World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer Dies at 64

Fox News Online ^ | 01/18/2008 | AP

[fnord]

Thanks, I’ll check the latest Chess Life and see if they mention any sites.

Even further off topic, but as a life member of USCF, I get their magazine free each month. Since I rarely do more than glance at it (as I’m sure others do), they could probably save a bit of money by not sending it out for free. I look forward to their Fischer articles in coming months though.

[Leifur]

Although I was not very fond of him myself, and of my countries decision to grant him asylum/citizenship, I am partly glad that we could give him quiet and relatively good last years. I think he acquired a peace of mind as much as that was possible with his condition. He spent his days wandering our book stores, libraries, of which we have lot of (we are sometimes called the book nation) and thus lived in a healthier state of mind than for a long time.

And I am glad we could thus pay him back for his blow against the Soviets and for his contribution to us here, effectively putting us on the Map. But sadly we could not bring him to accept treatment, not even for his kidney disease. There have though been speculations that it was in such a state that little could have been done. Also there have been speculations about that the kidney disease, having been working for long time could be at least one of the reasons for his mental problems.

Maybe it would have been best for everyone if he had never left our little island in the old days, he at least could have been ordered into asylum then for treatment if he had lived here onwards.

So I believe you are exactly right, these rantings of his where syptoms of his disease, it has been established that he got under the influence of some Aryan groups in I believe California (here he propably would have become a staunch socialdemocrat).

I am sad hearing about your relative, is there no change of getting her to loose her ability to decide these things for herself and order her into an asylum/hospital?

Best wishes from Iceland, where there are currently underway discussions about where he should be buried, some claims even a little extraordinary, sometimes I think some of his most ardent supporters here have similar syptoms.

[RGPII]

You’ve got to be asking what are online chess sites and already know,

www.chessclub.com <——— From Pittsburgh,

www.playchess.com <-—— From Europe, one can register free for there,

You get downloadable software and one can try it out.

You get a free 2 week trial from Chessclub above and then it doesn’t cost that much to purchase a year. I get into those clubs, play some chess, get my fill and then maybe go back to it after some months or so.

http://www.tim-mann.org/ics.html

This page lists a number of sites, some are free.

[Dante3]

True.

I read of a Soviet era politician stating something like "The country that rules chess will rule the world."

[RGPII]

Although the Russians/USSR surely padded their own nest in regards to Chess,

I can’t fault them that Chess is a true past time in countries like that.

Countries like Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia besides Russia turn out Grandmasters today, well after the end of the Cold War.

Now, one of the world’s top players is from India and India is beginning to have an interest in Chess, on tv and the like, like Russia did.

Even back to the 19th Century, some of the greatest chess players like Chekov have always been the Russians.

[Dante3]

I have not followed recent chess recently, but back around the time Gata Kamsky moved to this country, people were speaking of “our Russians” versus “their Russian” in tournaments.

[reg45]

I thought he died years ago.

He did. They have been doing the "Weekend at Bernie's" routine for the last twelve years.

[Clemenza]

Fan of his chess prowess, not of the man himself. Judging from his anti-semitism, I would guess that he had “mommy issues” (his mother was Jewish).

[Clemenza]

Mother was Jewish, father was German Lutheran.

[fnord]

thanks for the info

[RGPII]

We put together “teams” for Chess International Tournaments I belive, teams of 6 players on 6 boards. I think the US has had a lot of Russian emigres playing on them.

The Champion of Massachussetts in recent years has also been a Russian immigrant.

It’s a lot more important to them, like Vodka maybe and then again, we Americans have our priorities in sports.

I know, chess doesn’t quite seem a sport, maybe a mental sport might be a proper word.

For awhile in the dark ages, religious authorities debated as to whether it was Satanic in nature I believe.

[Dante3]

Chess is known as "the sport of kings."

I know of one case where the US Scholastic team in an international competition many years ago had one player who spoke hardly any English and another had technical problems getting back into the US because the family had only a visitors' visa. Also, an nasty attempt was made by somebody active in federation (an Asian national) to keep one American player off the team and to be replaced by his favorite.