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title: Robert James Fischer
description: A brief introduction to one of the greatest chess players in history
image: https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=webp&h=550&op=thumbnail&path=hnggaming9376745hrth:ublog:Dr7um1un:SspRXj4w.jpg&w=880&sig=5175cce124bc190062fa00bbebb9bc47ca1a86a8
---

**Robert James Fischer** (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American [chess grandmaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess) "Grandmaster (chess)") and the eleventh [World Chess Champion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship "World Chess Championship"). A [chess prodigy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_prodigy "Chess prodigy"), he won his first of a record eight [US Championships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Chess_Championship "US Chess Championship") 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 [1972 World Championship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_1972 "World Chess Championship 1972"), Fischer swept matches with [Mark Taimanov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Taimanov "Mark Taimanov") and [Bent Larsen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bent_Larsen "Bent Larsen") by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against [Tigran Petrosian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigran_Petrosian "Tigran Petrosian"), Fischer won the title match against [Boris Spassky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Spassky "Boris Spassky") of the [USSR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union "Soviet Union"), in [Reykjavík](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADk "Reykjavík"), Iceland. Publicized as a [Cold War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War "Cold War") confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.
In 1975, Fischer [refused to defend his title](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_1975 "World Chess Championship 1975") when an agreement could not be reached with [FIDE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE "FIDE"), chess's international governing body, over the match conditions. Consequently, the Soviet challenger [Anatoly Karpov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoly_Karpov "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 [rematch against Spassky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Spassky_(1992_match) "Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)"). It was held in [Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_and_Montenegro "Serbia and Montenegro"), which was under a United Nations [embargo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo "Embargo") at the time. His participation led to a conflict with the US government, which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an [executive order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_order "Executive order") imposing US [sanctions on Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_on_Yugoslavia "Sanctions on Yugoslavia"). The US government ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest; subsequently, Fischer lived as an [émigré](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89migr%C3%A9 "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 [Icelandic parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althing "Althing"), allowing him to live there until his death in 2008.
Fischer made numerous lasting contributions to chess. His book *[My 60 Memorable Games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_60_Memorable_Games "My 60 Memorable Games")*, published in 1969, is regarded as essential reading in chess literature. In the 1990s, he patented a modified [chess timing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_clock "Chess clock") 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess "Fischer random chess"), also known as Chess960, a [chess variant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_variant "Chess variant") in which the initial position of the pieces is randomized to one of 960 possible positions.
Fischer made numerous [antisemitic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitic "Antisemitic") statements, including [Holocaust denial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial "Holocaust denial"). His antisemitism was a major theme in his public and private remarks, and there has been widespread comment and speculation concerning his psychological condition based on his extreme views and eccentric behavior.![](https://image.lichess1.org/display?h=0&op=resize&path=hnggaming9376745hrth:ublogBody:rvhvB6leOSMF:gcu6kzZl.jpg&w=800&sig=509050ab0a8c8999b736cfd216ed0fa3c1b6e9ea)