Bobby Fischer passed away in silence

The death of former American chess grandmaster Robert James “Bobby” Fischer last January 17, 2008 in Iceland is one for the book. The storied life of Bobby Fischer – considered by many as mentally unstable – will remain in the history books as the man who defeated Russian grandmaster Boris Spassky in the cold war era.
Bobby Fischer’s dominance over Spassky made him famous because he became the first American to win the World Chess Championship. But his phenomenal rise in the world stage was brief and in 1975, Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title which prompted FIDE, the chess governing body to strip him of his title.
Since then Bobby Fischer became a hermit or reclusive and started to fade away from the limelight. But after years of isolation from the din of fame, Bobby surfaced in 1992. His comeback trail was controversial for defying his country, the United States of America. Fischer was censured when he fought Spassky in a rematch held in Yugoslavia, which was then under a strict UN embargo.
Bobby Fischer was deeply hurt which led to a conflict with the US government and he never returned to his native country again. Bobby Fischer became the outspoken critic of his country. His media interviews were filled with hatred and hostility towards the US and sometimes laced with anti-Semitic statements.
Bobby Fischer globetroted and lived in Hungary, Germany, the Philippines and Japan. The Grandmaster lived in Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines from 2000 – 2002. His reclusive lifestyle did not prevent him to win friends from among the locals and even met his partner of whom he begot a child.
His sudden departure to Japan caused more trouble to his personal identity after the US government revoked his US passport and was imprisoned for nine months by the Japanese authorities. That was in 2004-2005. After serving prison time, Bobby Fischer was granted Icelandic citizenship and was released to Iceland and lived there from 2005 until his death this January 2008. He died of organ failure at the age of 64.