Fischer’s battle against the Soviets, of which he saw himself as a lone warrior against an evil system of Socialism, was marketed by Western media as a lone, individual battle against the collective of the Soviets.
All world chess champions since 1948 had been Soviet.
For the Soviets, chess was a state sponsored programme to demonstrate the intellectual superiority of Communist society.


The context of detente, however, meant that Fischer’s outbursts against the Soviets in interviews weren’t totally supported by America and indeed, media outlets in places like the UK seemed to despise Fischer and see him as a sort of vigilante.

Some anti Soviet Fischer quotes:
"The Russians have fixed world chess. They get together beforehand and agree to draw games amongst themselves."
"I like the moment when I break a man’s ego."
This quote came up in the context of facing Soviet players, and it reflects Fischer’s deep-seated desire to dismantle what he viewed as Soviet arrogance and dominance.
"The Russians have cheated me for years—long enough. They’re not going to do it anymore."
Fischer made this comment in reference to what he believed was a conspiracy by Soviet players to hinder his progress in tournaments, further fueling his hostility toward the Soviet system. This led to a restructuring of the Candidates tournament so there were several 1 vs 1 matches rather than a tournament filled with Soviet players.
"Soviet Russia is using chess as a propaganda weapon, against the capitalist West. They like to promote the idea that only the collective system, and not the individual, can produce the greatest chess players."
"It’s nice to smash the Russians... that was the whole idea, to smash the Russians."
This quote came after Fischer’s victory over Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Chess Championship. It underlines how personal and ideological the match was for him—seeing it as an opportunity to humiliate the Soviets.

But the USA did NOT support Fischer overtly. In private, there is evidence of telegrams sent to Fischer congratulating him for his victory from president Nixon and US secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, sent Fischer a message begging him to play the match after he didn’t show up for game 1.

However, after the match, Fischer retreated into obscurity and isolation, not wanting to defend his title against Karpov due to not agreeing to the tournament rules. The USA perhaps could have exercised more power over FIDE to get the rules changed but they did not. In 1992, Fischer played Spassky in a historic rematch in Yugoslavia which the USA responded with a warrant for Fischer’s arrest because of restrictions imposed on Yugoslavia for other political reasons. Fischer retreated yet again into hiding and was always viewed as a loner, an eccentric and a general madman by the American press.


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