| − | As someone who spent nearly all his time in isolation studying [[chess]], without a wife at least until well after age of 60, Fischer seemed to become paranoid. He would overreact to incidents like the unexpected sale of his goods in a storage locker by its owner to satisfy unpaid invoices. He read fringe books. He would say many off-the-wall, offensive things. But most people who knew him did not think he was an evil person, and today his work in chess is highly respected despite his extremely offensive, off-topic remarks. | + | As someone who spent nearly all his time in isolation studying [[chess]], without a wife at least until well after age of 60, Fischer seemed to become paranoid. He would overreact to incidents like the unexpected sale of his goods in a storage locker by its owner to satisfy unpaid invoices. He read fringe books. He would say many off-the-wall, offensive things. But people who knew him did not think he was an evil person, and today his work in chess is highly respected despite his extremely offensive, off-topic remarks. |
| | Late in life and prevented by the [[United States]] from returning as a free man, Fischer made [[anti-Semitic]] and [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American]] remarks in the media over the next ten years, such as his praise of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] when he stated "well, this is all wonderful news. It's time for the [expletive] US to get their heads kicked in. It's time to finish off the US once and for all."<ref>''Bobby Fischer on September 11, 2001'' Transcript [http://everything2.org/index.pl?node_id=1214006 everything2org]. Accessed 18 January 2008. The interview can also be heard on YouTube, but does contain the uncensored expletives.</ref> This cost him his membership in the United States Chess Federation (USCF), which has since been restored. This was generally viewed as symbolic, since Fischer not only did not play chess anymore, but was also not welcome in the United States. In 2004, Fischer was arrested in [[Japan]], and afterward took [[asylum]] in [[Iceland]]. He died of [[kidney]] failure in January 2008. | | Late in life and prevented by the [[United States]] from returning as a free man, Fischer made [[anti-Semitic]] and [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American]] remarks in the media over the next ten years, such as his praise of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] when he stated "well, this is all wonderful news. It's time for the [expletive] US to get their heads kicked in. It's time to finish off the US once and for all."<ref>''Bobby Fischer on September 11, 2001'' Transcript [http://everything2.org/index.pl?node_id=1214006 everything2org]. Accessed 18 January 2008. The interview can also be heard on YouTube, but does contain the uncensored expletives.</ref> This cost him his membership in the United States Chess Federation (USCF), which has since been restored. This was generally viewed as symbolic, since Fischer not only did not play chess anymore, but was also not welcome in the United States. In 2004, Fischer was arrested in [[Japan]], and afterward took [[asylum]] in [[Iceland]]. He died of [[kidney]] failure in January 2008. |