Claiming the world champ lost to an inferior player because of "psychology" is a bit disrespectful.

You're right, though.  You are certainly not the first individual to posit that absurd argument.

If Spassky were only slightly better than Fischer at the time, it certainly could have been enough to tip the scales. Read Frank Brady's account of what transpired between the end of game 1 and Spassky's opening move in game 3. It's in Brady's biography of Fischer called "Profile of a Prodigy." A fantastic book. That said, it's also alleged Spassky didn't take the match as seriously as he should have, so that's a factor too. Kinda silly to label something "absurd" when it's possible but beyond knowing for certain

As I recall there were two games that GMs thought were very good, but in a match of that length, two is a small percentage

Yeah, they were a couple of bums all right.  Couldn't play good chess to save their asses.

Besides you can't take a GM well past his/her prime and expect them to beat or be competitive with GMs in their prime. That only worked in the movie "Rocky Balboa."

If Fischer in 1992 had played Kasparov instead of Spassky, he would have been crushed. Spassky was ranked around 100th in the world when he played Fischer in '92

Yeah, so?  If Kaspy had played Fischer in '72, Kaspy would have been crushed. 

La-ti-da.

How old was Kasparov in '72? He did a good job analyzing the Fischer/Botvinnik game in '62 according to Botvinnik himself

Kasparov found a draw in that game that both Fischer and Botvinnik had overlooked

Even though it is debateable whether Fischer was the best ever, I think there is no debate he was the most exciting/interesting player.  As a person, I could overlook the eccentricity of the Fischer of the 60's to 80's.  Later he become really unlikeable.  

http://nofreepasses.com/?p=250

Look here to view a tribute to Bobby Fischers' contribution to the chess world and to all of humanity on the planet. A bit over the top but insightful none the less. An interesting read if nothing else. 

Interesting...

Having watched the documentary on Bobby Fischer I believe he was mentally ill im someway, either way he lived quite a sad life and I feel sorry for him.

Ah, good to see this thread still going! Thought it died a month back.

Yes I can (and I do).

No one should feel sorry for someone who was the best in the world at one point in his life. That accomplishment alone deserves respect. I wish he had played Karpov but Fischer made enormous contributions to chess on and off the board

How about OJ?

Are you suggesting people should feel sorry for OJ? I don't feel sorry for him nor do I feel sorry for Fischer

I don't think it would be too tough to come up with someone who was "best in the world at one point" who subsequently became pitiable...that was my point.  Nor do I think that being best in the world at something makes you immune from such concerns.