Bobby Fischer.

Bobby Fischer (64) died yesterday. I read this on the BBC web site and immediately went to his Wikipedia page where I read the line 'Rumors abound that he was strangled by his own beard.'
Curiously when I went back to the same page two days later, this line was removed, confirming that he had in fact died of Kidney failure. I wonder who would post a line suggesting he was killed by his own beard. The plot thickens.

Apart from becoming World chess champion, Fisher was a unique character. Despite his Jewish parentage, he declared that his life's work was to 'expose the Jews for the criminals .....the murderers they are' and argued that the United States is "a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew bastards."

Undeniably he was poorly treated by the US, being criminalised for playing a chess game in Yugoslavia while Bush Senior had an embargo in place. The US government that feted his American superiority when the cold war made it expedient to do so, subsequently turned on him with especial viciousness, leaving Fisher convinced of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy perpetrated by "the Jew-controlled U.S. Government" to defame and destroy him.

Bobby Fisher touched great heights on one level, but seemingly had a tortured life filled with frequent visitations from misfortune.

I always find it interesting to see where those possessed of great intellectual gifts turn their attentions, and the resulting consequences of these attentions.

No doubt the movie will follow soon.

The Wikipedia link is on the name tag above.