Bobby Fischer was born on this day 1943. Bobby Fischer is an example of the old line “there is a fine line between genius and insanity.” Fischer was a brilliant chessmaster. Some consider him the greatest ever. He is easily the greatest American chessmaster.

In the early 1970’s Fischer put chess in the spotlight like it has never been before or since when he beat Boris Spassky for the championship in Iceland. Chess became a craze. Everyone was playing chess for a year or so. There is an excellent book on Fischer taking the championship- David Edmunds “Bobby Fischer Goes To War: How the Soviets Lost The Most Extraordinary Chess Match Of All Time.” a great read. Fischer won the World Championship and then disappeared for years. He was clearly going insane and it got worse and worse as his life went on.

Bobby Fischer’s story has been well chronicled. For more reading on Bobby Fischer- a book that came out a few years ago- Frank Brady’s “Endgame: Bobby Fischer’s  Remarkable Rise and Fall- From America’s Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness.” There was also an excellent HBO documentary a couple years ago on Fischer- “Bobby Fischer Against The World.”

Bobby Fischer was one of the most fascinating figures of my childhood. He continues to fascinate me.