Do players outside the United States think Bobby Fischer wasn't actually that good?

Yes, it's just that chess in America was almost non-existent back then, while in USSR it was one of their weapons against "the Capitalist West", it was very well organized and people were being trained from little children from the State, while Fischer did almost all his training on his own, he had even learned Russian as kid to be able to read the Russian chess magazines, support came much later for him.

None existent? There are many USA grand masters and masters back then. Fischer has a full support of a country(USA).

Basically, you can't really compare people from such different generations.

But you can compare them to their generation.

Fischer was way ahead of his competition for a few years - or maybe only one (we don't know what would happen later if he continued to play)

Naka isn't way ahead of his competition, not at all.... Carlsen would be a better example

I said ALMOST non-existent, not non-existent, (and i basically meant, as a sport supported by the state, in comparison to how things worked in USSR) so don't twist my words

And I added some other things you didn't take into account, so try again

The US govt did not support Fischer , in fact they sometimes stood in his way as when they wouldnt let him go to Cuba and he had to play by teletype from NY .... 

“In his book Chess Duels Yasser Seirawan has drawn attention to the fact that the legend of the apparently lone fighter Fischer is a myth. In reality Fischer had all the relevant people from the US federation behind him for support. Leroy Dubeck, president of the USCF from 1969 till 1972, had agreed with the executive director Edmund Edmondson that all the resources of the federation should be gathered for the project ‘Fischer plays for the World Championship’. For this purpose they also used all membership subscriptions of the USCF. In addition Fischer had the support of Fred Cramer, also from the federation, as his legal adviser. Amongst the chess players on whose help Fischer could count were the grandmasters Bill Lombardy, Lubomir Kavalek as well as Fischer’s close friend the international master Anthony Saidy. A special role was played by Lina Grumette, who was a sort of mother substitute for Fischer and whenever necessary offered him refuge in her house.”

In addition to many people at home, Bobby had considerable help from the president of the FIDE, during the championship match itself. Fact is, according to the agreed upon match rules, Fischer ought to have been forfeited, but wasn't. Even Spassky managed to help Fischer, by accepting these "accommodations" to the challenger's many "demands."

And your almost non existent word does not make sense as there are many gms/masters in USA back then. I post this again.

“In his book Chess Duels Yasser Seirawan has drawn attention to the fact that the legend of the apparently lone fighter Fischer is a myth. In reality Fischer had all the relevant people from the US federation behind him for support. Leroy Dubeck, president of the USCF from 1969 till 1972, had agreed with the executive director Edmund Edmondson that all the resources of the federation should be gathered for the project ‘Fischer plays for the World Championship’. For this purpose they also used all membership subscriptions of the USCF. In addition Fischer had the support of Fred Cramer, also from the federation, as his legal adviser. Amongst the chess players on whose help Fischer could count were the grandmasters Bill Lombardy, Lubomir Kavalek as well as Fischer’s close friend the international master Anthony Saidy. A special role was played by Lina Grumette, who was a sort of mother substitute for Fischer and whenever necessary offered him refuge in her house.”

In addition to many people at home, Bobby had considerable help from the president of the FIDE, during the championship match itself. Fact is, according to the agreed upon match rules, Fischer ought to have been forfeited, but wasn't. Even Spassky managed to help Fischer, by accepting these "accommodations" to the challenger's many "demands."

Might this be to what you refer?

 USA has apprehension with Cuba because they are a communist country.

If you read carefully, trying to understand, you'll see that what i said makes sense.

Then look at that date you gave "Leroy Dubeck, president of the USCF from 1969 till 1972"... Do you realize '69 was just 3 years before Fischer got the title? USSR gave full support to chess talents from when they were little kids...

Seirawan wants to point out that Fischer wasn't really on his own, only one person, as many might think, and I put "his own" in quote marks in my post above

Not to seem picky, but it seems to have been telephone, not teletype, if that makes any differnece.

Batgirl, I like you. I just wish you wouldn't be such a u know what.

It's okay to be emotional about BF like NM Reb, but of all people ?....why are u so tied up with him ?....pleez explain that one 2me....pleez ?

You're articulate & smart & analytical, & stuff like that. So. Why are you strapped down like Gulliver ?

Remember, Fischer reportedly received a phone call from Kissinger after he forfeit game 2 of the World Championship, begging for him to continue the match.

No American chess player ever got government support the way the Soviets did. By the same token, no Soviet player got private sponsorship the way Fischer did.

No, your word that chess is almost non existent back then does not make sense as there are many masters/gms in USA back then. The myth here  is that Fischer is alone trying to be the world champion. But that is not true, he has a full country support.

....and I wonder why not ?

Because USA's relationship with Cuba is not good as Cuba is a communist country. USA has rule prohibiting its athletes playing in Cuba. It has  nothing to do with not supporting Fischer. 

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
[Bobby Fischer has surfaced in Japan and has been fighting extradition
to the United States. On August 20th a court ruled against him, and he
may be deported. Fischer has been wanted in the US siknce 1992, when
he violated US sanctions by traveling to Yugoslavia.-NY Transfre]

CubaNow No.23 - August 19, 2004
http://www.cubanow.net/people/Eng/num23/02.htm

Bobby Fischer'S relationship with Cuba

By Miguel Ernesto Gomez Masjuan

Fisher Bobby Cubanow.- Making a comeback to headlines these days,
American Robert Bobby Fischer is remembered -disregarding all
criticism- as one of the most brilliant, rebellious and at the same
time eccentric players in the history of chess. There are a thousand
stories about him, ranging from brilliant games to demands impossible
to meet.

Among the lesser-known Fischer stories, there's the casual
chess game he played in 1966 against Cuban President Fidel Castro.

The world champ's relationship with Cuba was very special. It
began with his admiration for Cuban expert Jose Raul Capablanca. A
reporter once asked Fischer who the three best all-time chess players
were. His answer was categorical: Capablanca, Fischer, and Fischer.

Fischer visited Cuba for the first time in March, 1956, with
the Log Cabin Chess Club and gave a simultaneous exhibition in Havana
City.

Many years later, in 1965, he accepted Cuba's invitation to
take part in Havana's Fourth International Chess Tournament, which
paid homage to Capablanca. The world's best players, among them
Soviets Smislov and Gueller, and Yugoslavian Ivkov, took part.

But the US State Department denied Fischer permission to make
the Havana trip. It was then (as it is now) a usual practice to
prevent contact between sportsmen from both countries.

It looked as if the American genius was going to have to miss the
tournament, but by mutual agreement, the Organizing Committee
announced that Fischer would play "by a teletype machine." It was the
first time in history anyone played an entire tournament from a
distance.

A misunderstanding almost frustrated this second contact
between Fischer and Cuba, but it was quickly solved and, on August 25,
1965, at 3:00 pm, the championship began -although technical
difficulties delayed five hours the main match between Heinz Lechman
(Germany) and Bobby Fischer.

The Great German Master made his play with whites, which was
transmitted to Marshall Chess Club in New York, where it was received
by Fischer. He replied a few minutes later. The blacks took a Najdorf
Variant Sicilian Defense. Fischer won the match, which ended near 3:00
am the following day.

That's how, night after night, Fischer played against 21
rivals. The games lasted from five to seven hours. The tournament
lasted thirty days until September 25, and Bobby Fischer totalized 15
points with 12 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses, ending up fourth due to the
tiebreaker system. He achieved his most spectacular victory against
the Soviet Vassily Smislov, then world champion.

According to the media of those times, Cuba paid more than 10 thousand
dollars for the teletype transmission services.

But that wouldn't be Bobby Fischer's last meeting with Havana.
The enigmatic American chess player visited the island's capital a
year later, in 1966, during the XVII World Chess Olympics as First
Board for his country, and ended up in second place. He won the gold
medal among all the first boards: winning 14, drawing two and losing
one.

During this tournament, sheer chance made Fischer and Cuban
President Fidel Castro play against each other in an unusual chess
game.  Mexican Master Filiberto Terrazas wrote in an article published
in Jaque Mate magazine (Havana, 1966) that it all started when he and
Fidel Castro sat down to play a match. Some minutes after the game
began the Cuban leader received an important backup from Soviet chess
player Tigran Petrosian. Then Terrazas asked Fischer, who was nearby,
for help.

That's how a game between the four began: Fidel Castro-Tigran
Petrosian on one side (whites) and Filiberto Terrazas-Bobby Fischer on
the other.  In the end, whites won.

Testimonies of those times point out that Fischer talked for a
while with the Cuban President and, before saying goodbye, gave him an
autographed book.

Many things happened in Fischer's life after his crowning as
World Champion in Reykjavik in 1972. For years, much has been
speculated about his whereabouts and his decisions. As a matter of
fact, there is a 10 year confinement conviction awaiting him and a
fine exceeding a quarter of a million dollars by the US Treasury
Department, because he played a rematch against Boris Spasski in
Yugoslavia when there were US-promoted United Nations sanctions
against that country in 1992.

His controversial nature, however, has not spoiled his memory
for Cubans. His decision to defy the State Department's prohibition
and take part -through teletype- in one of Cuba's toughest chess
tournaments, as well as his brilliant performance in Havana's
Olympiads, won him the affection of the island's people.

Cubanow  (c) is developed by Ediciones ICAIC
& Martmn Luther King Jr. Memorial Center.
All copyrights belong to the original publisher.
       
 

My focus is the 19th century, though I have a great interest in American chess up through WWII and as well as with the development of women's chess in the US.  I just started delving into Fischer's career during the last 6 months, reading about him through contemporary documents, month by month.   I don't care one way or the other about Fischer beyond his historical significance, any more than I might about Labourdonnais,  Steinitz or Reuben Fine.  Whatever he was or wasn't, I think facts should speak, or even interpretations of facts, but not foundless opinions, opinions based on 2nd hand information or the selective advancing some agenda.  Facts are facts but we can each view them differently and that's what makes it all interesting to me.  Fischer was a bit of an enigma to most of us and interpretations can get really wild.  All I want in all this is to give context.... then people can do what they want with it.   I absolutely have no horse in this race... but I do have tons of images.

But that was for Fischer to benefit the US, not for the US to benefit Fischer. Fischer even chastised Castro for trying to use him as a propaganda tool.