How much of a hero is Fischer considered in the US? I’m sure he is loved in chess circles but when he became older, he hated the US, talked about how it wasn’t a legitimate country and how certain ‘attacks’ on the country were needed. Do his views in his old age colour the general public’s perceptions?
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Dude was awful at everything but chess. The Behind the Bastards episode on him is nuts.
The holocaust denier? Fuck him.
Amazing chess player, but otherwise a hateful, bad person. His antisemitism is disgusting. I don’t think he’s a hero to anyone other than similarly small minded people. I would be quite surprised if he was loved in the chess community.
Never heard of him
He’s a name everybody knows, but that’s about it.
Literally all I knew about him was he played chess this is my first time hearing any other details whatsoever
Great chess player, but crazy.
Doesn’t feel like he’s a super relevant figure these days. Most people probably wouldn’t recognize his name and the majority of those that do probably dislike him because of his awful opinions. His chess game was good but nothing else about him was and he’s best left in the dustbin of history as a Cold War crank imo.
He might be a little too old for this sub to know much about but, for a good portion of his life, it was generally accepted that he had untreated schizophrenia or some other mental illness.
Most Americans don’t play chess to know who he is to have an opinion on him.
Who?
I think Americans who aren’t interested in Chess wouldn’t recognize the name, I’m ~900 ELO on lichess and all I really know about him is he was a bigot.
His name is synonymous with a good chess player although newer generations probably don’t know him at all.
There was a movie called “Searching for Bobby Fischer” which helped some older millennials like me recognize his name but not anything else about him.
The percentage of people who are familiar with his political side is probably pretty small.
My brothers played a lot of chess, so that’s where I heard of him. Within the game, he earned a reputation for greatness, and outside the game, he earned a reputation for being kinda a piece of shit.
So if you play chess, then you probably admire his abilities but not much else.
Where is he? I don’t know, I don’t know!
He fell prey to the delusion that a lot of minor celebrities have and that is that anyone gives a shit about their opinions outside of what made them famous.
I know he plays (played??) chess but literally the only thing about him that I know. One of two players I could name, Magnus being the other.
He’s a piece of shit. The end
I don’t think I knew that he was an American. I can’t remember the last time I even heard about him.
If Fisher is honestly a role model/hero for you. I am very concerned for you!
If I remember correctly he had a mental illness? Schizophrenia? Or bipolar? I view it as a symptom of the illness more than anything. People are very rarely pure or evil.
I’m kind of with him on the US not being totally valid. If you have to genocide entire tribes to gain land… not a good look.
I only knew about him being a chess player
He was an amazing chess player but a pretty terrible person.
Great chess player or not he was a horrible hateful anti-Semite those you are unfamiliar listen to the “Behind the Bastards” 2 part episode on him
I love chess & his games were an incredible contribution to the game, but he’s a vile human
I’ve never heard of that person before.
However, based on what you’ve written he sounds rather bigoted.
Yikes, I looked him up. He was also extremely antisemitic. Like, he really hated the Jews.
They don’t. They don’t think of Bobby Fischer.
I play chess, but I’m not significantly studied and I only really know about him in the context of Deep Blue.
A few boomers may recall him. That would be about it.
I don’t know why but I think he’s a Chess guy, is that correct?
He was, in colloquial terms, loony. But also an amazing chess player. But also, only really an amazing chess player. 🙁
Seriously, study some of his games, he was a genuine phenom. He also pointed out/took issue with some of the problems with chess that have since blossomed – the move away from manuever to memorized openings and endgames – stuff that has made top level chess somewhat less accessible for average people, imho. He’d actually suggested (for example) randomized opening positions, to emphasis analysis of position over memorized sequences.
It also seems that he was personally abrasive and hard to get along with. So, all in all, a talented but troubled human.
Like many who master a skill, he was arrogant. An excellent player but a giant dickhole about it.
Haven’t thought about him since the movie came out. Didn’t know of him before.
Had never heard of him. I was 4 when he died and I’m terrible at chess. From what you described, I don’t think his opinions in old age are popular
Never heard of him
Chess guy, right? That’s literally all I know about him.
I’ve heard of him but reading your (short) post is the most brainpower I’ve ever spent on him
I don’t know much about him other than he’s insanely arrogant and he’s a fuckin’ Nazi. So, my opinion of him is not high.
Brilliant chess player, terribly sick, terrible beliefs. Sic transit mundi.
I think most Americans don’t know who he is, or at least don’t know anything about him other than that he was a chess champion. I didn’t recognize the name at first, once you mentioned chess I realized I had heard of him, but I didn’t know anything about his views on anything.
Could give a fuck less about his opinion anything at all
Did we ever find him, by the way?
Who? The kid from the movie. JK few know about him unless you are into chess
Honestly, I was a little to young for the “Chess diplomacy” period, so I didn’t grow up hearing about him too much, except as (unfortunately) an example of how “chess grandmastery drives you crazy” (which was a stereotype for a long time. We’re just barely coming out of that now, with the recent popularity of chess among some young people.)
He’s an almost mythical figure to me.
I’ve studied his chess style since I was little. When I was younger I tried to emulate it to the best of my ability.
I’m glad I didn’t try to emulate anything else about him.
He was extremely mentally ill and a terrible person outside of his chess skills.
I guarantee you, the vast majority of Americans don’t think about Bobby. At all. Chess just doesn’t have any cache in the national zeitgeist in any way whatsoever. Like you said, within chess circles, sure. But I bet he doesn’t even warrant a mention when learning about the Cold War anymore.