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Ex-World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer Dies.

The following paragraphs summarize the work of Bobby Fischer.

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He is considered by some chess experts to have been the greatest player of all time.

In 1972, he ended Soviet domination of world chess in when he became the first American to win the world title in an epic battle against Boris Spassky which was followed by millions around the world.

In later life, however, he became known for his erratic behaviour as much as his brilliance on the board.

He was prone to anti-Semitic outbursts, and became very reclusive, living in exile in Iceland, where he had claimed the title in 1972.

In an interview with a Philippine radio station in the wake of 9/11, Fischer praised the terror attacks and said he wanted to see America "wiped out".

Chess grand master Ray Keene told Sky News: "I think the best way to remember him is as a genius of the chessboard.

"When he won in 1972 it broke almost 30 years of Russian domination of the world chess championship."

Sky News foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall said that at the time the victory had a much wider significance.

"At the height of the Cold War, the Russians used chess as they used athletics, to prove that communism was better than capitalism," he said.

"It proved the cultural superiority of the Soviet system."

He added that when Fischer said he had "broken" Spassky, it was taken as a metaphor for the conflict by politicians and journalists.

Fischer died of an unspecified illness, it was reported.

That's the latest from the Bobby Fischer authorities.