Ex-chess champ Bobby Fischer dies – Europe- msnbc.com
Bobby Fischer, the reclusive American chess master who became a Cold War icon when he dethroned the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky as world champion in 1972, has died. He was 64.Fischer died Thursday in a Reykjavik hospital, his spokesman, Gardar Sverrisson, said. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.
Wow, 64 is so young. This is sad.
“The United States is evil. There’s this axis of evil. What about the allies of evil — the United States, England, Japan, Australia? These are the evildoers,” Fischer said.
In his final years, Fischer railed against the chess establishment, alleging that the outcomes of many top-level chess matches were decided in advance.
Instead, he championed his concept of random chess.
“I don’t play the old chess,” he told reporters upon arrival in Iceland. “But obviously if I did, I would be the best.”
The guy was exceptional at what he did, principled, and unwaivering. It’s easy to like him. Bobby Fischer was punk rock coolness. RIP.
Aaron Fulkerson 