The Fischer–Spassky 1992 Twentieth Anniversary Rematch was in fact Russia and Spassky’s revenge.
Russia knew that Bobby Fischer was unstable, radical, anti-authoritaarian, malleable, and penniless. By enticing him to break the US sanctions against the then-Yugoslavia they knew that Fischer and the American government would forever be at war. Prizemoney for the event was $3.5m – a massive amount thirty years ago for a vagrant.
The result was that America lost their only world chess champion and Fischer lost everything except the prize money. And Russia got some revenge against the USA for assisting in dismantling the USSR.
In 1972 America used Fischer to symbolically conquer the might of the atheist Soviet Union. Even US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, had rung Fischer imploring him to complete the 1972 Championship.
It was the tragic Fischer who was used by both sides of the Cold War!
It is now half a century since Bobby Fischer won the Championship. Bobby lived the remainder of his life basically on the run from country to country, being imprisoned and even marrying to prevent extradition to the unforgiving USA.
Since 1972 America has not produced another world chess champion in spite of granting citizenship to many of the world’s top foreign players.
Bobby died at the appropriate age of 64 years – matching the number of squares on a chess board. His nature was black and white, matching the colours of chess pieces. Perhaps also matching the skin colour extremes of the human race.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
