Instead of using the occasion of his passing as an opportunity to dig up his most vile shortcomings, let us celebrate this man for what he accomplished.
Take a trip with me back to the year 1970. Fischer, after a lukewarm start in the Interzonal Tournament, suddenly switches into overdrive and finishes the event with an incredible 7 consecutive wins.
For non-chess players, this may require some perspective. It is more stunning to win 7 chess games in a row than, for example, a baseball team winning 7 games in a row. This is because most chess games end without a winner at all: most games are drawn. What's more, half of your games you are forced to play with the Black pieces, which is a distinct disadvantage. To win with the Black pieces is a coup, but that was Fischer's style, to fight for the win in each and every game.
Fischer's winning streak now stood at 7 consecutive games.
Having won the Interzonal, he earned the right to participate in the Candidates matches. His first opponent was the legendary Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov, chess genius and piano virtuoso. With virtually unlimited resources to dedicate to the state-sponsored chess program, Taimanov had dozens of grandmasters at his disposal to help prepare him for this match. Teams of Soviet chess players (including the reigning world champion!) would be assigned to analyze Fischer's games, his weaknesses, and specific positions that might crop up during the games. They would then report back to Taimanov with summaries of their analysis. Meanwhile, Fischer would sit in his apartment with his chess set, or in the park with his pocket-set, and prepare alone for what would be the hardest match in his career.
The match was 10 games, and it was anybody's guess if Fischer could win against Taimanov, backed by the Soviet chess apparatus.
But then Fischer then did what was considered impossible. He won the first game, and the second, and third, fourth, and fifth--and upon winning the sixth game it became mathematically impossible for Taimanov to come back. The ten game match ended at only six games, and Taimanov returned home in shame.
Fischer's streak now stood at 13 consecutive games.
Upon Taimanov's return to the USSR we was labeled a national disgrace, not simply because he lost, but because he lost in a fashion that was considered virtually impossible. The Soviet chess authorities even suggested that his grandmaster title be rescinded, which would have been unprecedented.
Pundits claimed that such a thorough trouncing at the highest levels of chess was a feat that would never be repeated in chess history. How soon they would be proved wrong.
Fischer's next opponent was the Danish attacking genius, Bent Larsen. Again, the match was 10 games. Fischer won the first game. And the second. And the third, fourth, and fifth. And upon winning the sixth game, he had once again defeated a world class player by the perfect score of 6-0. In baseball terms, you could compare this to back-to-back no-hitters, although even that comparison falls short. The Soviets realized at this point that they owed Taimanov an apology.
Fischer's streak now stood at 19 consecutive games.
Fischer's next opponent was former world champion Tigran Petrosian. Upon winning the first game of the match, he won twenty consecutive game of chess at the very highest level of competition. This is a record which is unlikely to even be approached, much less surpassed.
Ever since the morning of history, when chess delighted the dwellers on the banks of the Ganges and the Indus, nobody else has accomplished so much to this art--this art form that comes in the disguise of a game.
Bobby Fischer is not dead. He genuinely achieved immortality.
, but he was not mentally ill. 
