K B says:

The great chess players have often been known for ill behavior. Aron Nimzowitsch once climbed atop the table at which he was playing and screamed, “Why must I lose to this idiot?” The great Alexander Alekhine himself once showed up for a simultaneous exhibition and peed openly before the awed crowd.

I’ve been studying chess seriously since 1971. That was one year prior to Fischer’s winning the World Chess Championship. By that time I was just well versed enough in the game to appreciate how truly awfully the press convered the match. Even so, the mere fact of the coverage was simply amazing: Bobby Fischer on the cover of every major newspaper in the world! Chess has never seen such a time before or since, and probably never will.

The accomplishment of achieving the world title at that point in chess history cannot be emphasized enough. The Soviets dominated the world of chess with a combination of top players, a government system of chess promotion, and shady behind-the-scenes tactics. Fischer, a vocal critic of the Soviet hegemony, promised to teach the Soviets a little humility. He did. He did it both by severely outplaying Spassky and by off-the-board tactics which I always felt mimicked, not unintentionally, the Soviets’ own unreasonable conduct.

At once, people either loved Fischer or they loathed him. If they were not familiar with chess at the time, they were more likely to detest him. After all, he was treating the Soviets without respect and behaving badly. Those who were familiar with the Soviet system in chess were more likely to enjoy the show he was providing. More importantly, those who actually played chess realized that Fischer was quite arguably the strongest player ever to walk the earth.

I have always remembered how reporters who could not even copy the moves down correctly suddenly became instant experts when speaking of the pros and cons of Bobby Fischer. I have always since kept that in mind when listening to news reports on other topics.

I recall reading many years ago chess Grandmaster and psychoanalyst Reuben Fine speaking of Fischer’s post-match mental state. In short, he stated the obvious: that Fischer probably warranted therapy.

I have always tried to keep Fischer’s mental state in perspective. If it is true that he is mentally unbalanced, then to what extent can I hold his views against him? If instead he is rational… but listen to the radio interviews first and see if anyone feels quite comfortable with that characterization.

His mental state aside, I do wonder, in this age of supposed enormous danger from terrorists, what is accomplished by tracking down and capturing a man for playing chess in Yugoslavia in 1992. Perhaps I should write John Ashcroft and tell him how much safer I feel knowing that the Justice Department is hot on Fischer’s trail.

As much as anything, I am saddened by Fischer’s saga. I ponder how things might have been different had Fischer found any semblance of normalcy in his existence following 1972.

Goran says:

Well, I fully support what Bobby did, that is, thinking with his own head (you have one too, you know ;-))) ).

I will not go into discussion on the ‘war’ (attack by US Air Force and testing new weapons on Yougoslavian targets, following an occupation of Kosovo).

Here is a first hand story on the event back in 1992:
http://home.att.net/~bobbyfischer/Bobby_Fischer_Articles8.html. You will find there the answer to the Treasury Department’s August 21, 1992, Order to Provide Information and Cease and Desist Activities.