Bobby Fischer's passing

Bobby Fischer, arguably the greatest chess master that ever lived, died on Thursday last at the age of 64, leaving behind not only a wealth of beautiful games but also many interesting episodes and incidents inseparably linked to his presence in chess tournaments. He loved the game so much that he developed an intense dislike, or even hatred, for the detractors (in his perception) of the royal game.
Fischer, the evasive and elusive genius, was a prodigy whose class as a player was evident well before he grew up to be the man with great determination, tenacity and single-mindedness. He stood alone against the Soviet domination of world chess at a time when there was nobody to challenge the "super-scientific" Russians. Fischer believed that the Russians were taking advantage of their numerical superiority in big tournaments. He might have stretched his imagination a bit too far, but it is of course true that the Russian grandmasters were supported by a team of analysts and experts, while Fischer relied solely on his playing strength. Even at home, he never enjoyed a stable life as he was anti-establishment right from the beginning. He quit chess when FIDE refused to accept his conditions for the world championship match with Anatoly Karpov in 1975. Fischer sounded overtly aggressive or even self-centred, but nobody should overlook the truth that FIDE introduced the same rules that Fischer had suggested for Karpov's match with Victor Korchnoi in 1978! The big casualty of this failure to act in time was the chess genius -- Bobby Fischer. He left chess when he was still in his prime.
He won the title match against Boris Spassky in 1972, quickly dubbed as the "Match of the Century" quite convincingly. It also ended the Soviet hegemony in the post-Alekhine era, albeit for only three years.
As a player, he had a universal style. He could handle the unfathomable complications of the Sicilian Poisoned Pawn with remarkable ease, while his technical play in the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez was almost effortless. Fischer's games will ever remain a source of immense pleasure to his countless followers.
Fischer always stood against what he thought was wrong, and in almost all cases he was right! We join the chess players across the world in condoling the death of this super master.