Bobby Fischer, World Chess Champion 1972-1975
More than a century after Paul Morphy died, the next greatest American chess player was undoubtedly Bobby Fischer.
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was a grandmaster the eleventh World Chess Champion. He became a citizen of Iceland in 2005 shortly before he died in 2008.
Fischer is known for his pithy chess sayings, such as "Chess life life," the subtler "I don't believe in psychology. I believe in good moves,” and "I like the moment when I break a man's ego." My personal favourite is "All I want to do, ever, is just play chess."
Bobby Fischer on Paul Morphy
Here is what Fischer said about Paul Morphy at a Yugoslavia press conference in 1992:
"A popularly held theory about Paul Morphy is that if he returned to the chess world today and played our best contemporary players, he would come out the loser. Nothing is further from the truth. In a set match, Morphy would beat anybody alive today. Perhaps the most accurate player who ever lived, he would beat anybody today in a set-match. He had complete sight of the board and seldom blundered even though he moved quite rapidly. I've played over hundreds of his games and am continually surprised and entertained by his ingenuity. Paul Morphy was a great chess player, a genius... Morphy, I think everyone agrees, was probably the greatest genius of them all..."
Fischer versus Morphy, now that would be a great game!
Paul Morphy, Chess Player, World Champion
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