The only reason Fischer became world champ

Lola has contributed a lot to this topic.  However when she says "and part of his legacy should be asterisked out to Lombardy and other lesser seconds."  I disagree.

I remember reading how Fischer's seconds complained they had nothing to do, because apparently Fischer did not think highly of their skills to utilize their chess skills.   So GM Larry Evans ended up just swimming in pool with Fischer to keep him company and wanted to just leave Fischer on his own.

Also, when people say Benko stepped aside and Fischer took his place -- it should be added that was not automatic.    Whoever finished behind Benko in the US Championship Zonal tournament had the right to take Benko's place first !    All finishers of that US Championship had to say they would not take Benko's spot before Fischer could be asked -- and even still I vaguely remember even FIDE had to approve that special arrangement -- for someone ( Fischer ) to play in the Interzonal  who did not qualify from playing in a Zonal Tournament.

GreasyPrawnEater tries to think.

Fails yet again.

Around 1972 Fischer had found a new passion, studying anti-semitic history, literature, and propaganda.  I really think the reason he sorta 'faded away' from the chess world was because he started replacing his interest in chess, with anti-semitism(and he knew he had lost his edge).

Before this unfortunate happening, Bobby's ONLY passion was chess.  Any of us know what it is like to have 'other passions' outside of chess.  And, it is this one simple thing that separate 'most of us' from Fischer.  From age 7 ALL he thought about was chess, and during that time that chess was all he thought about, he was the greatest on the planet(in each age group he was in, and then in the world).

" From age 7 ALL he thought about was chess, "

Bobby was no monk.   he did poorly in Buenos Aires 1960 as it was said he spent time with women of ill repute.

power_2_the_people wrote:

It is because he learned chess from God.

Explain this ?!

"Around 1972 Fischer had found a new passion, studying anti-semitic history, literature, and propaganda"

It wasn't something all that new to him, at least not going by Wikipedia:

"Jan Hein Donner wrote that at the time of Bled 1961, "He idolized Hitler and read everything about him that he could lay his hands on. He also championed a brand of anti-semitism that could only be thought up by a mind completely cut off from reality""

That quote, in exactly those words, can be traced back to Daniel Johnson's 2008 "White King, Red Queen."  But I couldn't ever find any documentation in the book. Is there some verifiable writing by Hein Donner?

Severely punished and spanked ?

Sounds kinda kinky....homo-erotic overtones maybe ?

Your secret longings my soviet-obsessed half-wit ?

" he was like an illiterate student ".....I think you have to learn to read and write as a basic precursor to becoming a student.

Methinks "illiterate student " is an oxymoron, no ?

Karpov has a big plus score against all great Soviet players ?

Wrong, Anatoly is one or two games behind Garry K.

He seemed like a good guy to me

Even if millions do idolize Stalin that doesn't make him a good person.  Up to 50 million people died at his hands.  Fischer called for the genocide of the entire Jewish race. 

Bobby the chessplayer was great.  Bobby the person was despicable.

Here's another reason he became World Champion. Because Boris Spassky was an honorable man. When Fischer didn't show up for the opening ceremony and then wasn't present for days afterward the Soviet's told Spassky to come home. He had every right to do so. He showed up, Fischer did not. Had he packed his bags and left, not a soul would have blamed him. He would have remained champion. But he said he wouldn't leave until he was certain Fischer wasn't coming because HE HAD GIVEN HIS WORD. Imagine that.... He waited when he didn't have to because he had given the people of Iceland his word that he would play. It was a big deal for them. Spassky was really something.

Considering Bobby himself was Jewish he was calling for his own death.

Mental illness is probably the main thing linking the greatness of Fischer DIRECTLY to Morphy.  Well, that, and prodigy chess skill. (some sorta universal, cosmic, chess mind, side-effect)

Fischer was the greatest of his era, there is no arguing that(haters gon hate).  He smoked Spassky like a cigarette.

That is something I still don't understand.  For years it was believed Fischer was only half Jewish from his mother's side but from what I have read it was discovered after his death that his father was also Jewish.

After Fischer died I went to the Stormfront website to see what they would say about Fischer and not to my surprise they idolized him for telling the "truth" about those despicable Jews.  Even though there were comments that they didn't want Fischer to reproduce any children they held him to high esteem.

Jews are strongly associated with communism.They helped run the GULAG.They were despised by peasants in 18th. century Poland where they were employed by landlords to administer their landholdings because the jews misused their positions of power in order to rob and cheat.In the English language there is a verb "to jew"...to cheat,to rob.Throughout history,many countries have endeavoured to rid themselves of jews.

... bringing a great shame on themselves.

Jews make up less than 1% of the world population and they run everything?  Nonsense.  However, the Jews do make up over half of the greatest chessplayers who ever lived.  Jews are a who's who in the chess hall of fame.

It amazes me, that by the end of his life, the only friend Fischer had in the world was Boris Spassky. The one person who lost more to Fischer than anybody.

My database shows Fischer losing to Geller +3-5=2

It shows Tal, the world champion candidate, in 1959 beating Fischer 4 games and never again. After that Fischer beat Tal in  4 games (2 of which were blitz) and they drew 5 games.

Greedy is just another useless troll , best ignored .