Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a former world chess champion, who on September 1, 1972 became the only American to win the FIDE World Chess Championship. He lost the title when he refused to defend it on April 3, 1975. Garry Kasparov wrote that of all world champions of chess, the skill gap between Fischer and his contemporaries was the largest in history {{ref|Kasparov}}. Fischer is also well known for his eccentricity, unconventional behavior, and outspoken, anti-Semitic political views. Despite his prolonged absence from competitive play, or perhaps because of it, Fischer is still among the best known of all chess players.

Chess innovations

Fischer made several important contributions to chess theory. In particular, his success playing the Black side of the so-called "Poisoned Pawn" variation of the Najdorf Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6!) revolutionized both the particular variation, and the way chess professionals viewed opening theory in general. Fischer's plan of quickly developing the queen and snatching a pawn violated centuries of time-tested opening principles, but through rigorous analysis, Fischer was able to prove that the variation was perfectly safe for the second player. Consequently, chessplayers began to weigh concrete analysis over blind adherence to principles, which has subsequently led to many similarly shocking discoveries {{ref|Watson}}.

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He also wrote an influential article entitled "A Bust to the King's Gambit" http://www.academicchess.com/Games/chessviewer/Fisherbustkingsgambit.shtml in 1961 for the first issue of Larry Evans' American Chess Quarterly, after being beaten with the black pieces in this opening by Boris Spassky, in their first ever game against each other. Reportedly, Fischer was so enraged by this loss that he immediately started working out how to make the King's Gambit favourable for Black. After its publication, the opening was seen less frequently in master level games, although Fischer himself employed the White side of the King's Gambit in the 1963 U.S. Championship - against Evans!

Related Topics:
Larry Evans - King's Gambit

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In 1988, Fischer filed for {{US patent|4,884,255}} for a new type of digital chess clock. Fischer's clock gave each player a fixed period of time at the start of the game and then added a small amount after each move. The patent expired in November of 2001 because of overdue maintenance fees.

Related Topics:
1988 - Chess clock

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On June 19 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fischer announced and advocated a variant of chess called Fischer Random Chess.

Related Topics:
June 19 - 1996 - Buenos Aires - Argentina - Fischer Random Chess

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