Fischer had fans in USSR: Kasparov

MUMBAI: Garry Kasparov, arguably the best chess player ever, has said Bobby Fischer, was one of the greatest chess players ever.

“Fischer’s status as world champion and celebrity came from a charismatic and combative personality matched with unstoppable play. With his death, chess has lost one of its greatest figures,” said the former world champion in a statement released to DNA.

According to Kasparaov, Fischer, who died at Reykjavik on Friday, was popular in the USSR even during the Cold War days. “I recall thrilling to the games of his 1972 Reykjavik world championship match against Spassky when I was nine years old. The American had his share of supporters in the USSR even then, and not only for his chess prowess. His outspokenness and individuality also earned him the quiet respect of many of my compatriots.”

Kaspoarov said Fischer’s beautiful chess and his immortal games will stand forever as a central pillar in the history of the game. “The story of the Brooklynite iconoclast’s rise from prodigy to world champion has few peers for drama. After conquering the chess Olympus he was unable to find a new target for his power and passion.

Fischer’s relentless energy exhausted everything it touched — the resources of the game itself, his opponents on and off the board, and, sadly, his own mind and body.”

Kasparov refused to dwell into the controversies associated with Fischer. “While we can never entirely separate the deeds from the man, I would prefer to speak of his global achievements instead of his inner tragedies. It is with justice that he spent his final days in Iceland, the site of his greatest triumph. There he has always been loved and seen in the best possible way: as a chessplayer.”