Robert James Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. Qualifying for the 1972 World Championship, Fischer swept matches with Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against Tigran Petrosian, Fischer won the title match against Boris Spassky of the USSR, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.
Fischer in 1972
William Lombardy and Fischer analyzing, with Jack Collins looking on
Fischer in Cuba, March 1956
Fischer at 17 playing 23-year-old World Champion Mikhail Tal in Leipzig, East Germany
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Ding Liren, who defeated his opponent Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 World Chess Championship. Magnus Carlsen, the previous world champion, had declined to defend his title.
Ding Liren of China, the current world champion (2023)
A depiction of the chess match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Saint-Amant, on 16 December 1843.
Louis de la Bourdonnais, the world's strongest player from 1821 to his death in 1840
Howard Staunton, generally reckoned the world's leading player of the 1840s
