In a sport where mainstream attention is often hard to come by, Bobby Fischer was a lightning rod.
His brilliance on the chessboard was only matched by his, at times, bizarre nature away from it.
While the final years of his life were controversial for many of the wrong reasons, chess lovers remember the excitement and intrigue he brought to the game.
It is 50 years since Bobby Fischer became the first — and to this day only — American-born player to win the World Chess Championship.
His victory was front page news from start to finish and remains one of the sport's most curious championship deciders.
Dominant play set up title showdown
In the years leading up to the 1972 championship match, Fischer produced some of the finest chess ever seen.
The American prodigy defeated the best in the world with an ease very rarely seen at the highest level of any sport.
He won 20 consecutive matches across the Interzonal tournament and Candidates' matches, which earned him the right to contest the world championship.
Fischer added to the hype surrounding him by expressing outward confidence not often seen among chess players.
John Hartmann, the editor for US publication Chess Life, said Fischer's brilliance on and off the chess board was like other great sporting stars in history.
"His 20-game winning streak in the Interzonal tournament and candidates' matches was earth-shattering for chess fans to witness," he told ABC Sport.
"It's rare that a sportsman can back up his words as well as Fischer did. Perhaps only Muhammad Ali was better at it."
The culmination of Fischer's rise to the top of chess came in the world championship match against Boris Spassky, with the American being given the task of wresting the title away from the Soviet Union for the first time in more than two decades.
Pre-match antics and a Henry Kissinger phone call
The Soviet Union was the dominant chess nation throughout most of the 20th century.
The country boasted a plethora of grandmasters and held the world championship in a stranglehold.
When Fischer emerged as challenger to Spassky's crown, it came during a time of great tension between the US and the Soviet Union.
The cold war dominated politics, and any sporting match-up which pitted the two nations against each other always garnered interest.
It was an environment in which Fischer seemed to thrive.
"He saw himself as a lone wolf doing battle with the Soviet machine, and was not afraid to present himself as a kind of Cold War warrior," John Hartmann said.
Fischer was unhappy with the match being held in Reykjavík, Iceland, as he felt the prize money on offer from the host city was insufficient.
"Fischer was an iconoclast. He tried to professionalise chess long before it was considered a 'proper' sport here in the [US], insisting on greater and greater prizes," said Mr Hartmann.
The American's reluctance grew in the lead-up to the match, with Fischer unwilling to fly to Iceland.
He missed the opening ceremony and legend says he needed to be convinced to play by Henry Kissinger, US president Richard Nixon's chief security adviser.
"It's not entirely clear why Fischer was so petulant in the days before the match. Was it money? Fear?" Mr Hartmann said.
"Whatever it was, somehow Fischer was convinced to get on that plane, and history was made.
"The Kissinger phone call apparently did happen."
Defeats, another Kissinger call and the comeback
Fischer finally got to Iceland and the best-of-24-game championship match could begin.
It was not the start the challenger had hoped for, losing the first game to Spassky who was not fazed by the pre-match antics of his opponent.
Fischer again opted for antics, demanding cameras be removed for their second game.
When they weren't, Fischer forfeited and was expected to leave Iceland and concede the championship match.
Another phone call from Kissinger was needed, according to the New York Times, who urged the Fischer to not forfeit to his Soviet rival.
"The only thing which was very unpleasant for me was when he refused to come on time to the match," said Spassky at the end of the match.
"He didn't come to play in the second game. I didn't like this."
From that moment on Fischer never looked like losing the match.
He won the third, fifth and sixth games of the match to take a lead which he would not relinquish.
Spassky's win in game 11 was the only other time he would gain a victory against the American.
Meanwhile, Fischer was able to add four more wins, with 11 draws.
On August 31 the pair commenced the 21st game of the match.
After 41 moves the game was suspended until the next day, but the players never returned to the board.
On September 1, Spassky phoned Fischer to concede the 21st game, handing him the World Championship.
Off-the-board antics proved to be an accidental masterstroke
Whether it was intentional or not, Fischer's bizarre conduct had a detrimental effect on the Soviet champion, according to International Master Anthony Saidy.
A late request from Fischer before the pivotal game three to have it played behind closed doors was agreed to by Spassky, who simply wanted to continue with the match.
While it would have been easier for Spassky to let the American continue to unravel, the sportsman Spassky would not allow it.
Speaking to Chess Life in August about the championship match, Mr Saidy said Spassky's innate want to have the match continue ultimately led to his downfall.
"Fischer's antics were not intended to discombobulate Spassky, but they did," he said.
"A great sportsman, Spassky also withstood horrendous pressure to go home in triumph after the forfeit."
That sportsmanship allowed Fischer to make history, becoming the first — and still only — American-born player to become world champion.
"Fischer was, and is, a giant of chess history, certainly one of the top five players who have ever lived," John Hartmann said.
"He carried all of America on his back in the lead-up to the '72 match — given the geopolitics of the cold war and international chess — and became one of the most famous people in America when he won the title."
Fischer never defended his title, opting to withdraw from his scheduled match with Soviet legend Anatoly Karpov, who became champion by default.
