9. Bobby Fischer began life as America’s chess prodigy but ended it in reclusion under scrutiny from the government.
Robert James Fischer is widely regarded as one of the greatest – or even the greatest chess players of all time. After finding fame as a child prodigy, he went on to dominate the game in the 1960s. For a while, it looked like he had the world at his feet. Surely, such a prodigious talent should have earned him a fortune, as well as popular acclaim and universal adoration in his native United States? Sadly for Fisher, this was not the case. Indeed, he ended up a self-imposed exile, dying many miles from home in Iceland.
Fisher was born in Chicago in 1943. His talent was obvious from an early age and, at just 13, he won the so-called ‘Game of the Century’ against Donald Byrne, 13 years his senior. He was grandmaster at 15 and then, at 20, he won 11 wins out of 11 matches to take the 1963-64 US Championship. The highlight of his career was arguably still to come: in 1972, he won the World Chess Championship, beating the Russian titan Boris Spassky. The match was steeped in Cold War rhetoric and Fisher’s victory was a huge boost for the Americans. However, instead of becoming a national darling, he became a recluse instead.
For years after his famous victory, he hid from the public eye. Fisher got in frequent trouble with the US government, mainly for breaking sanctions imposed on countries behind the Iron Curtain. As an émigré, he made numerous controversial statements, including anti-American and anti-Israeli outbursts. Finally, in 2004, he settled in Iceland and died, still a recluse, four years later.