Reno Gazette-Journal, Reno, Nevada, Saturday, May 04, 1991 - Page 34
Bobby Fischer Quit Rather Than Play Unfairly
In 1975 the world chess body (FIDE) stripped America's Bobby Fischer of his crown and awarded it by default to Russia's Anatoly Karpov. A decade later, in an attempt to redress this outrage, Rep. Charles Pashayan of California stated:
“My bill is in recognition of a brilliant American citizen who is the best human being in history ever to play the game of chess. By beating Russia's Boris Spassky in Iceland in 1972, Bobby Fischer became the first American world chess champion since Paul Morphy.
“In accomplishing this, Fischer brought America to the forefront of the world's most universal game and at the same time dealt a blow to the Soviet propagandists who touted superiority in chess as an example of a superior Soviet society.
“It is a great shortcoming indeed that our Government has failed in any way whatsoever to recognize this American hero. The reason that the world has not heard from Bobby Fischer since 1972 is not that he has not played anybody in chess but that nobody has played him. What do I mean by this? In 1973 he offered to defend his title under a set of rules that actually gave the challenger a greater chance to win than the rules gave him when he was the challenger to Spassky. This enormously fair offer was all but unheard of in the modern history of chess, and yet FIDE refused to adopt these rules. The Soviets influenced FIDE to deny Fischer's proposed rules in the hope he would not play.
“Indeed, rather than play under rules that he thought were unfair, Bobby Fischer as a matter of high principle refused to defend the FIDE title. He informed FIDE by telegram in 1974 that he resigned the title rather than to play under unfair rules, and signed it ‘Bobby Fischer World Chess Champion.’ In short, he retained the true title and remains the world champion today.
“Our recognition is long overdue. Americans everywhere should take national pride that in the game in which Soviets claim superiority, America's Bobby Fischer is better than them all.”
On March 14, 1986 Congress passed HJR 545 “recognizing Bobby Fischer as the Official World Chess Champion.” Today it seems absurd to imagine that Gary Kasparov is not a worthy champion. But back then many people were still disgusted at the way Karpov got the crown.
But to set the record straight, President Nixon did invite Fischer to the White House in 1972. A Life magazine photographer passed the word to Bobby who ignored it and, alas, apparently abandoned chess.
A critic notes: “Evans is incorrect in ‘setting the record straight’. Fischer was never invited to the White House.”