Remembering Bobby Fischer.

From Iceland Review Online -

On the day after Bobby Fischer’s death it was clear that Icelanders felt they had lost a friend. Many had grown accustomed to seeing this bearded man in central Reykjavík. Even though he was a very private man who kept to himself it is clear that he had a small group of very good friends. Those remembered him yesterday with fondness even though they made it clear that he had been very difficult at times.

Grandmaster Helgi Ólafsson writes in Morgunbladid: “A few days after Fischer came to Iceland [in 2005] I went with Saemundur Pálsson [Fischer’s Icelandic close friend] to the same hotel room that Bobby had used during the “match of the Century”. It was not difficult to meet a man who had been part of my life for decades for the first time. Bobby was extremely happy the first days and months in Iceland.”

Helgi goes on to tell of a fishing trip with two Icelandic friends and Fischer in August 2005. Fischer was unhappy at the beginning because of his troubles with the Swiss bank UBS. But as soon as they reached the fishing hut Fischer had regained his happiness and after five minutes of fishing had had his first fish, a six pounder. This was enough for Fischer, he did not try again.

The sad song

That same night the four started singing old pop songs and Fischer knew more or less all the words. When they sang “Green, green grass of home” Bobby explained that the lyrics had a certain similarity to his own sad life. Later that same night Fischer was delighted to see the northern lights.

When he came back to Reykjavík he proudly gave his girlfriend MiyakoWatai the fish to cook.

Helgi Ólafsson says that Fischer liked to listen to the BBC news and was very interested in history. He often went to the movies but seldom to bars. He was a good snooker player and once won two frames from an Icelandic master in the game. His favorite music was soul and blues. Jackie Wilson and when Pattie Smith came to Iceland the two discussed music for two hours.

Helgi ends his article by writing: “I believe the in spite of everything people can be very happy to have started the project of freeing Bobby Fischer from a Japanese jail. His ‘crime’ was to play chess again after 20 years. When he came to Iceland he had been a fugitive for 12 years. He found a shelter in Iceland and was happy here most of the time because the media left him alone.”

Fischer was also remembered by Justice Minister Björn Bjarnason one of the strongest supporter of military cooperation with the US through the years. He is proud of the fact that Icelanders gave Fischer citizenship when other governments did not dare to do so, fearing the wrath of the Americans.

Original article HERE.

Fischer Had Hopes for One Last Game.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) – Bobby Fischer had hoped to play current world chess champion Viswanathan Anand or former great Garry Kasparov in a tournament before his death, an Icelandic newspaper reported Saturday.
The daily Morgunbladid quoted a friend of Fischer, who died on Thursday at the age of 64, as saying he had expressed interest

The source for this article is PR-Inside.com. See the original story HERE… Rich

in holding a chess contest in India.
Helgi Olafsson, an Icelandic chess grand master, was quoted by the newspaper as saying Fischer had told him he wanted to take part in one last tournament.
Fischer, a teenage grandmaster and _ before the age of 30 _ a world champion who triumphed in a Cold War showdown with Soviet champion Boris Spassky, died of kidney failure in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The Chicago-born, Brooklyn, N.Y.-raised Fischer last played publicly in 1992 in Yugoslavia, in defiance of international sanctions. He moved to Iceland in 2005 in a bid to avoid extradition to the U.S., where he was wanted over contravening the sanctions.
Morgunbladid reported that Anand and Olafsson had exchanged e-mails about the proposed match and that Fischer had firm ideas on the arrangements.
The ex-champion wanted to play the contest using the Fischerrandom or Chess 960 method, in which the game begins with pieces arranged randomly on the board to make the match more difficult.

Fischer proposed the match would take place in India and be broadcast live via the Internet, the newspaper reported.
Morgunbladid said Anand was eager to play Fischer, but had not been able to schedule it. Kasparov had not been able to play Fischer due to political commitments in Russia, it said.