Bobby Fischer Becomes Youngest International Grand Master in Chess
Bobby Fischer, an iconic figure in the world of chess, made history on February 10, 1958, when he became the youngest international grand master at just 14 years old. Born Robert James Fischer in Chicago in 1943, he showcased his exceptional talent early, starting to play chess at age six and competing at the Manhattan Chess Club by 12. His remarkable achievements included winning both the national junior and senior championships of the United States, making him the youngest to hold both titles. Fischer’s ascent to international grand master marked a pivotal moment in competitive chess, as he was the youngest to achieve this prestigious rank. Throughout the 1960s, he dominated as the U.S. chess champion and made international headlines in 1972 when he became the first American to win the world chess championship by defeating Boris Spassky. However, his career was marked by controversies, particularly a dispute with the International Chess Federation that led to his retreat from the public eye. He returned to the chess scene in 1992 for a rematch with Spassky, further solidifying his legacy in the sport. Fischer's story illustrates the complexities of genius, competition, and the impact of personal choices on a public career.
Bobby Fischer Becomes Youngest International Grand Master in Chess
Bobby Fischer Becomes Youngest International Grand Master in Chess
On February 10, 1958, Bobby Fischer became the youngest international grand master of the game of chess. He was a child prodigy, born Robert James Fischer in Chicago, Illinois, on March 9, 1943. Fischer began playing chess at the age of six; by the time he was 12 he was a regular at the prestigious Manhattan Chess Club, where he tested himself against some of the best chess players in the country. By the age of 14 he had taken first the national junior chess championship and then the national senior chess championship of the United States, the youngest person to ever hold both these titles. In 1958 he advanced to the rank of international grand master, the highest rank that a chess player can attain in the world of competitive play. Once again he was the youngest person ever to achieve this honor.
That same year, Fischer left high school and undertook to support himself solely by playing chess. He was the U.S. chess champion year after year through most of the 1960s, and by the early 1970s he was competing for the world title. In 1972 he defeated the reigning champion, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, in Reykjavik, Iceland, to become the first (and so far only) American to hold the world championship of chess. Following a controversial dispute with the International Chess Federation in 1975 over the terms of a match with Soviet challenger Anatoly Karpov, which resulted in the ICF awarding the world championship to Karpov, Fischer largely disappeared from public view. He resurfaced in 1992 to play Spassky once again, violating American sanctions against travel to Yugoslavia in order to meet Spassky there and defeat him in the rematch.