=TimeKingsGambit/> Despite the outstanding arrest warrant in the US, Fischer said that he believed the passport was still valid.<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|pp=281-282}} "There were problems with the revocation of the passport, however. Fischer never received the notice and therefore couldn't appeal it, which according to law he had the right to do. The Justice Department claimed that the letter had been sent to the hotel in Bern (the location Bobby had given to the embassy) and was returned to them with no forwarding address appended. It was dated December 11, 2003, and when a faxed copy of the letter was ultimately examined, it didn't have an address for Fischer on it, the implication being that the embassy had never sent the letter to Bern."</ref> The authorities held Fischer at a custody center for 16 days before transferring him to another facility. Fischer said that his cell was windowless and he had not seen the light of day during that period, and that the staff had ignored his complaints about constant tobacco smoke in his cell.<ref name="mbl.is"/><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=282}} "Not knowing that his arrest was imminent, and believing that his passport was legal, on July 13, 2004, [Fischer] went to Narita Airport in Tokyo to board a plane bound for Manila. He was arrested and shackled in chains."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|pp=282, 293}} "...{{nbsp}}on July 13, 2004... [Fischer] was arrested{{nbsp}}..." "...{{nbsp}}on March 23, 2005, [Fischer] was released from his cell."</ref>

The Tokyo-based Canadian journalist John Bosnitch set up the "Committee to Free Bobby Fischer" after meeting Fischer at Narita Airport and offering to assist him.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=283}} Boris Spassky wrote a letter to US President [[George W. Bush]], asking "For mercy, charity," and, if that was not possible, "to put [him] in the same cell with Bobby Fischer" and "to give [them] a chess set".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://en.chessbase.com/post/spaky-to-bush-arrest-me-|title=Spassky to Bush: Arrest me!|publisher=chessbase.com|date=August 10, 2004|access-date=October 7, 2015|quote=I would not like to defend or justify Bobby Fischer. He is what he is. I am asking only for one thing. For mercy, charity. If for some reason it is impossible, I would like to ask you the following: Please correct the mistake of President François Mitterrand in 1992. Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set.|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150928045413/http://en.chessbase.com/post/spaky-to-bush-arrest-me-|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was reported that Fischer and [[Miyoko Watai]], the President of the Japanese Chess Association (with whom he had reportedly been living since 2000) wanted to become legally married.<ref name=TimeKingsGambit/> It was also reported that Fischer had been living in the Philippines with Marilyn Young during the same period.<ref name=pdi/> Fischer applied for German citizenship, on the grounds that his father was German.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article438161.ece|title=Profile: Bobby Fischer: Endgame on the darker side of genius|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=July 18, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081013031848/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article438161.ece|archive-date=October 13, 2008}}</ref> Fischer stated that he wanted to [[renunciation of United States citizenship|renounce his US citizenship]], and appealed to US Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]] to help him do so, though to no effect.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2004/08/17/national/fischers-next-moves-renounce-u-s-citizenship-and-marry-a-japanese/|title=Fischer's next moves: renounce U.S. citizenship and marry a Japanese|newspaper=The Japan Times Online|date=August 17, 2004|access-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1852|title=Fischer renounces US citizenship|publisher=chessbase.com|date=August 15, 2004|access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref> Japan's Justice Minister rejected Fischer's request for asylum and ordered his deportation.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127262,00.html|title=Bobby Fischer's Deportation Appeal Rejected|agency=Associated Press|website=Fox News|date=July 28, 2004|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080414032720/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127262,00.html|archive-date=April 14, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4370119.stm|title=Iceland grants Fischer passport|work=BBC News|date=March 21, 2005|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{em|[[Associated Press|AP]] wire story}}, March 23, 2005. "[Fischer] was picked up by limousine supplied by the Icelandic embassy, given his new Icelandic passport, and he and Miyoko, hand in hand, sped to Narita Airport." Quoted in {{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=293}}.</ref>

While in prison, Fischer married Miyoko Watai on September 6, 2004.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/world/europe/05chess.html | work=The New York Times | title=Iceland Court Hands Bobby Fischer Estate to Japanese Claimant | date=March 4, 2011 | access-date=January 24, 2021 | archive-date=April 2, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402215259/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/world/europe/05chess.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Citizenship and residency in Iceland===
Seeking ways to evade deportation to the United States, Fischer wrote a letter to the government of Iceland in early January 2005, requesting Icelandic citizenship.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=288-289}} Sympathetic to Fischer's plight, but reluctant to grant him the full benefits of citizenship, Icelandic authorities granted him an [[alien's passport]]. When this proved insufficient for the Japanese authorities, the [[Althing]] (the Icelandic Parliament), at the behest of [[William Lombardy]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://timarit.is/files/8300516.pdf#navpanes=1&view=FitH&search=%22Lombardy%22 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6ct5zkpdh?url=http://timarit.is/files/8300516.pdf#navpanes=1&view=FitH&search=%22Lombardy%22 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 8, 2015 |title=Fangavist fáránleikans |publisher=Morgunbladid |date=February 2, 2005 |access-date=October 7, 2015 |language=is }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author= Helgi Ólafsson|author-link=Helgi Ólafsson
|title=Bobby Fischer Comes Home: The Final Years in Iceland, a Saga of Friendship and Lost Illusions
|year=2014|page=67
|publisher=New in Chess
|asin=B00IEOZ2N4
}}</ref> agreed unanimously to grant Fischer [[Icelandic citizenship|full citizenship]] in late March for humanitarian reasons, as they felt he was being unjustly treated by the United States and Japanese governments<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2275|title=Bobby Fischer: ich bin ein Icelander!|publisher=chessbase.com|date=March 21, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=293}}</ref> and also in recognition of his 1972 match, which had "put Iceland on the map".<ref>{{cite news|author=Laura Smith-Spark|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4102367.stm |title=Fischer 'put Iceland on the map' |publisher=BBC |date=March 23, 2005 |access-date=September 13, 2008}}</ref>

After arriving in [[Reykjavík]] in late March, Fischer gave a press conference.<ref>{{cite web|author=Doug Kennedy|date=May 9, 2005|title=Chess legend still intrigues people|url=http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_332337.html|website=PittsburghLIVE|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202092534/http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_332337.html|archive-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bobby Fischer gestures is surrounded by members of the press while speaking to the media for the first time since landing in his hew home of Reykjavik Iceland Friday March 25th 2005|url=http://www.echecs-photos.be/BobbyFischer-photos/slides/2005%20Bobby%20Fischer%20gestures%20is%20surrounded%20by%20members%20of%20the%20press%20while%20speaking%20to%20the%20media%20for%20the%20first%20time%20since%20landing%20in%20his%20hew%20home%20of%20Reykjavik%20Iceland%20Friday%20March%2025%202005.html|publisher=echecs-photos.be|date=March 11, 2008|access-date=May 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010084104/http://www.echecs-photos.be/BobbyFischer-photos/slides/2005%20Bobby%20Fischer%20gestures%20is%20surrounded%20by%20members%20of%20the%20press%20while%20speaking%20to%20the%20media%20for%20the%20first%20time%20since%20landing%20in%20his%20hew%20home%20of%20Reykjavik%20Iceland%20Friday%20March%2025%202005.html|archive-date=October 10, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> He lived a reclusive life in Iceland, avoiding entrepreneurs and others who approached him with various proposals.<ref name="Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland">{{cite web|url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4392|title=Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland|publisher=chessbase.com|date=January 18, 2008|access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref>

Fischer moved into an apartment in the same building as his close friend and spokesman, Garðar Sverrisson.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=305}} Garðar's wife, Kristín Þórarinsdóttir, was a nurse and later looked after Fischer as a terminally ill patient. Garðar's two children, especially his son, were very close to Fischer.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=319}} Fischer also developed a friendship with Magnús Skúlason, a psychiatrist and chess player who later recalled long discussions with him on a wide variety of subjects.<ref name=suntimes>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3751254.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080517070929/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3751254.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 17, 2008|title=Bobby Fischer's final manoeuvre|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=April 20, 2008}}</ref>

On December 10, 2006, Fischer telephoned an Icelandic television station that had just broadcast a chess game in which one player blundered such that his opponent was able to mate on the next move. Although the player tried to change his mind upon seeing the mate, the [[touch-move rule]] forced him to play the blunder. Fischer pointed out a winning [[combination (chess)|combination]] that could have been played instead of the blunder or the other attempted move, but had been missed by the player and commentators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3546 |title=Bobby Fischer and the missed combination |publisher=chessbase.com |date=December 17, 2006 |access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref>

In 2005, some of Fischer's belongings were auctioned on [[eBay]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bobby Fischer's life for sale – on eBay|date=December 13, 2005|url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/bobby-fischer-s-life-for-sale-on-ebay|publisher=chessbase.com|access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref> Fischer claimed, in 2006, that the belongings sold in the US without his permission were worth "hundreds of millions of [US] dollars; even billions of dollars."<ref name="Fischer on Icelandic Radio"/><ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], p. 118.</ref> In the same interview, Fischer also said that [[UBS]] Bank had closed an account of his and liquidated his assets against his wishes, transferring the funds to a bank in Iceland.<ref name="Interview on Útvarp Saga"/>

===Death, estate dispute, and exhumation===
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Laugardælakirkja.JPG
| width1            = 1932
| height1           = 2580
| caption1          = Fischer is buried at the Church of [[Laugardælir]].
| image2            = Bobby Fischer grave.JPG
| width2            = 2688
| height2           = 3584
| caption2          = Fischer's grave
}}

On January 17, 2008, Fischer died at age 64 from degenerative [[kidney failure]] at the [[Landspítali Hospital]] (National University Hospital of Iceland) in Reykjavík.<ref>Death:
* {{cite news |url=http://www.espn.com/espn/news/story?id=3202460 |title=Fischer, outspoken ex-chess champion, dies of kidney failure|agency=Associated Press|date=January 18, 2008|access-date=May 22, 2018}}
* {{cite news |author=David Batty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/18/sport.davidbatty |title=Chess champion Bobby Fischer dies|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 18, 2008|access-date=January 28, 2014}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/frett.html?nid=1315727 |title=Dánarorsök Fischers var nýrnabilun |website=mbl.is |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |language=is}}
* {{cite web |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hpjkKfonmIFJxdSyG535aNfW6rnQ |title=Chess genius Bobby Fischer, from American hero to paranoid fugitive |publisher=AFP |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002203233/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hpjkKfonmIFJxdSyG535aNfW6rnQ |archive-date=October 2, 2012 }}
* {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3900793.stm |title=Obituary: Bobby Fischer |work=BBC News |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014 }}
* {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7195840.stm |title=Chess legend Fischer dies at 64 |work=BBC News |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014 }}
* {{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3211295.ece |title=Bobby Fischer: Obituary |newspaper=The Sunday Times |date=January 19, 2008 }}
* {{cite news |author=Bruce Weber|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/crosswords/chess/19fischer.html |title=Bobby Fischer, Chess Master, Dies at 64 |newspaper=The New York Times |date = January 19, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=317}} He originally had a [[urinary tract blockage]] but refused surgery or medication.<ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|pp=316-317}} "Bobby started to have urinary problems and thought it might simply be caused by an enlarged [[prostate]] gland, at first denying that anything was seriously wrong with him. His lungs were also bothering him and he was having difficulty breathing. Since he had a lifelong distrust of doctors, he tolerated the discomfort until late September 2007, when his pain and inability to urinate became excruciating. He went to a doctor... [who conducted a blood test which showed that] he had a blocked urinary tract... [and that] his kidneys... were not functioning properly... Bobby refused to take any medicine, and the idea of being hooked up to a [[Kidney dialysis|dialysis]] machine to cleanse his blood every few days for the rest of his life was out of the question."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=317}} "'It's possible that Bobby was just giving up, letting go of his life, beginning a slow form of suicide'. Interview of Pal Benko by author, summer 2008, New York."</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Michael Dirda|title=A chess master who defeated himself |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 10, 2011}}</ref> Magnús Skúlason reported Fischer's response to leg massages: "Nothing soothes as much as the human touch."{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=318}}

On January 21, Fischer was buried in the small Christian cemetery of [[Laugardælir]] church, outside the town of [[Selfoss (town)|Selfoss]], {{convert|60|km}} southeast of Reykjavík, after a Catholic funeral presided over by Fr. Jakob Rolland of the diocese of Reykjavík. In accordance with Fischer's wishes, only [[Miyoko Watai]], Garðar Sverrisson, and Garðar's family were present.<ref>Burial:
* {{cite web |url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/bobby-fischer-buried-in-iceland |title=Bobby Fischer buried in Iceland |publisher=chessbase.com|date=January 22, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}
* {{cite web |url=http://ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item187254/|title=Útför Fischers í kyrrþey|trans-title=Fischer's funeral is quiet|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20080123153750/http://ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item187254/|archive-date=January 23, 2008|publisher=RÚV|date=January 21, 2008|access-date=January 29, 2014|language=is}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.visir.is/article/20080119/FRETTIR01/80119030 |title=Unnustan ræður hvílustað Bobbys |publisher=visir.is |date=January 19, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014|language=is}}.
* {{cite news |author=Kristin Arna Bragadottir|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSL2112613820080121 |title=Chess champion Bobby Fischer buried in Iceland |date=January 21, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |work=Reuters}}
* {{cite web |url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/bobby-fischer-his-final-weeks |title=Bobby Fischer – his final weeks |publisher=chessbase.com |date=January 25, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}
* {{cite news |author= Neil Tweedie |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3635401/Bobby-Fischers-final-bizarre-act.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3635401/Bobby-Fischers-final-bizarre-act.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Bobby Fischer's final bizarre act |work= The Telegraph |date= January 25, 2008 |access-date= May 12, 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Fischer's estate was estimated at 140 million [[Icelandic króna|ISK]] (about £1 million, or US$2 million). It quickly became the object of a legal battle involving claims from four parties, with Miyoko Watai ultimately inheriting what remained of Fischer's estate after government claims. The four parties were Fischer's Japanese wife, Miyoko Watai; his alleged Filipino daughter, Jinky Young, and her mother, Marilyn Young; his two American nephews, Alexander and Nicholas Targ, along with their father, [[Russell Targ]], the widower of Fischer's sister, [[Joan Fischer Targ]]; and the US government (claiming unpaid taxes).<ref name="Four parties make claims"/><ref name=suntimes/><ref>{{cite news|author=Andy Soltis|author-link=Andrew Soltis|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/fi_cher_family_feud_dM7SQvHd1SmrWSYdxPq0EO |title=Fi$cher Family Feud|work=[[New York Post]]|date=November 15, 2009|access-date=November 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Dylan Loeb McClain|url=http://gambit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/bobby-fischer-is-exhumed/ |title=Bobby Fischer Is Exhumed |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 5, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref>

Marilyn Young claimed that Jinky was Fischer's daughter, citing as evidence Jinky's birth and baptismal certificates, photographs, a transaction record dated December 4, 2007, of a bank remittance by Fischer to Jinky, and Jinky's DNA through her blood samples.<ref name=pdi_filheirs /><ref name=mb_lovechild>{{cite news |url=http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2009/12/jinky-in-iceland.html |title=Fischer's Pinay love child in Iceland to claim inheritance |newspaper=Manila Bulletin |date=December 4, 2009 |access-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref><ref name=chessbase_fischerchild>{{cite web|title=Fischer's daughter Jinky files claim to his estate |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5905 |publisher=chessbase.com |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=January 3, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207054215/https://en.chessbase.com/post/fischer-s-daughter-jinky-files-claim-to-his-estate|archive-date=December 7, 2013}}</ref> However, Magnús Skúlason, a friend of Fischer's, said that he was certain that Fischer was not the girl's father.<ref name="Four parties make claims">{{cite web|url=http://www.ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item202726/|title=4 gera kröfu í dánarbú Fischers|trans-title=4 claim Fischer's estate|publisher=RÚV|date=April 22, 2008|access-date=January 3, 2010|language=is|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20080423000000/www.ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item202726/|archive-date=April 23, 2008}}</ref> In addition, the validity of Miyoko Watai's marriage to Fischer was challenged.<ref name =ChessbaseTBE>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6227 |title=Fischer's remains to be exhumed? |publisher=chessbase.com |date=April 1, 2010 |access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref><ref name=pdi_filheirs />

In June 2010, Iceland's supreme court ordered Fischer's remains exhumed so that a DNA sample could be obtained.<ref>{{cite news |author=Dylan Loeb McClain|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/world/europe/18briefs-Iceland.html |title=Iceland: Bobby Fischer's Estate Dispute |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 17, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/17/court-rules-bobby-fischers-body-can-be-exhumed/?hpt=T2 |title=Court rules Bobby Fischer's body can be exhumed |website=CNN |date=June 17, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |archive-date=August 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811064207/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/17/court-rules-bobby-fischers-body-can-be-exhumed/?hpt=T2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In August it was announced that DNA testing had ruled out Fischer as the father of Jinky Young,<ref name="ReutersNotDaughter" /><ref name=CNNnotDaughter/> and the following March an Icelandic court ruled that Miyoko Watai had married Fischer on September 6, 2004,<ref name="icelandreview">{{cite web |url=http://icelandreview.com/news/2011/03/03/miyoko-watai-ruled-bobby-fischers-legal-heir|title=Miyoko Watai Ruled Bobby Fischer's Legal Heir |date=March 3, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |website=Iceland Review Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625094405/http://icelandreview.com/news/2011/03/03/miyoko-watai-ruled-bobby-fischers-legal-heir |archive-date=June 25, 2017 }}</ref> and was therefore entitled to his estate.<ref>{{cite news |author=Dylan Loeb McClain|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/world/europe/05chess.html |title=Iceland Court Hands Bobby Fischer Estate to Japanese Claimant |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 4, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> Fischer's nephews were ordered to pay Watai's legal costs, amounting to [[Icelandic króna|ISK]] 6.6 million (approximately $57,000).<ref name=icelandreview/>

==Personal life==

===Religious affiliation===
Although Fischer's [[Matrilineality in Judaism|mother was Jewish]], Fischer rejected attempts to label him as Jewish.<ref name="la-times"/> In a 1962 interview with ''[[Harper's]]'', asked whether he was Jewish, he replied that he was "part-Jewish" through his mother. In the same interview he was quoted as saying: "I read a book lately by [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzsche]] and he says religion is just to dull the senses of the people. I agree."<ref>[[#Ginzburg|Ginzburg 1962]], p. 54.</ref><ref name="natures"/> In a 1984 letter to the editor of the ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'', Fischer demanded that the publisher remove his name from any future editions.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 26–27.</ref>

Fischer associated with the [[Grace Communion International|Worldwide Church of God]] in the mid-1960s. The church prescribed [[Sabbath in seventh-day churches|Saturday Sabbath]], and forbade work (and competitive chess) on Sabbath.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 15.</ref> According to his friend and colleague [[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]], in 1968 Fischer felt philosophically that the world was coming to an end and he might as well make some money by publishing ''My 60 Memorable Games''.{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=151-153}}<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Chess Life]] |date=April 2009 |page=10 |title=Both Sides of the Moon |author=Al Lawrence |url=https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CL-ALL/2009/2009_04.pdf}}</ref>

During the mid-1970s, Fischer contributed significant money to the Worldwide Church of God.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], pp. 301–02. "Where was Fischer? For several years, he lived in the bosom of the Worldwide Church of God in Pasadena, where he was called 'a co-worker'. The church fed him, they gave him comfortable accommodation in Mocking Bird Lane, they even flew him around in a private jet. In return, Fischer handed over around a third ($61,200) of his Icelandic prize money."</ref> In 1972, one journalist stated that "Fischer is almost as serious about religion as he is about chess", and the champion credited his faith with greatly improving his chess.<ref name="darrach19720811">{{cite news |author=Brad Darrach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40|title=Bobby is Not a Nasty Kid |newspaper=Life |page=40 |date=August 11, 1972 |access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=143}} "Bobby tried to live and practice his beliefs; he felt truly ''born again'', and he was applying the same sense of discipline and reverence to the Bible that he had all his life to chess. [...] But eventually his religious commitments began tearing him apart. He couldn't spend ten or twelve hours a day studying chess and another six to eight hours on Bible studies [...]"</ref> But Fischer observed that prophecies by [[Herbert W. Armstrong]] had not been fulfilled, notably a prediction of global catastrophe and return of the [[Messiah]] in 1972, and Fischer declared that Armstrong was really a "false prophet".{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=212}} Fischer eventually left the church in 1977, "accusing it of being 'Satanic', and vigorously attacking its methods and leadership".<ref name="Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 302">[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 302.</ref>

Towards the end of his life, Fischer became interested in Catholicism. He bought his friend Garðar Sverrisson a copy of "Basic Catechism: Creed, Sacraments, Morality, Prayer" so Garðar could explain the religion better to him.{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=315-316}} According to Garðar, Fischer talked to him about transformation of society through creation of harmony and that "the only hope for the world is through Catholicism."{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=315}} Fischer was also known to have read a synopsis of [[G. K. Chesterton]]'s works in the years leading up to his death. He requested a Catholic funeral, and this final service was presided over by Catholic priest Jakob Rolland.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bragadottir |first1=Kristin |title=Chess champion Bobby Fischer buried in Iceland |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chess-fischer/chess-champion-bobby-fischer-buried-in-iceland-idUSL2112613820080121 |website=Reuters |date=January 21, 2008 |access-date=July 19, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Chess champion Bobby Fischer requested Catholic burial in Iceland | url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/11557/chess-champion-bobby-fisher-requested-catholic-burial-in-iceland | website=Catholic News Agency | date=January 23, 2008 | access-date=July 20, 2021}}</ref>

===Antisemitism===
Fischer made numerous [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] statements and professed a general hatred for Jews from at least the early 1960s.<ref name="Fischer-Harper">{{cite web|title=Portrait of a Genius As a Young Chess Master|url=http://bobbyfischer.net/bobby04.html|access-date=January 21, 2008|work=Ralph Ginzburg's January 1962 interview, Harper's Magazine|archive-date=October 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023021334/http://bobbyfischer.net/bobby04.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 30, 44.</ref> [[Jan Hein Donner]] wrote that at the time of the [[Bled]] 1961 chess tournament, "He idolized [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] and read everything about him that he could lay his hands on. He also championed a brand of antisemitism that could only be thought up by a mind completely cut off from reality."<ref name="Donner 2006, p. 228"/> Donner took Fischer to a war museum, which "left a great impression, since [Fischer] is not an evil person, and afterwards he was more restrained in his remarks—to me, at least."<ref name="Donner 2006, p. 228"/>

From the 1980s on, Fischer's comments about Jews were a major theme in his public and private remarks.<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 41, 45, 61, 66, 90, 92, 95, 101, 107, 117–20.</ref> He openly [[Holocaust denial|denied the Holocaust]], and called the United States "a farce controlled by dirty, [[Jewish nose|hook-nosed]], circumcised Jew bastards".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldchessnetwork.com/English/chessNews/articles/2-3.php |title=Is Bobby Fischer Anti-Semitic? |date=May 8, 2001 |access-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321201540/http://worldchessnetwork.com/English/chessNews/articles/2-3.php |archive-date=March 21, 2005 |first=Larry |last=Parr |website = The Chess Beat |publisher=World Chess Network}}</ref> Between 1999 and 2006, Fischer's primary means of communicating with the public was radio interviews. He participated in at least 34 such broadcasts, mostly with radio stations in the Philippines, but also in Hungary, Iceland, Colombia, and Russia. In 1999, he gave a radio call-in interview to a station in Budapest, Hungary, during which he described himself as the "victim of an [[international Jewish conspiracy]]". In another radio interview, Fischer said that it became clear to him in 1977, after reading ''The Secret World Government'' by [[Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich|Count Cherep-Spiridovich]], that Jewish agencies were targeting him.<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], p. 123.</ref> Fischer's sudden reemergence was apparently triggered when some of his belongings, which had been stored in a [[Pasadena, California]], storage unit, were sold by the landlord, who claimed it was in response to nonpayment of rent.<ref>[[#Bohm|Böhm & Jongkind 2003]], pp. 41, 65–66, 118–19, 121.</ref> Fischer was also upset that [[UBS]] had liquidated his assets and closed his account without his permission. When asked who he thought was responsible for the actions UBS had taken, Fischer replied: "There's no question that the Jew-controlled United States is behind this—that's obvious."<ref name="Fischer on Icelandic Radio">[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3468 Fischer on Icelandic Radio] April 11, 2006.</ref><ref name="Interview on Útvarp Saga">{{cite AV media |people=Bobby Fischer and Sigurður Tómassyni |date=October 2006 |title=Interview on Útvarp Saga |language=en |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3468 |location=Iceland}}</ref> Fischer, at a press conference upon his return to Reykjavik, Iceland, lashed out at [[Jeremy Schaap]], the son of the late [[Dick Schaap]], a sportswriter who had been a father figure to Fischer when growing up, calling his father a "Jewish snake" for doubting Fischer's sanity in his later writings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/666572-the-five-best-reporter-athlete-feuds-of-all-time|title = The Five Best Reporter-Athlete Feuds of All Time|website = [[Bleacher Report]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/03/sports/out-of-the-shadow-and-into-the-spotlight.html|title=Out of the Shadow and into the Spotlight|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 3, 2005|last1=Sandomir|first1=Richard}}</ref>

Fischer's library contained antisemitic and racist literature such as ''[[Mein Kampf]]'', ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', and ''The White Man's Bible'' and ''Nature's Eternal Religion'' by [[Ben Klassen]], founder of the [[Creativity Movement|World Church of the Creator]].<ref>[[#DeLucia2009|DeLucia 2009]], pp. 160–62, 166.</ref><ref>{{cite web
|author=Edward Winter
|year=2009
|title=''Chess Note'' 6189. ''Bobby Fischer Uncensored''
|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter59.html
|publisher=chesshistory.com
|access-date=January 20, 2014
}}</ref><ref name="natures">Fischer wrote of ''Nature's Eternal Religion'' in a 1979 letter to Benko, {{"'}}The book shows that Christianity itself is just a Jewish hoax and one more Jewish tool for their conquest of the world.&nbsp;... Unfortunately the author is an extreme racist and this somewhat spoils the book.{{'"}} {{cite book
|author=David DeLucia
|title=David DeLucia's Chess Library: A Few Old Friends
|year=2007 |orig-year=1997
|edition=2nd|page=280}}</ref> A notebook written by Fischer contains sentiments such as "12/13/99 It's time to start randomly killing Jews".<ref>[[#DeLucia2009|DeLucia 2009]], pp. 290, 292.</ref> Despite his views, Fischer remained on good terms with Jewish chess players.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 27.</ref>

===Psychological perspectives on Fischer===
As far as it is known, Fischer was never formally diagnosed with a mental disorder,<ref name=LifeGame /> but there has been widespread speculation concerning his psychological condition based on his extreme views and unusual behavior.<ref name=Ponterotto>{{cite news |author=Joseph Ponterotto |url=https://psmag.com/social-justice/a-psychological-autopsy-of-bobby-fischer-25959 |title=A psychological autopsy of Bobby Fischer |work=Pacific Standard |date=December 10, 2010 |access-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref> [[Reuben Fine]], a psychologist and chess player who met Fischer many times, said that "Some of Bobby's behavior is so strange, unpredictable, odd and bizarre that even his most ardent apologists have had a hard time explaining what makes him tick" and described him as "a troubled human being" with "obvious personal problems".<ref>''Bobby Fischer's Conquest of the World's Chess Championship: The Psychology and Tactics of the Title Match'', 1973. {{ISBN|0-923891-47-1}}.</ref>

Valery Krylov, advisor to [[Anatoly Karpov]] and a specialist in the "psycho-physiological rehabilitation of sportsmen", believed Fischer had [[schizophrenia]]. The psychologist [[Joseph G. Ponterotto]], from secondhand sources, concludes that "Bobby did not meet all the necessary criteria to reach diagnoses of schizophrenia or [[Asperger syndrome]]. The evidence is stronger for [[paranoid personality disorder]]."<ref name=Ponterotto/> Magnús Skúlason, a chess player, psychiatrist and head doctor of Sogn Institution for Mentally Ill Offenders near [[Selfoss (town)|Selfoss]], befriended Fischer towards the end of Fischer's life. From ''Endgame'', Fischer's 2011 biography by Frank Brady:
{{blockquote|
Skulason was not "Bobby's psychiatrist", as has been implied in the general press, nor did he offer Bobby any analysis or psychotherapy. He was at Bobby's bedside as a friend, to try to do anything he could for him. Because of his training, however, he couldn't fail to take note of Bobby's mental condition. "He definitely was not schizophrenic", Skulason said. "He had problems, possibly certain childhood traumas that had affected him. He was misunderstood. Underneath I think he was a caring sensitive person."{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=318}}
}}

==Contributions to chess==
===Writings===
* ''Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess'' (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959). {{ISBN|0-923891-46-3}}. An early collection of 34 lightly annotated games, including "[[The Game of the Century (chess)|The Game of the Century]]" against Donald Byrne.
* "A Bust to the King's Gambit" (''American Chess Quarterly'', Vol. 1, No. 1 (Summer 1961), pp.&nbsp;3–9).<ref name=bust>{{cite journal
|author=Bobby Fischer
|url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/bust.pdf
|title=A Bust to the King's Gambit
|journal=[[American Chess Quarterly]]
|date=Summer 1961
|pages=3–9
|volume=1
|number=1
|access-date=September 2, 2023
|archive-date=May 14, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514134737/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/bust.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* "The Russians Have Fixed World Chess" (''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', Vol. 17, No. 8 (August 20, 1962), pp.&nbsp;18–19, 64–65). This is the controversial article in which Fischer asserted that several of the Soviet players in the [[World Chess Championship 1963#Candidates Tournament|1962 Curaçao Candidates' tournament]] had colluded with one another to prevent him [Fischer] from winning the tournament.
* "The Ten Greatest Masters in History" (''Chessworld'', Vol. 1, No. 1 (January–February 1964), pp.&nbsp;56–61). An article in which Fischer named [[Paul Morphy]], [[Howard Staunton]], [[Wilhelm Steinitz]], [[Siegbert Tarrasch]], [[Mikhail Chigorin]], [[Alexander Alekhine]], [[José Raúl Capablanca]], [[Boris Spassky]], [[Mikhail Tal]], and [[Samuel Reshevsky]] as the greatest players of all time. Fischer's criterion for inclusion on his list was his own subjective appreciation of their games rather than their achievements.{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=78}}
* ''[[Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess]]'' (1966), co-written with Donn Mosenfelder and Stuart Margulies.<ref>Bantam Books, May 1972, {{ISBN|0-553-26315-3}}.</ref> The extent of Fischer's actual contribution to this book has been questioned.<ref>[[#Soltis2003|Soltis 2003]], p. 10. "[Fischer] contributed some ideas, but chiefly his name, to ''Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess''."</ref>
* "Checkmate" column from December 1966 to December 1969 in ''[[Boys' Life]]'', later assumed by Larry Evans.
* ''[[My 60 Memorable Games]]'' (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1969, and Faber and Faber, London, 1969; Batsford 2008 (algebraic notation)). Studied by Kasparov at a young age;<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2011/03/10/bobby-fischer-defense/?pagination=false|title=The Bobby Fischer Defense|magazine=The New York Review of Books|author =Garry Kasparov|date=March 10, 2011|access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref> "A classic of painstaking and objective analysis that modestly includes three of his losses."<ref>[[#Whyld|Hooper & Whyld 1992]], pp. 138–39.</ref>
* ''I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse!'' (1982). A self-published booklet in which Fischer details his arrest in May 1981 for vagrancy.<ref>[[#F1982|Fischer 1982]]</ref>{{sfn|Brady|2011|pp=227-228}}

===Opening theory===
{{AN chess|pos=secright}}
Fischer's opening repertoire was narrow in some ways. As White, Fischer almost exclusively played 1.e4, calling it "best by test",<ref>{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Bobby |author-link=Bobby Fischer |year=1969 |title=My 60 Memorable Games |url=https://archive.org/details/my60memorablegam00fisc |url-access=registration |chapter=45. Fischer–Bisguier, New York State Open 1963 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster|Simon and Schuster]] |isbn=978-0-671-21483-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/my60memorablegam00fisc/page/280 280]}}</ref>  throughout his career.<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 251.</ref> He played 1.d4 only once in a serious game, during a blitz tournament.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044304 |title=Fischer vs. Hort, Herceg Novi Blitz (1970) |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> In spite of this narrowness, he was considered by some of his rivals to be unpredictable in his opening play, and a difficult opponent to prepare for.<ref>{{cite book |title=Second Piatigorsky Cup |editor=[[Isaac Kashdan]] |publisher=Dover |location=New York |date=1977 |isbn=0-486-23572-6}} "Fischer plays all lines and with his own ideas." ([[Miguel Najdorf|Najdorf]], p. 81); "After the text I realized that I had gotten into a prepared variation and that Black has a splendid position." ([[Lajos Portisch|Portisch]], p. 139); "Tremendous, psychologically a master stroke. All prepared variations, analysis and psychological preparations for the Sicilian can be completely discarded after the third move!" ([[Borislav Ivkov|Ivkov]], p. 149); "Fischer's next move was a surprise for me since I had not seen similar games played by him." ([[Tigran Petrosian|Petrosian]], p. 226).</ref>

As Black, Fischer would usually play the [[Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation|Najdorf Sicilian]] against 1.e4, and the [[King's Indian Defense]] against 1.d4, only rarely venturing into the [[Nimzo-Indian Defense|Nimzo-Indian]], [[Benoni Defense|Benoni]], [[Grünfeld Defence|Grünfeld]] or [[Neo-Grünfeld Defence|Neo-Grünfeld]].<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], pp. 251–62.</ref> Fischer acknowledged difficulty playing against the [[French Defense#Winawer Variation: 3...Bb4|Winawer Variation]] of the [[French Defense]] (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4), but maintained that the Winawer was unsound because it exposed Black's [[kingside]], and that, in his view, "Black was trading off his good bishop with 3...Bb4 and&nbsp;...Bxc3."<ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 31.</ref> Later on Fischer said: "I may yet be forced to admit that the Winawer is sound. But I doubt it! The defense is anti-positional and weakens the K-side."<ref>[[#F1969|Fischer 1969]], p. 151.</ref>

Fischer was renowned for his opening preparation and made numerous contributions to chess opening theory.<ref name="Bisguier & Soltis 1974, p. 208">[[#Bisguier|Bisguier & Soltis 1974]], p. 208.</ref> He was one of the foremost experts on the [[Ruy Lopez]].<ref>[[#Plisetsky|Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005]], p. 322 (quoting March 20, 1972, letter from Paul Keres to the USSR Chess Federation).</ref> A line of the [[Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation|Exchange Variation]] (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0) is sometimes called the "Fischer Variation" after he successfully resurrected it at the [[17th Chess Olympiad|1966 Havana Olympiad]].<ref>{{cite book
|author = Garry Kasparov and Keene Raymond
|title=Batsford Chess Openings 2
|year=1989|page=382|quote=The Exchange Variation was a feared weapon in the hands of Bobby Fischer
|publisher=Collier Books
|isbn=978-0-02-033991-5
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|quote=The modern version of the Spanish Exchange variation, in which [[White and Black in chess|White]] moves 5.0-0 after the exchange on move 4, should be named after former world champion Bobby Fischer. [Fischer, after finding an improvement on a 1965 game Barendregt-Teschner, which Black won,] started to play the Exchange with the move 5.0-0, winning game after game with it, and continued to play it with success even in his 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky, his final formal chess event.
|author=Larry Kaufman
|title=The Chess Advantage in Black and White
|year=2004|pages=4–5
|publisher=David McKay
|isbn=978-0-8129-3571-4
}}</ref> Fischer's lifetime score with the move 5.0-0 in tournament and match games was eight wins, three draws, and no losses (86.36%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=white&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=&movescomp=exactly&moves=&opening=&eco=C68-69&result= |title=Robert James Fischer, Ruy Lopez, Exchange (C68–C69) |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref>

Fischer was a recognized expert in the black side of the Najdorf Sicilian and the King's Indian Defense.<ref>Andrew Soltis, in [[#Muller|Müller 2009]], pp. 29, 32–33.</ref> He used the [[Grünfeld Defence|Grünfeld Defense]] and [[Neo-Grünfeld Defence|Neo-Grünfeld Defense]] to win his celebrated games against Donald and Robert Byrne, and played a [[theoretical novelty]] in the Grünfeld against reigning world champion Mikhail Botvinnik, refuting Botvinnik's prepared analysis {{chessgloss|over the board}}.<ref>L.S. Blackstock, in [[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 36.</ref><ref>Andrew Soltis, in [[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 25.</ref> In the Nimzo-Indian Defense, the line beginning with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Ne2 Ba6 was named after him.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Carsten Hansen|author-link=Carsten Hansen (chess player)
|title=The Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3
|year=2003|page=132
|publisher=Gambit Publications
|isbn=978-1-901983-58-6
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Leon Pliester
|title=Rubinstein Complex of the Nimzo-Indian Defense
|year=1995|page=272
|publisher=International Chess Enterprises
|isbn=978-1-879479-25-8
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Svetozar Gligorić
|title=Play the Nimzo-Indian Defense
|year=1985|page=65
|publisher=Pergamon Press
|isbn=978-0-08-026927-6
}}</ref>

Fischer established the viability of the so-called [[Poisoned Pawn Variation]] of the Najdorf Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6). This bold queen sortie, to snatch a pawn at the expense of development, had been considered dubious,<ref>{{cite book
|author=John Watson
|title=Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 1
|year=2006|page=199|quote=7...Qb6 is an astonishing move that those raised with classical chess principles would simply reject as a typical beginner's mistake. Black goes running after a pawn when he is undeveloped and already under attack.
|publisher=Gambit Publications
|isbn=978-1-904600-60-2
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=John Watson|author-link=John L. Watson
|title=Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances since Nimzowitsch
|year=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/secretsmodernche00wats/page/n14 18]|quote=... the brilliant, classically oriented grandmaster Salo Flohr commented, even as late as 1972: 'In chess, there is an old rule: in the opening, one must make haste to develop the pieces, and must not move the same piece several times, particularly the queen. This ancient law holds good even for Bobby Fischer.
|publisher=Gambit Publications
|isbn=978-1-901983-07-4
|title-link=Aron Nimzowitsch}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Lev Polugevsky |author2=Jeroen Piket |author3=Christophe Guéneau|name-list-style=amp
|title=Sicilian Love: Lev Polugaevsky Chess Tournament, Buenos Aires 1994|quote=The Poisoned Pawn Variation was considered dubious by certain GMs and crazy by Bent Larsen
|year=1995|page=83
|publisher=New in Chess
|isbn=978-90-71689-99-4
}}</ref> but Fischer succeeded in proving its soundness.<ref name="Soltis, in Müller 2009, p. 30">Andrew Soltis, in [[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 30.</ref> Out of ten tournament and match games as Black in the Poisoned Pawn, Fischer scored 70%, winning five, drawing four, and losing only one: the 11th game of his 1972 match against Spassky.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=black&pid=&player=Fischer&pid2=&player2=&movescomp=exactly&moves=&opening=&eco=B97&result= |title=Robert James Fischer, Sicilian, Najdorf (B97) |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> Following Fischer's use, the Poisoned Pawn Variation became a respected line, utilized by many of the world's leading players.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Kiril Georgiev |author2=Atanas Kolev|name-list-style=amp
|title=The Sharpest Sicilian: A Black Repertoire with 1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6
|year=2007|page=6
|publisher=Simolini 94 (Sofia, Bulgaria)
|isbn=978-954-8782-56-2
}}</ref> Fischer's 10.f5 in this line against Efim Geller quickly became the main line of the Poisoned Pawn.

On the white side of the [[Sicilian Defence|Sicilian]], Fischer made advances to the theory of the line beginning 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 (or e6) 6.Bc4,<ref name="Soltis, in Müller 2009, p. 30"/><ref>[[#Mednis|Mednis 1997]], pp. 56, 146.</ref> which has sometimes been named after him.<ref>Mednis calls 6.Bc4 against the Najdorf Variation "Fischer's 6 B-QB4". [[#Mednis|Mednis 1997]], pp. 56, 74, 80, 88.</ref>

In 1961, prompted by a loss the year before to Spassky,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1080046|title=Boris Spassky vs. Robert James Fischer – Mar del Plata (1960), Mar del Plata ARG, rd 2, Mar-30|website=[[Chessgames.com]]|access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> Fischer wrote an article titled "A {{chessgloss|bust|Bust}} to the [[King's Gambit]]" for the first issue of the ''[[American Chess Quarterly]]'', in which he stated, "In my opinion, the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force."<ref name=bust/> Fischer recommended 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6,<ref>Fischer 1961, pp. 4–9.</ref> which has since become known as the [[Fischer Defense]], as a refutation to the King's Gambit.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Yakov Estrin |author2=I.B. Glazkov|name-list-style=amp
|title=Play the King's Gambit, Volume 1: King's Gambit Accepted
|year=1982|page=115
|publisher=Pergamon Press
|isbn=978-0-08-026872-9
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Viktor Korchnoi |author2=Vladimir Zak|name-list-style=amp
|title=The King's Gambit
|year=1975
|publisher=Chess Digest
|page=39
}}</ref><ref>Andrew Soltis, in [[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 29.</ref> Fischer later played the King's Gambit as White in three tournament games, winning them all.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], pp. 27, 76–77, 253, 256.</ref>

===Endgame===
Fischer had excellent [[Chess endgame|endgame]] technique.<ref>[[#Bisguier|Bisguier & Soltis 1974]], p. 214.</ref> International Master [[Jeremy Silman]] listed him as one of the five best endgame players (along with [[Emanuel Lasker]], [[Akiba Rubinstein]], [[José Raúl Capablanca]], and [[Vasily Smyslov]]), calling Fischer a "master of bishop endings".<ref>{{cite book
|author=Jeremy Silman|author-link=Jeremy Silman
|title=Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master
|url=https://archive.org/details/silmanscompletee00silm_087|url-access=limited|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/silmanscompletee00silm_087/page/n523 510]–23
|publisher=Siles Press
|isbn=978-1-890085-10-0
}}</ref> The endgame of a [[rook (chess)|rook]], [[bishop (chess)|bishop]], and [[pawn (chess)|pawns]] against a rook, [[knight (chess)|knight]], and pawns has sometimes been called the "Fischer Endgame" because of several instructive wins by Fischer (with the bishop), including three against [[Mark Taimanov]] in 1970 and 1971.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Karsten Müller |author2=Frank Lamprecht|name-list-style=amp
|title=Fundamental Chess Endings
|url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalchess00mull |url-access=limited |year=2001|page=[https://archive.org/details/fundamentalchess00mull/page/n306 304]
|publisher=[[Gambit Publications]]
|isbn=978-1-901983-53-1
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author= Steve Mayer|page=[https://archive.org/details/bishopvknight00maye/page/n201 201]
|title=Bishop versus Knight: The Verdict
|url= https://archive.org/details/bishopvknight00maye|url-access= limited|year=1997
|publisher=Batsford
|isbn=978-1-879479-73-9
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Steve Giddins|author-link=Steve Giddins
|title=Greatest Ever Chess Endgames
|publisher=Everyman Chess
|date=2012
|page=68
|isbn=978-1-85744-694-4
}}</ref>

===Fischer clock===
{{Further|Chess clock#Fischer clock and related designs}}
In 1988, Fischer filed for {{US patent|4,884,255}} for a new type of [[game clock|chess clock]], which gave each player a fixed period at the start of the game and then added a small increment after each completed move.<ref>[[#Whyld|Hooper & Whyld 1992]], p. 422.</ref>

An example of Fischer's patented clock was made for, and used in, the [[Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)|1992 rematch between Fischer and Spassky]].{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=246}}<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 382"/> Clocks based on the "Fischer clock" soon became standard in major chess tournaments.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 307.</ref> Fischer would later complain that he was cheated out of the royalties for this invention.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,,870785,00.html|title=The madness of King Bobby|author=Rene Chun|date=January 12, 2003|work=The Observer}}</ref>

===Fischer Random===
{{Main|Fischer random chess}}
Following his re-emergence onto the chess scene with his 1992 match against Spassky, Fischer heavily disparaged chess as it was being played at the highest levels.<ref>[[#Seirawan|Seirawan & Stefanovic 1992]], p. 17</ref> As a result, on June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fischer announced and advocated a variant of chess called Fischerandom (later also known as Chess960). The goal of Fischerandom was to ensure that a game between two players is a contest between their understandings of chess, rather than their abilities to prepare opening strategies or memorize opening lines.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=260}}<ref>{{cite book
|author=Svetozar Gligorić
|title=Shall We Play Fischerandom Chess?
|publisher=[[Anova Books|B.T. Batsford Ltd]]
|year=2002|page=132|quote=At the beginning of the 21st century, grandmasters have been slowly but surely expressing interest in Fischerandom Chess
|isbn=978-0-7134-8764-0}}</ref>

===Legacy===
Some grandmasters compared Fischer's play to that of a computer<ref>[[#Schonberg|Schonberg 1973]], p. 270. "William Lombardy characterized Fischer's game as machinelike, with 'terrifically accurate positional play but never boring... His opening repertory is encompassing... His end game is practically flawless. Bobby is the most complete player I've ever seen'."</ref><ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 22. "Referring to the future chess computer, Jim Sherwin [aka: [[James Sherwin]]], an American [chess] player who knew Fischer well, described him as 'a prototype [[Deep Blue (chess computer)|Deep Blue]].' The Soviet analysis showed that even when faced with an unexpected position, Fischer took not longer than fifteen or twenty minutes to make his move; other grandmasters might take twice as long. Nor did Fischer appear to be governed by any psychologically predetermined system or technique."</ref> or a player without noticeable weaknesses.<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward Winter
|title=World Chess Champions
|year=1981|page=118
|publisher=Pergamon
|isbn=978-0-08-024117-3|quote=[Fischer's] play approached so close to perfection that it seemed to transcend style
}}</ref>

Biographers David Edmonds and John Eidinow wrote:
{{blockquote|
Faced with Fischer's extraordinary coolness, his opponents {{sic}} assurance would begin to disintegrate. A Fischer move, which at first glance looked weak, would be reassessed. It must have a deep master plan behind it, undetectable by mere mortals (more often than not they were right, it did). The US grandmaster Robert Byrne labeled the phenomenon "Fischer-fear". Grandmasters would wilt, their suits would crumple, sweat would glisten on their brows, panic would overwhelm their nervous systems. Errors would creep in. Calculations would go awry. There was talk among grandmasters that Fischer hypnotized his opponents, that he undermined their intellectual powers with a dark, mystic, insidious force.<ref>[[#Edmonds|Edmonds & Eidinow 2004]], p. 23.</ref>
}}

Kasparov wrote that Fischer "became the detonator of an avalanche of new chess ideas, a revolutionary whose revolution is still in progress".<ref name=kasp>{{cite magazine |author=Garry Kasparov |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1707222,00.html |title=The Chessman |magazine=Time |date=January 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604183029/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1707222,00.html |access-date=January 29, 2014|archive-date=June 4, 2017 }}</ref> In January 2009, reigning world champion [[Viswanathan Anand]] described him as "the greatest chess player who ever lived".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090116/jsp/sports/story_10397969.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203011640/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090116/jsp/sports/story_10397969.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |title=Fischer is greatest ever, says Anand |work=Telegraphindia.com |date=January 16, 2009 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |location=Calcutta, India}}</ref>  [[Ljubomir Ljubojević]] called Fischer, "A man without frontiers. He didn't divide the East and the West, he brought them together in their admiration of him."<ref name="Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland"/>

[[Karsten Müller]] wrote:
{{blockquote|
Fischer, who had taken the highest crown almost singlehandedly from the mighty, almost invincible Soviet chess empire, shook the whole world, not only the chess world, to its core. He started a chess boom not only in the United States and in the Western hemisphere, but worldwide. Teaching chess or playing chess as a career had truly become a respectable profession. After Bobby, the game was simply not the same.<ref name="Müller 2009, p. 23">[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 23.</ref>
}}

===Head-to-head record versus selected grandmasters===
(Rapid, blitz, and blindfold games not included; listed as +wins −losses =draws.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com |title=chess games |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |date=September 22, 2015 |access-date=September 22, 2015}}</ref><br />
<small>{{em|Players who have been World Champions in boldface}}</small>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* '''[[Mikhail Tal]]''' (Soviet Union) +2−4=5
* '''[[Mikhail Botvinnik]]''' (Soviet Union) +0−0=1
* '''[[Vasily Smyslov]]''' (Soviet Union) +3−1=5
* '''[[Boris Spassky]]''' (Soviet Union) +17−11=28
* '''[[Max Euwe]]''' (Netherlands) +1−1=1
* '''[[Tigran Petrosian]]''' (Soviet Union) +8−4=15
* [[Efim Geller]] (Soviet Union) +3−5=2
* [[Svetozar Gligorić]] (Yugoslavia) +7−4=8
* [[Paul Keres]] (Soviet Union) +4−3=3
* [[Victor Korchnoi]] (Soviet Union) +2−2=4
* [[Bent Larsen]] (Denmark) +9−2=1
* [[Miguel Najdorf]] (Argentia) +4−1=4
* [[Lev Polugaevsky]] (Soviet Union) +0−0=1
* [[David Bronstein]] (Soviet Union) +0−0=2
* [[Samuel Reshevsky]] (United States) +9−4=13
* [[Mark Taimanov]] (Soviet Union) +7−0=1
* [[Borislav Ivkov]] (Yugoslavia) +4−2=4
* [[Pal Benko]] (United States) +8−3=7
{{div col end}}

===Internet chess playing speculation===
In 2001, [[Nigel Short]] wrote in ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'' chess column that he believed he had been secretly playing Fischer on the [[Internet Chess Club]] (ICC) in speed chess matches.<ref>{{cite news |author=Andrew Allerson|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1339982/Bobby-Fischer-takes-on-all-comers-in-cyberspace.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1339982/Bobby-Fischer-takes-on-all-comers-in-cyberspace.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Bobby Fischer takes on all comers – in cyberspace |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=September 9, 2001 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/the-third-coming-of-bobby-fischer- |title=The third coming of Bobby Fischer? |publisher=chessbase.com |date=September 18, 2001 |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> Subsequently others claimed to have played Fischer as well.<ref>{{cite web |author=Daaim Shabazz |url=http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2008/02/24/did-ro-mitchell-meet-bobby-fischer/ |title=Did R.O. Mitchell meet Bobby Fischer? |publisher=thechessdrum.net |date=February 24, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818102317/https://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2008/02/24/did-ro-mitchell-meet-bobby-fischer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Fischer denied ownership of the account.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chess960frc.blogspot.com/2013/12/fischer-and-wild-variant-22.html|title=Chess960 (FRC): Fischer and 'Wild Variant 22'|website=chess960frc.blogspot.com|access-date=June 14, 2016|date=December 21, 2013}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
===In film===
* The 1993 film ''[[Searching for Bobby Fischer]]'', adapted from its [[:wikt:eponym|eponymous]] book, uses Fischer's name in the title although the film and book are both based on the life of fellow chess prodigy [[Joshua Waitzkin]], whose father, [[Fred Waitzkin]], wrote the book.<ref>{{cite news |author=Roger Ebert |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930811/REVIEWS/308110301/1023 |title=Searching for Bobby Fischer review |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=August 11, 1993 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |archive-date=March 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311222354/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19930811%2FREVIEWS%2F308110301%2F1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Outside of the United States, it was released as ''Innocent Moves''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108065/releaseinfo#akas |title=Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) |website=[[imdb.com]] |access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> The title refers to the search for Fischer's successor after his disappearance from competitive chess, since Waitzkin's father felt that his own son could be that successor. Fischer never saw the film and claimed that it violated his privacy by using his name without his permission.{{sfn|Brady|2011|p=267}} Fischer did not receive any compensation from the film and called it "a monumental swindle".<ref>{{cite news|title=Bobby Fischer Moves to a Satisfying Peace|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=September 26, 1993}} Quoted in {{harvnb|Brady|2011|p=268}}.</ref>
* In April 2009, the documentary ''[[Me and Bobby Fischer]]'', about Fischer's last years as his old friend Saemundur Palsson gets him out of jail in Japan and helps him settle in Iceland, was premiered in Iceland. The film was produced by Friðrik Guðmundsson with music by [[Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson]], [[Björk]] and [[Einar Arnaldur Melax]].
* In October 2009, the biographical film ''Bobby Fischer Live''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1407053/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|title=Bobby Fischer Live (2009)|date=October 1, 2009|work=imdb|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref> was released, with Damien Chapa directing and starring as Fischer.
* In 2011, documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus released ''[[Bobby Fischer Against the World]]'', which explores the life of Fischer, with interviews from [[Garry Kasparov]], [[Anthony Saidy]], and others.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14013115|title=Bobby Fischer: Chess's beguiling eccentric genius|author=David Edmonds|work=BBC News|date=July 4, 2011|access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref>
* On September 16, 2015, the American biographical film ''[[Pawn Sacrifice]]'' was released, starring [[Tobey Maguire]] as Fischer, [[Liev Schreiber]] as [[Boris Spassky]], [[Lily Rabe]] as [[Joan Fischer]], and [[Peter Sarsgaard]] as [[William Lombardy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596345/?ref_=nv_sr_1|title=Pawn Sacrifice|website=The Internet Movie Database|access-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref>

===Other media===
* The 1984 concept album ''[[Chess (musical)|Chess]]'', with lyrics by [[Tim Rice]] and music by [[Björn Ulvaeus]] and [[Benny Andersson]], is loosely based on the 1972 World Championship match between Fischer and Spassky. The characterization of the American player Freddie Trumper as a hot-headed and paranoid xenophobe is based on Fischer.<ref>[[William Hartston]] (1986). ''Chess: The Making of the Musical''. Pavilion Books. p. 10. {{ISBN|1-85145-006-8}}.</ref>
* During the 1972 Fischer–Spassky match, the Soviet [[bard (Soviet Union)|bard]] [[Vladimir Vysotsky]] wrote an ironic two-song cycle "Honor of the Chess Crown". The first song is about a rank-and-file Soviet worker's preparation for the match with Fischer; the second is about the game. Many expressions from the songs have become [[catchphrase]]s in Russian culture.<ref>{{cite web |author=Musin Zhaskyran|url=http://www.kulichki.com/vv/ovys/articles/0018.html |title=Chess Problems (about chess songs of Vladimir Vysotsky) |date=January 2001 |access-date=January 29, 2014|language=ru}}</ref>
* British [[sophisti-pop]] band [[Prefab Sprout]] reference Fischer in their 1984 song [[Swoon (Prefab Sprout album)|"Cue Fanfare"]] in the lyrics "When Bobby Fischer's plane touches the ground/He'll take those Russian boys and play them out of town".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genius.com/Prefab-sprout-cue-fanfare-lyrics |title=Prefab Sprout - Cue Fanfare}}</ref>
* In a season 21 episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', in a sketch set at a chess tournament, the [[Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1995–1996|Spartan cheerleaders]], played by [[Will Ferrell]] and [[Cheri Oteri]], sang a cheer with references to Fischer and his reclusion, including the lyrics "Where is he?/I don't know/I don't know".<ref>{{cite web|title=Spartan Cheerleaders at a Chess Tournament|url=http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/spartan-cheerleaders-at-a-chess-tournament/3505907?snl=1|website=nbc.com|access-date=September 20, 2017}}</ref>
* In episode [[List of Drunk History episodes|6 of season 3]] of ''[[Drunk History]]'', titled "Games", comedian and author [[Rich Fulcher]] retells the story of the [[World Chess Championship 1972|1972 World Chess Championship]] match between Fischer and Spassky. In the episode, [[Taran Killam]] plays Fischer, and [[Jake Johnson]] plays Spassky.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bobby Fischer, King of the Chess People|url=http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ipb44g/drunk-history-bobby-fischer--king-of-the-chess-people|website=[[Comedy Central]]|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807191346/http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ipb44g/drunk-history-bobby-fischer--king-of-the-chess-people|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Tournament, match, and team event summaries==

Fischer played 752 tournament games in his career, winning 417, drawing 251, and losing 84.<ref name=":0">"Bobby Fischer, the Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion", by Karsten Muller, 2009, Russel Enterprises, Milford, CT, p. 398</ref> These include, however, games when he was very young; if only the games after he turned 20 are considered, he played 311 tournament games and lost 23, a 7.4% loss percentage.<ref name=":0"/>

===Tournaments===
The 1955 US Amateur Championship was the first tournament organized by the US Chess Federation in which Fischer entered. Before this tournament, he had played in the Brooklyn Chess Club Championships, in some tournaments organized by the Brooklyn YMCA Chess and Checker Club, and in a [[correspondence chess]] tournament organized by ''Chess Review''.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Tournament record<ref name="Müller 2009, pp. 399-400"/><ref name=Verwer>{{cite book
|author=Renzo Verwer
|title=Bobby Fischer for Beginners
|year=2010|pages=116–118
|publisher=New In Chess
|isbn=978-90-5691-315-1
}}</ref>
|-
!Year!!Tournament!!Location!!Wins!!Draws!!Losses!!Points!!Games!!Ranking!!Players!!%
|-
|rowspan=3|1955||align=left|US Amateur Championship||align=left|[[Mohegan Lake, New York]] || colspan=3 align=center|unknown (6 games) || ≤ 3 || 6 || below 32nd<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 92</ref>||75||≤ 50%
|-
|align=left|US Junior Championship||align=left|[[Lincoln, Nebraska]]||2||6||2||5||10 || 11th–21st (20th<br /> on tie-break)||25||50%
|-
|align=left|Washington Square Park||align=left|New York|| colspan=3 align=center|unknown (8 games) ||5||8 || 15th||66<ref>[https://bobby-fischer-1955.blogspot.com/2018/04/1955-bobby-fischer-newspaper-articles.html#nytimes-10-03-1955 New York Times], New York, NY, Monday, October 3, 1955 – Page 27.</ref>||56%
|-
|rowspan=10|1956||align=left|Greater New York City Open<ref name=GNYO>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20201212103806/http://www.atomicpatzer.com/acn/ACN-AprilSept2010.pdf Atlantic Chess News]}} Sept 2010</ref> ||align=left|Manhattan||5||0||2||5||7 || 5th–7th||52||71%
|-
|align=left|Manhattan Chess Club <br />Tournament 'A'-Reserves ||align=left|New York|| colspan=3 align=center|unknown (10 games)||7½ ||10 || 1st–2nd<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 97</ref> || 6<ref>John Donaldson, ''Bobby Fischer and his world'', p.86.</ref> || 75%
|-
|align=left|Metropolitan League<br /> (team event)||align=left|New York||4||1||0||4½||5 || colspan=2 align=center|Manhattan 'A'-Reserves<br />Team top scorer<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 98</ref> ||90%
|-
|align=left|US Amateur Championship||align=left|[[Asbury Park, New Jersey]]||3||2||1||4||6 || 21st||88||67%
|-
|align=left|US Junior Championship||align=left|Philadelphia||8||1||1||8½||10 || 1st ||28||85%
|-
|align=left|US Open||align=left|[[Oklahoma City]]||5||7||0||8½||12 || 4th–8th||102||71%
|-
|align=left|Canadian Open||align=left|Montreal||6||2||2||7||10 || 8th–12th||88||70%
|-
|align=left|Rosenwald Trophy||align=left|New York||2||5||4||4½||11 || 8th–10th||12||41%
|-
|align=left|Eastern States Open||align=left|Washington, D.C.||4||3||0||5½||7 || 2nd–5th||56 ||79%
|-
|align=left|Manhattan Chess Club<br /> Championship semifinals||align=left|New York||2||1||2||2½||5 || 4th||6||50%
|-
|rowspan=9|1957||align=left|Log Cabin Open||align=left|[[West Orange, New Jersey]]||4||0||2||4||6 || 6th–14th||61||67%
|-
|align=left|Log Cabin 50–50, [[fast chess]]||align=left|West Orange||3||2||0||4||5 || colspan=2 align=center|unknown ||80%
|-
|align=left|Metropolitan League<br /> (team event)||align=left|New York||5||0||0||5||5 || colspan=2 align=center| Manhattan team, Fischer<br />played at board 7.<ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 122</ref> ||100%
|-
|align=left|New Western Open||align=left|Milwaukee||5||2||1||6||8 || 6th–12th||122 ||75%
|-
|align=left|US Junior Championship||align=left|San Francisco||8||1||0||8½||9 || 1st||33 ||94%
|-
|align=left|US Open||align=left|Cleveland<ref>Fischer won first game on forfeit.</ref>||7/<br />8<ref name="USOpen57"/>||4||0||9/<br />10||11/<br />12<ref name="USOpen57"/> ||1st<br /> (on tie-break)|| 176||82%/<br />83%<ref name="USOpen57">Includes one forfeit: 10/12 (9/11 with 11 games played)</ref>
|-
|align=left|New Jersey State Open||align=left|[[East Orange, New Jersey|East Orange]]||6||1||0||6½||7 || 1st||81 ||93%
|-
|align=left|North Central Open||align=left|Milwaukee||4||2||1||5||7 || 5th–11th||93 ||71%
|-
|align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||8||5||0||10½||13 || 1st||14||81%
|-
|1958||align=left|Interzonal||align=left|[[Portorož]]||6||12||2||12||20 || 5th–6th||21||60%
|-
|1958||align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||6||5||0||8½||11 || 1st||12||77%
|-
|rowspan=5|1959||align=left|Mar del Plata International ||align=left|Mar del Plata ||8||4||1||10||13 || 3rd–4th||14||71%
|-
|align=left|International ||align=left|[[Santiago]] ||7||1||4||7½||12 || 4th–7th||13||63%
|-
|align=left|Zürich International||align=left|Zürich ||8||5||2||10½||15 || 3rd–4th||16||70%
|-
|align=left|Candidates||align=left|Bled, Zagreb & Belgrade||8||9||11||12½||28 || 5th–6th||8||45%
|-
|align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||7||4||0||9||11 || 1st||12||82%
|-
|rowspan=4|1960||align=left|Mar del Plata International ||align=left| Mar del Plata ||13||1||1||13½||15 || 1st–2nd||16||90%
|-
|align=left|Buenos Aires International||align=left|Buenos Aires ||3||11||5||8½||19 || 13th–16th||20||45%
|-
|align=left|3-player double round-robin ||align=left|Reykjavík ||3||1||0||3½||4 || 1st||3||88%
|-
|align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||7||4||0||9||11 || 1st||12||82%
|-
|1961||align=left| "Tournament of the century" ||align=left| Bled|||8||11||0||15||19 || 2nd||20||71%
|-
|rowspan=3|1962||align=left|Interzonal||align=left|Stockholm ||13||9||0||17½||22 || 1st||23||80%
|-
|align=left|Candidates||align=left|[[Curaçao]] ||8||12||7||14||27 || 4th||8||52%
|-
|align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||6||4||1||8||11 || 1st||12||73%
|-
|rowspan=3|1963||align=left|Western Open||align=left|[[Bay City, Michigan]]||7||1||0||7½|| 8 || 1st|| 161<ref>''Chess Life'', 1963, pp. 196–99.</ref> ||94%
|-
|align=left|New York State Open||align=left|[[Poughkeepsie, New York|Poughkeepsie]]||7||0||0||7||7 || 1st||57 ||100%
|-
|align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||11||0|||0|||11||11 || 1st||12||100%
|-
|1965||align=left|Capablanca Memorial||align=left|Havana||12||6||3||15||21 || 2nd–4th||22||71%
|-
|1965||align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||8||1||2||8½||11 || 1st||12||77%
|-
|1966||align=left|Piatigorsky Cup||align=left|Santa Monica||7||8||3||11||18 || 2nd||10||61%
|-
|1966||align=left|US Championship||align=left|New York||8||3||0||9½||11 || 1st||12||86%
|-
|rowspan=3|1967||align=left|Monaco International||align=left| Monte Carlo ||6||2||1||7||9 || 1st||10||78%
|-
|align=left|International||align=left|Skopje ||12||3||2||13½||17 || 1st||18||79%
|-
|align=left|Interzonal||align=left|[[Sousse]] ||7||3||0||8½||10 || withdrew||22 ||85%
|-
|rowspan=3|1968||align=left|International||align=left|[[Netanya]] ||10||3||0||11½||13 || 1st||14||88%
|-
|align=left|International||align=left|[[Vinkovci]] ||9||4||0||11||13 || 1st||14||85%
|-
|align=left|Metropolitan League<br /> (team event)||align=left|New York||1||0||0||1||1 || colspan=2 align=center|Manhattan team, Fischer<br />played only one game. ||100%
|-
|rowspan=4|1970||align=left|Blitz (5-minute games)||align=left| [[Herceg Novi]] ||17||4||1||19||22 || 1st||12||86%
|-
|align=left|Tournament of Peace ||align=left|[[Rovinj]] & Zagreb ||10||6||1||13||17 || 1st||18||76%
|-
|align=left|Buenos Aires International||align=left|Buenos Aires ||13||4||0||15||17 || 1st||18||88%
|-
|align=left|Interzonal||align=left|Palma de Mallorca<ref name=IZ70>includes one game where opponent refused to play and resigned on the first move</ref> ||15||7||1||18½||23 || 1st||24||80%
|-
|1971||align=left|Manhattan CC Blitz{{sfn|Brady|1973|pp=191-192}} ||align=left| New York || 21 || 1 || 0 || 21½ || 22 || 1st || 12 || 98%
|}

===Matches===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Match record<ref name=Verwer/><ref>[[#Wade|Wade & O'Connell 1973]], p. 11.</ref><ref>[[#Muller|Müller 2009]], p. 400.</ref>
|-
!Year!!Opponent!!Location!!Match!!Wins!!Draws!!Losses!!Result!!Score!!Percentage
|-
|1957||[[Max Euwe]]||New York||2-game exhibition match ||0||1||1||lost||½–1½||25%
|-
|1957||[[Dan Jacobo Beninson]]||New York||5-game training match || 2 || 3 || 0<ref>John Donaldson, The World of Bobby Fischer, 2020, p. 129</ref> ||won||3½–1½||70%<ref>[[#Donaldson|Donaldson & Tangborn 1999]], pp. 51–52.</ref>
|-
|1957||[[Rodolfo Tan Cardoso]]||New York|| ||5||2||1||won||6–2||75%
|-
|1958||[[Dragoljub Janošević]]||Belgrade|| 2-game training match||0||2||0||tied||1–1||50%
|-
|1958||[[Milan Matulović]]||Belgrade|| ||2||1||1||won||2½–1½||63%
|-
|1961||[[Samuel Reshevsky]]||New York &<br /> Los Angeles|| 16-game match ||2||7||2||unfinished||5½–5½||50%
|-
|1970||[[Tigran Petrosian]]||Belgrade||USSR vs. World Match||2||2||0||won||3–1||75%
|-
|rowspan=3|1971||[[Mark Taimanov]]||Vancouver|| Candidates quarterfinal||6||0||0||won||6–0||100%
|-
|[[Bent Larsen]]||Denver||Candidates semifinal||6||0||0||won||6–0||100%
|-
|Tigran Petrosian||Buenos Aires|| Candidates final||5||3||1||won||6½–2½||72%
|-
|1972||[[Boris Spassky]]||Reykjavík|| World Championship<ref>Fischer lost second game on forfeit</ref>||7||11||3||won||12½–8½||60%<ref>Includes one forfeit : 12½/21</ref><br />/63%<ref>Only played games counted: 12½/20</ref>
|-
|rowspan=2|1992||[[Svetozar Gligorić]] ||Sveti Stefan || training match<ref>John Donaldson, ''Bobby Fischer and his World'', 2020, p. 556-577.</ref> ||6||3||1||won||7½–2½ ||75%
|-
|Boris Spassky||Sveti Stefan<br /> & Belgrade|| Unofficial rematch||10||15||5||won||10–5<ref name=match1992/>||58%<ref>Includes all games</ref><br />/67%<ref name=match1992>Only decisive games counted; percentage = won ÷ (won+lost).</ref>
|}

===International Team events===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+International Team events record<ref name=Verwer/>
|-
!Year!!Event!!Location!!Board!!Opponents!!Wins!!Draws!!Losses!!Points!!Games!!Individual<br /> ranking!!Team<br /> ranking!!Individual <br />percentage
|-
|1960||align=left|14th Olympiad||align=left|Leipzig||1||align=left|various||10||6||2||13||18||Bronze||Silver||72%
|-
|1960||align=left|Berlin vs USA Match ||align=left|[[Berlin]] ||1 ||align=left|[[Klaus Darga]]<ref>John Donaldson, ''Bobby Fischer and his World'', Siles Press, 2020, p. 202.</ref>  ||1||0||0||1||1||Game won|| Team won || rowspan=2|100%<br /> (1 game)
|-
|1962||align=left|Poland vs USA Match||align=left|[[Warsaw]]||1||align=left|[[Bogdan Sliwa]]||1||0||0||1||1||Game won||Team won
|-
|1962||align=left|15th Olympiad||align=left|Varna||1||align=left|various||8||6||3||11||17||Eighth||Fourth||65%
|-
|1966||align=left|17th Olympiad||align=left|Havana||1||align=left|various||14||2||1||15||17||Silver||Silver||88%
|-
|1970||align=left|USSR vs. World Match||align=left|Belgrade||2||align=left|Tigran Petrosian||2||2||0||3||4|| best world<br /> team result||Team lost||75%
|-
|1970||align=left|19th Olympiad||align=left|Siegen||1||align=left|various||8||4||1||10||13||Silver||Fourth||77%
|}

==Notable games==
{{AN chess|pos=secright}}
*[[Donald Byrne]] vs. Fischer, New York 1956; [[Grünfeld Defense]], 5.Bf4 (D92), {{chessAN|0–1}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361 |title=Donald Byrne vs. Robert James Fischer, New York 1956 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> Played when Fischer was 13 years old, "this game appeared in chess magazines around the world, provoking the delight of the public and the amazement of the experts."<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 213.</ref> It was dubbed "[[The Game of the Century (chess)|The Game of the Century]]" by [[Hans Kmoch]] in ''[[Chess Review]]''.<ref>''[[Chess Review]]'', December 1956, p. 374.</ref>
*[[Svetozar Gligorić]] vs. Fischer, Bled 1961; [[King's Indian Defense]], [[King's Indian Defence#Classical Variation|Classical Variation]], Mar del Plata Variation (E98), {{chessAN|½–½}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044007 |title=Svetozar Gligoric vs. Robert James Fischer, Bled 1961 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> "A genuine drawn masterpiece" according to [[Garry Kasparov]].<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 281.</ref> [[Andrew Soltis]] rated it as one of "The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century".<ref>{{cite book|author=Andy Soltis|author-link=Andrew Soltis|title=The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked|date=2006|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=0-7864-2741-8}}</ref>{{parabr}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tright
 |Gligorić vs. Fischer, Bled 1961
 |rd|  |bd|  |  |rd|kd|
 |  |pd|  |qd|  |  |  |
 |pd|  |  |nl|  |  |pd|pd
 |  |  |pd|pl|  |  |  |
 |  |  |pl|bd|nl|  |  |
 |  |  |  |ql|  |pl|nd|
 |pl|pl|  |  |bl|  |kl|pl
 |rl|  |  |  |  |rl|  |
 |Position after 22...Nxg3
|reverse=true
}}
{{block indent |1=1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.exf5 Nxf5 12.f3 Nf6 13.Nf2 Nd4 14.Nfe4 Nh5 15.Bg5 Qd7 16.g3 h6 17.Be3 c5 18.Bxd4 exd4 19.Nb5 a6 20.Nbxd6 d3 21.Qxd3 Bd4+ 22.Kg2 Nxg3 ({{em|diagram}}) 23.Nxc8 Nxf1 24.Nb6 Qc7 25.Rxf1 Qxb6 26.b4 Qxb4 27.Rb1 Qa5 28.Nxc5 Qxc5 29.Qxg6+ Bg7 30.Rxb7 Qd4 31.Bd3 Rf4 32.Qe6+ Kh8 33.Qg6 ½–½}}
{{clear right}}
*[[Robert Byrne (chess player)|Robert Byrne]] vs. Fischer, 1963/64 US Championship; [[Grünfeld Defence#Neo-Grünfeld Defence|Neo-Grünfeld Defense]], 0–1;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008419 |title=Robert Eugene Byrne vs. Robert James Fischer, 1963/64 US Championship, New York |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> [http://www.lifemasteraj.com/old_af-dl/byrfisrpg0.html annotated]. From an almost {{chessgloss|symmetry|symmetrical}} position, Fischer beats a strong international master in {{chessgloss|miniature|just 21 moves}}—"a game that was immediately recognized as an all-time classic".{{sfn|Brady|1973|p=74}}{{parabr}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tright
 |Byrne vs. Fischer, 1963/64 US Championship
 |rd|  |  |qd|rd|  |kd|
 |pd|  |  |  |  |pd|bd|pd
 |bd|pd|  |  |  |  |pd|
 |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |bl|pl|nl|  |nd|  |pl|
 |pl|  |  |ql|nl|  |bl|pl
 |rl|  |  |rl|  |  |kl|
 |Position after 18.Qd2
|reverse=true
}}
{{block indent |1=1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e3 0-0 8.Nge2 Nc6 9.0-0 b6 10.b3 Ba6 11.Ba3 Re8 12.Qd2 e5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Rfd1 Nd3 15.Qc2 Nxf2 16.Kxf2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Nxe3 18.Qd2 ({{em|diagram}}) Nxg2 19.Kxg2 d4 20.Nxd4 Bb7+ 21.Kf1 Qd7 0–1}}
{{clear right}}
*Fischer vs. [[Mark Taimanov]], Vancouver Candidates Final 1971; 4th match game, [[Sicilian Defense]], [[Sicilian Defence#Taimanov Variation|Taimanov Variation]] (B47), {{chessAN|1–0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044361 |title=Robert James Fischer vs. Mark Taimanov, Candidates Quarterfinal, Vancouver 1971 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> Fischer's patient and accurate handling of bishop vs. knight, first in the rook and minor piece [[Chess endgame|endgame]], and then after rooks were {{chessgloss|exchanged}}, has become a staple of endgame instructional literature.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Danny Kopec |author2=Daniel Kostovetsky |name-list-style=amp |date=March 2014 |title=The Fischer Ending |magazine=Chess Life |pages=39–43 }}</ref>{{parabr}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tright
 |Fischer vs. Taimanov, Vancouver Candidates Final 1971
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |rd
 |  |pd|  |kd|  |pd|pd|
 |pd|  |  |  |  |nd|  |pd
 |  |  |pd|  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |rl|pl|  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |pl|
 |pl|pl|pl|  |  |  |bl|pl
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |kl|
 |Position after 23...Kxd7
}}
{{block indent |1=1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4 d6 11.Qd2 h6 12.Rad1 e5 13.Be3 Bg4 14.Bxc5 dxc5 15.f3 Be6 16.f4 Rd8 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 e4 19.Rfe1 Rxd5 20.Rxe4+ Kd8 21.Qe2 Rxd1+ 22.Qxd1+ Qd7 23.Qxd7+ Kxd7 ({{em|diagram}}) 24.Re5 b6 25.Bf1 a5 26.Bc4 Rf8 27.Kg2 Kd6 28.Kf3 Nd7 29.Re3 Nb8 30.Rd3+ Kc7 31.c3 Nc6 32.Re3 Kd6 33.a4 Ne7 34.h3 Nc6 35.h4 h5 36.Rd3+ Kc7 37.Rd5 f5 38.Rd2 Rf6 39.Re2 Kd7 40.Re3 g6 41.Bb5 Rd6 42.Ke2 Kd8 43.Rd3 Kc7 44.Rxd6 Kxd6 45.Kd3 Ne7 46.Be8 Kd5 47.Bf7+ Kd6 48.Kc4 Kc6 49.Be8+ Kb7 50.Kb5 Nc8 51.Bc6+ Kc7 52.Bd5 Ne7 53.Bf7 Kb7 54.Bb3 Ka7 55.Bd1 Kb7 56.Bf3+ Kc7 57.Ka6 Ng8 58.Bd5 Ne7 59.Bc4 Nc6 60.Bf7 Ne7 61.Be8 Kd8 62.Bxg6 Nxg6 63.Kxb6 Kd7 64.Kxc5 Ne7 65.b4 axb4 66.cxb4 Nc8 67.a5 Nd6 68.b5 Ne4+ 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kc6 Kb8 71.b6 1–0}}
{{clear right}}
*Fischer vs. [[Tigran Petrosian]], Buenos Aires Candidates Final 1971; 7th match game, [[Sicilian Defense]], [[Sicilian Defence#Taimanov Variation|Taimanov Variation]] (B42), 1–0.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044351|title=Robert James Fischer vs. Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Candidates Final, Buenos Aires 1971|website=[[Chessgames.com]]}}</ref> Fischer's unconventional choice of 22.Nxd7+, exchanging a well-posted knight for an apparently passive bishop, has been widely praised.<ref>[[#Soltis2003|Soltis 2003]], p. 264. "This is perhaps Fischer's most famous and instructive move and is still being cited today. Annotating a Short–Svidler game from the 2002 Russia-World match, the magazine ''64'' commented that even a superbly placed Black knight on an open file will interfere with heavy pieces and therefore should be removed in 'the classic example of the seventh game of the Fischer–Petrosian match'."</ref> However, in 2020 [[chess engine|engine]]-assisted analysis by [[Karsten Müller]] and [[ChessBase#News site|ChessBase News]] readers came to the conclusion that 22.a4 wins, while 22.Nxd7+ only draws against correct defense.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/solution-of-the-endgame-riddle-was-fischer-s-22-nxd7-winning | author=Karsten Müller | title=Solution of the endgame riddle: Was Fischer's 22.Nxd7 winning? | website=chessbase.com | date=November 26, 2020 | access-date=December 10, 2020 }}</ref> {{parabr}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tright
 |Fischer vs. Petrosian, Buenos Aires Candidates Final 1971
 |rd|  |  |  |  |kd|  |
 |rd|  |  |bd|  |pd|pd|pd
 |pd|  |  |  |  |nd|  |
 |  |  |nl|pd|rl|  |  |
 |  |pl|  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |bl|  |pl|  |
 |pl|  |  |  |  |  |pl|pl
 |rl|  |  |  |  |  |kl|
 |Position after 21...Bd7
}}
{{block indent |1=1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.0-0 d5 8.c4 Nf6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.exd5 exd5 11.Nc3 Be7 12.Qa4+ Qd7 13.Re1 Qxa4 14.Nxa4 Be6 15.Be3 0-0 16.Bc5 Rfe8 17.Bxe7 Rxe7 18.b4 Kf8 19.Nc5 Bc8 20.f3 Rea7 21.Re5 Bd7 ({{em|diagram}}) 22.Nxd7+ Rxd7 23.Rc1 Rd6 24.Rc7 Nd7 25.Re2 g6 26.Kf2 h5 27.f4 h4 28.Kf3 f5 29.Ke3 d4+ 30.Kd2 Nb6 31.Ree7 Nd5 32.Rf7+ Ke8 33.Rb7 Nxf4 34.Bc4 1–0}}
{{clear right}}
*Fischer vs. [[Boris Spassky]], [[World Chess Championship 1972]]; 6th match game, [[Queen's Gambit Declined]], [[Queen's Gambit Declined#QGD Main Variations|Tartakower Defense]] (D59), 1–0;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044366 |title=Robert James Fischer vs. Boris Spassky, World Championship Match (1972), Reykjavik, rd 6 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> [[World Chess Championship 1972#Game 6|annotated on the 1972 match page]]. Fischer called this game his best of the match.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 438.</ref> [[Efim Geller]] had told Spassky about the strong move 14...Qb7 during their preparation, but Spassky had forgotten the advice and played 14...a6. Geller won with 14...Qb7 against [[Jan Timman]] in the AVRO 1973 tournament.<ref>{{cite book |title=Avro Schaaktoernooi 1973 |first=Max |last=Euwe |date=1973 |publisher=Unieboek |language=nl |isbn=9026922205}}</ref>
*Boris Spassky vs. Fischer, World Chess Championship 1972; 13th match game, [[Alekhine Defense]], [[Alekhine Defense#Modern Variation|Modern Variation]], Alburt Variation (B04), 0–1;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1128889 |title=Boris Spassky vs. Robert James Fischer, World Championship Match (1972), Reykjavik, rd 13 |website=Chessgames.com }}</ref> [[World Chess Championship 1972#Game 13|annotated on the 1972 match page]]. Botvinnik called this game "the highest creative achievement of Fischer". He resolved a drawish [[opposite-colored bishops endgame]] by sacrificing his bishop and trapping his own rook. "Then five passed pawns struggled with the white rook. Nothing similar had been seen before in chess."<ref>[[#Soltis2003|Soltis 2003]], p. 271.</ref>
*[[Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)|Fischer vs. Boris Spassky, 1992]]; 1st match game, [[Ruy Lopez]], [[Ruy Lopez#Breyer Variation|Breyer Variation]] (C95), 1–0;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1129672 |title=Robert James Fischer vs. Boris Spassky, Fischer–Spassky (1992), Sveti Stefan & Belgrade, rd 1 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> [[Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)#Game 1|annotated on the 1992 match page]]. Fischer's "fine" victory in his first competitive game in 20 years "made a great impression on the chess world", although in Kasparov's view, Spassky's play was below the standard of the leading grandmasters of the time.<ref>[[#Kasparov|Kasparov 2004]], p. 488.</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|Chess|right=yes}}
*[[Bibliography of works on Bobby Fischer]]
* [[List of chess players by peak FIDE rating]]
* [[List of Jewish chess players]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{main|Bibliography of works on Bobby Fischer}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|ref=Alexander
|last=Alexander|first=C. H. O'D.|author-link=Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
|title=Fischer v. Spassky
|year=1972
|publisher=Vintage
|isbn=978-0-394-71830-9
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Benko
|last1=Benko|first1=Pal|author-link=Pal Benko
|last2=Silman|first2=Jeremy|author-link2=Jeremy Silman
|title=Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions
|year=2003
|publisher=Siles Press
|isbn=978-1-890085-08-7
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Bisguier
|last1=Bisguier|first1=Arthur|author-link=Arthur Bisguier
|last2=Soltis|first2=Andrew|author-link2=Andrew Soltis
|title=American Chess Masters from Morphy to Fischer
|year=1974
|publisher=Macmillan
|isbn=978-0-02-511050-2
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Bohm
|last1=Böhm|first1=Hans
|last2=Jongkind|first2=Kees
|title=Bobby Fischer: The Wandering King
|year=2003
|publisher=Batsford
|isbn=978-0-7134-8935-4
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Brady|first=Frank|author-link=Frank Brady (writer)
|title=Profile of a Prodigy
|year=1965
|edition=1st
|publisher=David McKay
|id=OCLC 2574422
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Brady|first=Frank
|title=Profile of a Prodigy
|year=1973
|edition=2nd
|publisher=David McKay
|id=OCLC 724113
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Brady
|first=Frank
|title=Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall – from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness
|publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Crown]]
|year=2011
|edition=1st
|isbn=978-0-307-46390-6}}
* {{cite book|ref=Bronstein
|last1=Bronstein|first1=David|author-link=David Bronstein
|last2=Fürstenberg|first2=Tom
|title=The Sorcerer's Apprentice
|year=2009 |orig-year=1995
|edition=2nd
|publisher=New in Chess
|isbn=978-90-5691-272-7
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Byrne
|last1=Byrne|first1=Robert|author-link=Robert Byrne (chess player)
|last2=Nei|first2=Ivo
|title=Both Sides of the Chessboard
|year=1974
|publisher=Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company
|isbn=978-0-8129-0379-9
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Collins
|last=Collins|first=John W.|author-link=John W. Collins
|title=My Seven Chess Prodigies
|year=1974
|publisher=Simon and Schuster
|isbn=978-0-671-21941-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=DeLucia|first1=David
|last2=DeLucia|first2=Alessandra
|title=Bobby Fischer Uncensored
|year=2009
|ref = DeLucia2009
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Denker
|last1=Denker|first1=Arnold|author-link=Arnold Denker
|last2=Parr|first2=Larry|author-link2=Larry Parr (editor)
|title=The Bobby Fischer I Knew and Other Stories
|year=1995
|publisher=Hypermodern Press
|isbn=978-1-886040-18-2
}}
* {{cite book|ref=DiFelice2010
|last=Di Felice|first=Gino
|title=Chess Results, 1956–1960: A Comprehensive Record With 1,390 Tournament Crosstables and 142 Match Scores, With Sources
|year=2010
|publisher=McFarland
|isbn=978-0-7864-4803-6
}}
* {{cite book|ref=DiFelice2013a
|last=Di Felice|first=Gino
|title=Chess Results, 1961–1963: A Comprehensive Record with 938 Tournament Crosstables and 108 Match Scores, with Sources
|year=2013a
|publisher=McFarland
|isbn=978-0-7864-7572-8
}}
* {{cite book|ref=DiFelice2013b
|last=Di Felice|first=Gino
|title=Chess Results, 1964–1967: A Comprehensive Record with 1,204 Tournament Crosstables and 158 Match Scores, with Sources
|publisher=McFarland
|year=2013b
|isbn=978-0-7864-7573-5
}}
* {{cite book|ref=DiFelice2013c
|last=Di Felice|first=Gino
|title=Chess Results, 1968–1970: A Comprehensive Record with 854 Tournament Crosstables and 161 Match Scores, with Sources
|publisher=McFarland
|year=2013c
|isbn=978-0-7864-7574-2
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Donaldson
|last1=Donaldson|first1=John|author-link=John Donaldson (chess player)
|last2=Tangborn|first2=Eric
|title=The Unknown Bobby Fischer
|url=https://archive.org/details/The_Unknown_Bobby_Fischer|year=1999
|publisher=International Chess Enterprises
|isbn=978-1-879479-85-2
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Donner
|last=Donner|first=J. H.|author-link=Jan Hein Donner
|title=The King: Chess Pieces
|year=2006
|publisher=New in Chess
|isbn=978-90-5691-171-3
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Edmonds
|last1=Edmonds|first1=David|author-link=David Edmonds (philosopher)
|last2=Eidinow|first2=John
|title=Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time
|year=2004
|publisher=HarperCollins
|isbn=978-0-06-051025-1
}}
* {{cite book|ref=F1959
|last=Fischer|first=Bobby
|title=Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess
|year=2008 |orig-year=1959
|publisher=Simon and Schuster, Ishi Press
|isbn=978-0-923891-46-6
}}
* {{cite book|ref=F1969
|last=Fischer|first=Bobby
|title=My 60 Memorable Games
|year=2008 |orig-year=1969
|publisher=Simon and Schuster, Faber and Faber, Batsford
|isbn=978-1-906388-30-0
}}
* {{cite book|ref=F1982
|last=Fischer|first=Bobby
|title=I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse!
|url=http://www.chessdryad.com/articles/ephemera/Jailhouse.pdf
|year=1982
|publisher=Printer
|asin=B0006Y6EHI
}}
* {{cite magazine|ref=Ginzburg
|last=Ginzburg|first=Ralph|author-link=Ralph Ginzburg
|title=Portrait of a Genius as a Young Chess Master
|magazine=[[Harper's Magazine]]
|date=January 1962
|pages=49–55
}}
*{{cite book|ref=Gligoric
|last=Gligorić|first=Svetozar|author-link=Svetozar Gligorić
|title=Fischer vs. Spassky: World Chess Championship Match 1972
|year=2012 |orig-year=1972
|publisher=Ishi
|isbn=978-4-87187-514-1
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Whyld
|last1=Hooper|first1=David|author-link=David Vincent Hooper
|last2=Whyld|first2=Kenneth|author-link2=Kenneth Whyld
|title=The Oxford Companion to Chess
|year=1992 |orig-year=1984
|edition=2nd
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-280049-7
|title-link=The Oxford Companion to Chess}}
* {{cite book|ref=Karpov
|last=Karpov|first=Anatoly
|title=Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a Chess World Champion
|year=1991 |orig-year=1990
|edition=1st English
|publisher=Macmillan
|isbn=978-0-689-12060-2
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Kasparov
|last=Kasparov|first=Garry
|title=My Great Predecessors, Volume IV
|year=2004
|publisher=Gloucester Publishers
|isbn=978-1-85744-395-0
|title-link=My Great Predecessors
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Kazic
|last=Kažić
|first=B.M.
|year=1974
|title=International Championship Chess: A Complete Record of FIDE Events
|publisher=Pitman
|isbn=978-0-273-07078-8
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Lombardy
|last=Lombardy|first=William|author-link=William Lombardy
|title=Understanding Chess: My System, My Games, My Life
|year=2011
|publisher=Russell Enterprises
|isbn=978-1-936490-22-6
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Mednis
|last=Mednis|first=Edmar|author-link=Edmar Mednis
|title=How to Beat Bobby Fischer
|year=1997 |orig-year=1997
|edition=2nd
|publisher=Dover
|isbn=978-0-486-29844-3
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Muller
|last=Müller|first=Karsten
|title=Bobby Fischer: The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion
|url=https://archive.org/details/bobbyfischer_careercompletegamesamericanworldchesschampion
|year=2009
|publisher=Russell Enterprises, Inc.
|isbn=978-1-888690-68-2
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Plisetsky
|last1=Plisetsky|first1=Dmitry
|last2=Voronkov|first2=Sergey
|title=Russians versus Fischer
|edition=2nd
|year=2005
|publisher=[[Everyman Chess]]
|isbn=978-1-85744-380-6
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Schonberg
|last=Schonberg
|first=Harold C.
|author-link=Harold C. Schonberg
|title=Grandmasters of Chess
|year=1973
|publisher=J.B. Lippincott
|isbn=978-0-397-01004-2
|url=https://archive.org/details/grandmastersofch00haro
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Seirawan
|last1=Seirawan|first1=Yasser|author-link=Yasser Seirawan
|last2=Stefanovic|first2=George
|title=No Regrets: Fischer-Spassky 1992
|year=1992
|publisher=International Chess Enterprises
|isbn=978-1-879479-09-8
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Soltis2003
|last=Soltis|first=Andrew
|title=Bobby Fischer Rediscovered
|url=https://archive.org/details/bobbyfischerrediscovered
|year=2003
|publisher=Batsford
|isbn=978-0-7134-8846-3
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Steiner
|last=Steiner|first=George|author-link=George Steiner
|title=Fields of Force
|year=1974 |orig-year=1973
|publisher=Viking
|isbn=978-0-670-31178-1
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Wade
|last1=Wade|first1=Robert G.|author-link=Robert Wade (chess player)
|last2=O'Connell|first2=Kevin J.|author-link2=Kevin O'Connell (chess player)
|title=Bobby Fischer's Chess Games
|year=1973 |orig-year=1972
|edition=2nd
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=978-0-385-08627-1
}}
* {{cite book|ref=Waitzkin
|last=Waitzkin|first=Fred|author-link=Fred Waitzkin
|title=Mortal Games: The Turbulent Genius of Garry Kasparov
|year=1993
|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons
|isbn=978-0-399-13827-0
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|d=Q41314|n=Category:Bobby Fischer|c=Category:Bobby Fischer|s=no|wikt=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|b=no}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080121125138/http://www.fischer.jp/ Archive of Fischer's personal homepage]
* {{Chessgames player|19233}}
* [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fischerkasparov.html A list of books about Fischer and Kasparov] compiled by [[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]]
* [http://bobbyfischerpage.tripod.com/ Bobby Fischer Live Radio Interviews (1999–2006)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120218125427/http://www.echecs-photos.be/BobbyFischer-photos/index.html Extensive collection of Fischer photographs, Echecs-photos online]
* [https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fischerfeaturearticles.html Articles about Bobby Fischer by Edward Winter]

{{S-start}}
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{Succession box
 | before= [[Boris Spassky]]
 | title= [[World chess champion|World Chess Champion]]
 | years= 1972–1975
 | after= [[Anatoly Karpov]]
}}
{{Succession box
 | before=[[Arthur Bisguier]]
 | title=[[United States Chess Championship|United States Chess Champion]]
 | years=1958–1960
 | after=[[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]]
}}
{{Succession box
 | before=[[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]]
 | title=[[United States Chess Championship|United States Chess Champion]]
 | years=1962–1966
 | after=[[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]]
}}
{{s-ach|ach}}
{{Succession box
 |before = None
 |after = [[Anatoly Karpov]]
 |title = [[List of FIDE chess world number ones|FIDE world No. 1]]
 |years = July 1, 1971 – December 31, 1975
|}}
{{succession box
 |before= [[Boris Spassky]]
 |title= [[List of youngest grandmasters|Youngest chess grandmaster ever]]
 |years= 1958–1991
 |after= [[Judit Polgár]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Bobby Fischer}}
{{Chess|sp=us}}
{{World Chess Championships}}
{{American chess grandmasters}}
{{Authority control}}

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