Bobby Fischer: 43 Facts

Chess master Bobby Fischer was born today in 1943. Here are 43 facts you might not know about him and the “Match of the Century” that made him famous.

Chess master Bobby Fischer was born today in 1943. Here are 43 facts you might not know about the cold warrior of chess and the “Match of the Century” that made him famous.

• Robert James “Bobby” Fischer was born in Chicago on this day 1943. He grew up in Brooklyn.
• Boris Spassky was six years older and hailed from Leningrad.
• In the USSR, chess was state-subsidized, with the best players being awarded generous grants and becoming national heroes.
• The Soviets dominated international chess, winning 24 consecutive world championship titles.
• Largely indifferent to chess, the U.S. had only ever had one world champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, a naturalized citizen who won in 1888.
• By the age of 13, Fischer was U.S. champion. He soon dropped out of high school.
• Spassky had become an international master at the age of 16.
• Boris Spassky entered the match as reigning world champion, having defeated fellow Soviet Tigran Petrosian in 1969.
• Fischer had never previously beaten Spassky.
• He nevertheless entered as a pre-competition favorite, having demolished top grandmasters in his last 20 games while earning the undisputed right to challenge Spassky.
• Reykjavík, Iceland – a neutral ground under neither Soviet or American influence – was selected as the site of the match.

Soviet federation pressured Spassky to use Fischer’s behavior as an excuse to withdraw, but Spassky wanted to continue playing.

Fischer appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and appeared in a Bob Hope television special with Olympian Mark Spitz.