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.

Writings of Bobby Fischer

• My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1969, and Faber and Faber, London, 1969). A new edition, published by Batsford, London in 1995 and edited by John Nunn, introduced many changes of Fischer's words and variations. Fischer did not authorize the text changes, and accuses the editors of having falsified his analysis on purpose, to make him look bad. Fischer only autographs the Simon and Schuster edition.
• Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Bobby Fischer, Donn Mosenfelder, Stuart Margulies (Bantam Books, May 1972, ISBN 0553263153)