Reykjavík, Iceland: Chess “grandmasters” Bobby Fischer (USA) and Boris Spassky Russia) meet…
…for the “Chess Match of the Century.”
Challenger Fischer (age 29) defeats reigning champion (for the prior three years) Spassky (age 35) in twenty–one games to become the undisputed chess champion of the world.
Fischer, Jewish, was born in Chicago in 1943. He became the youngest USA Chess Champion ever in 1956 at the age of 13, an age record that stands to this day. All told, he played in eight consecutive annual USA championships, starting with the 1956 match, winning all of them.
Fischer would die of renal disease (at age 64) January 17, 2008 in Reykjavik, site of his greatest triumph.