The San Bernardino County Sun San Bernardino, California Saturday, October 03, 1981 - Page 2
Ex-Chess Whiz Fischer Lives in Seclusion
South Pasadena (AP) — Former chess prodigy and world champion Bobby Fischer is apparently still living in seclusion in South Pasadena and having nothing to do with chess, according to a chess expert who has kept in touch with Fischer over the years.
Fischer, 38, who took the chess world by storm at age 13, last played championship chess in 1972 in Reykjavik, Iceland, unseating Boris Spassky as champion. He refused to defend his championship in 1975 after the International Chess Federation declined to modify its rules to meet his demands, and so he retired.
“Last I heard he was somewhere in South Pasadena … a couple of months ago,” said chess expert Isaac Kashdan, who writes a chess column for the Los Angeles Times. “There's just no way you can get in touch with him.
“He's not playing chess any more,” Kashdan added. “He's not involved in chess in any way.”