Why didn't Fischer play Karpov

I FULLY AGREE 

I am 62 therefore I remember What happened (or at least what I read on the papers).

The match Fisher - Karpov did not happened because:

A. Money requests from Fisher

B. Impossible to agree on how many games, wins, etc

The rest is fiction.

Saludos.

Fisher asked for some unreasonable demands:

First to 9 wins.

Unlimted number of games.

Challenger had to win by 2 games.

I don't see how these were unreasonable, since they were to be applied equally to both players. Karpov did play unlimited number of games in the first match against Kasparov. The last was in the tradition where the champion should be clearly out-played in order to be declared defeated.

You are absolutely right.  In fact Karpov was given almost everything Fischer asked for when playing Kasparov.  In the first match Fischer would have crushed Karpov. 

I believe the OP asked in fact 2 questions.

- Tournament play. Strangely enough Fischer and Karpov never faced each other before 1972. Not sure why, but I guess it's because Karpov was still young and relatively unknown, and partly because Bobby himself took extensive time off in late 60's early 70's. After 1972, the answer is obvious :)

- Defend the title in 1975. The sad and simple truth is that Bobby could no longer hold it together after 1972. Even the 1972 match came really close (on more than one occasion) to not happening. Remember he also excluded himself from the 1969 championship cycle even though he was leading when he dropped out, and he was quite possibly already the strongest player in the world. A man who grows so paranoid as to cover his hotel room window with tin foil, or have his fillings removed (in order to prevent the russians from sending signals to his brain) is not likely to perform well or enjoy playing chess.

Its unreasonable to demand that the rules be changed since you won the title.  Its unreasonable to ask the challenger to win by 2 games, but the champion only has to win the match by 1 game.  

It's all been said correctly.  By the end of the '72 match, Fischer was champion and had acquired a little bit of arrogance, demanding all those things, partially correct demands.  Plus he'd spent his entire life to beat the Russian machine and done it...nothing else to live for.  He thought to retire sort of like Rocky Marciano, undefeated and become the legend that walked away from it all;  which most of us sort of admire.   He was so right about everyone out to get him - the Russians, the US government after the '92 match.  He'd be rated 3000 in today's environment, being able to practice with Houdini, Komodo and StockFish.

   I got to start avoiding yogurt, these dam* 1600 players around here are killing me. 

[COMMENT DELETED]

[COMMENT DELETED]

Fischer was nuts by the late 70's, he was living like a vagabond, had all the fillings in his teeth removed because he thought the Russians were trying to control his mind with radar beams, got arrested in '81 and put in a 72 hour psych hold because he was acting so strange:

https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess2/pasad.htm

[COMMENT DELETED]

Fischer wanted to return the World Championship title back to how it was before FIDE came along, where the champion dictated the terms and the challenger either accepted them or not. Fischer knew he wanted a long match because Karpov showed his play and energy waned as matches went on, so a first to 10 wins almost ensured a long match to what Fischer assumed would be to his advantage. Say whatever you will on motives and what have you, or if it was appropriate or not, but I think the whole Fisher was crazy aspect or "afraid" is largely over blown. Spassky was a far more imposing player for Fischer to face in 1972 than Karpov in 1975. And for those who think Fischer was out of form may not realize that Fischer actually seemed to be stronger from long absences from tournament chess in his career and was known to be a great studious person, even more than Korchnoi who was well known for his work ethic towards chess. It's possible Fischer could have been in similar shape as he was in 1972 or even better without having played a competitive game since 1972. Even Spassky has said he thought a Fischer-Karpov match in 1975 would have ended in Fischers favor.

Fischer was a complex figure, and a polarizing one. Some loved him, others hated him, but almost everyone admired his chess play. For whatever reasons the 1975 match didn't happen, it wasn't just Fischer losing his title or Karpov losing the chance to play with such a genius of chess as Fischer, everyone lost from Fischer not playing. The particulars of why it wasn't played can be left unsaid, but the magnitude of that unplayed match still has people wondering what if, and that I think speaks volumes of what an important figure Fischer had on the game.

@Dodger111: the link you provided does not fit your description of Fischer, police brutality against geniuses happened even these days, see the death of Ian Murdoch.

he smelled something fischy

fischer couldn't hold karpov's jock strap

Fischer had accomplished his life's goal. After that I think he simply lost interest in competitive chess. I don't know that he was afraid of Karpov specifically, he may have had some fear of playing and losing his title. But beyond that I think he simply was no longer interested in competing. He had proven he was the best. For the '75 match against Karpov, Bobby Fischer would make his demands, they would be met then he'd make some more until FIDE finally put their foot down. Honestly, I think that was a way for Bobby to walk away from it all while saving face. And I think probably the only reason he agreed to briefly come out of retirement in 1992 and play Spassky in the unsanctioned rematch was because, win or lose, he desperately needed the money.

what is fischer phile is that like a

does fischer wear boxers or briefs