Robert Fischer

(also Bobby Fischer). Born Mar. 9, 1943, in Chicago, III. American chess player. International grandmaster (1958). World champion from 1972 to 1975, after defeating B. V. Spassky; lost title after declining a match with the Soviet grandmaster A. E. Karpov.

Fischer won the US championship many times between 1957 and 1970. He won the interzonal tournaments in Stockholm (1962) and Palma de Mallorca (1970). In 1971, Fischer won the World Championship Candidates’ Tournament, defeating the grandmasters M. E. Taimanov, B. Larsen, and T. V. Petrosian. He has also won several international tournaments, including those in Mar del Plata (1960), where B. V. Spassky placed second, Monte Carlo (1966 and 1967), Rovinj-Zagreb (1970), and Buenos Aires (1970). After becoming world champion, Fischer withdrew from official chess competition.