LaviChess

Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer was world champion from 1972 to 1975, the first American-born world champion. He won the US championship at fourteen and beat Boris Spassky in Reykjavík in 1972, in what was called the Match of the Century. He never defended his title.

  • BornMarch 9, 1943, Chicago
  • DiedJanuary 17, 2008, Reykjavík
  • CountryUnited States
  • World champion1972–1975
  • In the line of championsNo. 11 of 18
  • Highest rating2785 (July 1972)
    FIDE's official lists (from July 1971)

The prodigy

At thirteen Fischer played the Game of the Century against Donald Byrne. The next year he won the US championship, aged 14, and in 1958, at fifteen, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world up to then.

The title matches

Fischer's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A rapid tiebreak is given separately.
YearAgainstResultWhere
1972Boris Spassky12½–8½ (+7 −3 =11)
Won the title		Reykjavík

The road to Reykjavík

In 1962 Fischer won the Stockholm Interzonal without losing a game. Before the 1972 title match he was all but unstoppable. In the 1971 Candidates matches he beat Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen 6–0, without a single draw, and then Tigran Petrosian 6½–2½.

The match

The match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavík in the summer of 1972 started badly. Fischer lost the first game and did not turn up for the second, which he lost by default. Then he won five of the next eight games.

In the sixth game he played the Queen's Gambit for the first time in a serious game, and afterwards Spassky applauded. Fischer won the match 12½–8½.

How he played

Fischer played to win every game. He was well prepared and played clear, logical chess. His book My 60 Memorable Games, from 1969, is counted among the best chess books ever written.

Afterward

In 1975 Fischer was due to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov, but he set conditions FIDE did not accept and never played the match. Karpov became champion without playing. Fischer then withdrew from chess. In 1992 he played a return match against Spassky, with no world title at stake.

He left two inventions behind. One is a chess clock that adds a little time after every move, a way of timing games that is now common in tournaments. The other is Chess960, where the pieces on the back rank are set up in a random order. Fischer died in Reykjavík in 2008.

Fischer's games here

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The Game of the Century. After 17…Be6: the queen on b6 can be taken, and Fischer leaves it there.

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Bobby Fischer
  • Store norske leksikon: Bobby Fischer
  • US patent 4,884,255, Digital chess clock (Robert J. Fischer, 1989)
  • FIDE: History of Chess960 (Susan Polgar)
  • OlimpBase: the 1972 title match and FIDE's rating lists
  • PGN Mentor: the 1972 title match and the 1971 Candidates matches

The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked against the games themselves.

Updated November 8, 2026