Mitchell's Essay on Bobby Fischer

Chess is Life: The Story of Bobby Fischer
By Mitchell Acton

Bobby Fischer is a Chess Hero, to all the Americans that play Chess. He inspired a generation to learn the game of Chess. Although, most of these people played Chess for recreation, to Bobby Fischer, “Chess is Life.”

Bobby Fischer was a incredible chess player, born in Chicago March 19, 1949,in Chicago, Illinois, at Michael Reese hospital. His father, from Germany, got divorced from his mother when he was just 2 years old. His first encounter with chess was when he got a present from a relative. Bobby, 6 years old, and his 11 year old sister learned the moves from the instructions. He immediately became so fascinated and absorbed by Chess that he worried his mother. Bobby’s mother said, “Bobby isn’t interested in anybody unless they play Chess and there just aren’t many children who like it.”

Bobby was so interested in Chess that is mother put up posters to see if people would play him. When he was 7 he challenged Master Max, and lost in 15 minutes. A few weeks after defeat, Bobby Fischer joined the Brooklyn Chess Club and it met on Friday evenings, just like us!

When Bobby was 14 years old he decided to take a big step and battle Max Euwe in New York. He fought him twice losing one and drawing one. That year he went on to win the U.S Junior Championship, U.S. Jr Speed Championship, and he tied for 1st at the US Open. At 14 years and 5 months, his rating was 2231 and he was the youngest person to ever get a master’s rating.

He continued to win many Chess tournaments and at age 16 decided to drop out of school, so he could become a professional Chess player. On September 1, 1972 Bobby Fischer won the World Chess Championship becoming the youngest Grandmaster, rating 2785. He defeated Boris Spassky after winning 7 games, drawing 11 games, and losing 3 games, one he forfeited because of the cameras. Then he disappeared from Chess for about 20 years. When he came back out he challenged Spassky to a rematch and won.

But Sadly, every life has and end, and Bobby Fischer’s life ended not to long ago. He died in Iceland, January 17, 2008 of kidney failure and probably partly old age. He has been remembered as the 1st American to win the World Chess Championship, and that is how he will always be remembered.