Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland

from chessbase
18.01.2008 – One of the world's greatest chess geniuses, Bobby Fischer, has died at the age of 64. A spokesman for Fischer said the former world chess champion passed away in a Reykjavik hospital yesterday. The US-born former world chess champion, who became famous around the world for beating the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in 1972, had been seriously ill for some time. Rest in Peace, Bobby.

Bobby Fischer, 1943–2008

James Robert Fischer, the reclusive eleventh World Chess Champion, has died at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he had been living for the last three years. Fischer moved to Iceland after spending nine months in Japanese detention while the US sought his extradition for tax evasion. He was released when Iceland, where in 1972 he had defeated the tenth World Champion Boris Spassky, granted him citizenship and afforded him refuge in the Nordic state. Fischer settled in Reykjavik in April 2005, disappearing once again from the limelight that his arrest and release in Japan had cast on him. He had just two or three trusted friends whom he occasionally visited, a few shops and the library, where he could occasionally be seen, and some restaurants where he ate. Fischer generally refused to talk to journalists or entrepreneurs who approached him in droves with projects and business proposals.

After a few relatively peaceful years Fischer, who was born on March 9, 1943, took ill a few months ago and was admitted to hospital. His friend Einar S. Einarsson informed the international media that in Iceland sickness is catagorize as privat matter, and being sick is not a subject of media reports. The Icelandic press honored this ground rule and many news services – including ours – followed suit. We knew that he was suffering from kidney failure and that there was little hope for long-term survival. Still news of his death, which caught us during our car journey from Hamburg to Wijk aan Zee, came as a shock.

Round six of the Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk started with a minute's silence in remembrance of Fischer. After the games had started attention was concentrated on the Honorary Group, which is due to start playing their tournament on Saturday. After a short opening ceremony, all four grandmasters gave first reactions to the news of Fischer's passing:

• Viktor Kortchnoi: "A chess genius has died; a loss for humanity."

• Lajos Portisch: "A big shock; the best chess player in history has passed away."

• Ljubomir Ljubojevic: "A man without frontiers. He didn't divide the east and the west, he brought them together in their admiration for him."

• Jan Timman: "A great player and a great example for many. His book My 60 Memorable Games had a big impact on me. It is a shame he didn't continue to enrich the world of chess with his unparalleled understanding after 1972."