The Chessman

Yes, he had deep flaws. But Bobby Fischer should be remembered for his genius

I.C. Rapoport / Camera Press / Retna

Kas-pa-rov, author of How Life Imitates Chess, was the worlds top-ranked player from 1985 until he retired from the game in 2005

It is hard to say exactly when I first heard the name Bobby Fischer, but it was quite early in my life. When he was battling Boris Spassky for the world title in 1972, I was a 9-year-old club player in my native Baku in the Soviet Union. I followed the games avidly. The newspapers had extensive daily coverage of the match, although that waned as it became clear the Soviet champion was headed for defeat. Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games was one of my first chess books. (It had been translated into Russian and sold in the U.S.S.R. with no...

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