Bobby Fischer: Iceland’s Mate of Chess

By the age of fifteen, Bobby Fischer had already proved his brilliancy in the game of chess, had already captured the U.S. Chess Championship at the innocent age of fourteen, then the next year became the youngest World Grandmaster. Fifteen years later, Bobby Fischer stunned the world in what was called the “Match of the Century”.

In 1972, at a time when tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union threatened to swirl into an uncontrollable tempest, Fischer faced off against Boris Spassky of the USSR for the World Championship. The match began July 11, 1972, and lasted two months, at the Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavík, Iceland. At the closing ceremonies on September 3, Fischer was crowned the first American-born player ever to win the World Chess Championship.

It was a match caught in an aura of political intrigue, accusations of psychological warfare, and grandiose rhetoric, and was most likely a catalyst for the volatile life Fischer would lead until his death.

Fischer maintained his title for three years. When set to defend it in 1975 against Anatoly Kasparov of the USSR, Fischer refused to play because the World Chess Federation would not acquiesce to his particular demands. For the next twenty years, the chess phenomenon removed himself from mainstream popularity, though he was often quoted for his anti-American and anti-Semitic remarks.

The most volatile event of Fischer’s career happened on the twentieth anniversary of his historical World Championship victory. In 1992, Fischer sat once again against Spassky for an unofficial rematch, held in Yugoslovia, which at the time was under heavy economic sanctions by the United States. Told by the U.S. not to participate in the rematch because of the sanctions, Fischer defied the order, played the match and won it, and received over $3 million dollars for the win. The U.S. issued a warrant for Fischer’s arrest, and the man who many called the greatest player of the game became a country-less fugitive.

Finally arrested in Japan in 2004, for allegedly using an expired passport to board an airplane, Fischer needed to avoid deportation back to the United States, where he had every chance of spending the rest of his life in jail. Fischer renounced his U.S. citizenship and appealed to Germany for asylum. His appeal was not granted. Fischer then sought Iceland, and though his original appeal was denied, the Iceland Althingi reversed the decision and granted Fischer full citizenship for humanitarian reasons, and as thanks for “putting Iceland on the map” in 1972.

Over the next four years, living in obscurity, Fischer did make friends and enjoyed reading, fishing, and sight-seeing. In a country populated heavily with chess enthusiasts, he never had to look far for a game.

Fischer died of kidney failure January 17, 2008, at the age of sixty-four. Per his wishes, he was buried at Laugardælir Lutheran Church, in Selfoss.

You can stay in the Gimli Suite (aka, the Bobby Fischer suite) at theBerjaya Reykjavik Natura Hotel — the same suite where Bobby Fischer stayed during his defeat of Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Chess Championship. Located in a green area of the city, you can enjoy hiking, biking, nature trails, and fine cuisine.