As was reported over the weekend, Chess "superstar" Bobby Fischer died at the age of 65. He was famous for beating Russian Chess master Boris Spassky, in 1972. This was a huge accomplishment because Fischer was, and still is, the only American to ever win the World Chess Championship. He also did this during the height of the Cold War and tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union.
But many do not know the full story about Fischer and what occured with him before and after the 1972 championship. As a small boy, Fischer was mentored by legendary Sports reporter and author Dick Schaap. Here is a video of a documentary done by ESPN's Jeremy Schaap (son of Dick Schaap)about the "real" Bobby Fischer (You can watch the whole ESPN report that was broadcast over the weekend by clicking here):
The ESPN Sportcenter version of the report by Jeremy Schaap is longer is more detailed. But as you can see, no matter how much people see Fischer as some "Cold War" hero, he was a deranged, anti-semitic, anti-american man who died misserable. I am sorry, but I can never "look up to" or "admire" a man like that, let alone call him a "hero". What makes him so special compared to the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 US Olympic Hockey team that beat the "unbeatable" USSR Hockey team? Fischer on numerous levels fails in comparison.
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