Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion.
Years after the Fischer-Spassky world championship match in Reykjavik, Iceland, Harry Sneider, a friend, fitness trainer and world champion weight-lifter, recalled Fischer’s training regime:
“He really believed in a good preparation,” Sneider said.
“He loved power (training) with weights, he swam 45 minutes a day and he was a ‘world champion’ walker. He takes enormous strides and can do that for 31/2 hours. He also liked playing tennis.”
As was often said by those who watched him grow up in the New York chess community, “Bobby is always Bobby.”
- He started playing chess at age six.
- By age seven, he already showed a lack of interest in all but those who shared his passion for the game.
- He became so preoccupied with chess at an early age that his mother took him to a mental hospital to have him looked at.
- He was constantly getting in trouble at school for studying chess during class.
- At 16, he dropped out of high school to focus entirely on chess.
- When he started living on his own, he devoted 10–14 hours a day to studying chess, and did almost nothing else.
Sources:
- https://gamesmaven.io/chessdailynews/news/
- https://30sleeps.com/achieving-the-impossible-e80e8a4a5ca7