To Orwell Today,

Dear Editor,

I'm an Editor at Jen Reviews. I was doing research on things to do in Iceland and just finished reading your wonderful blog post: FISCHER MAN AGAINST MACHINE

In that article, I noticed that you cited a solid post that I've read in the past: Remembering Bobby Fischer

I just finished writing a guide that is even more detailed, updated and comprehensive on the 100 best things to do in Iceland. It is over 10,000 words and packed with practical tips and advice. You can find it here:

Land of the Vikings, craft beers, and jaw-dropping scenery, Iceland has really come to the forefront of hipster and iconic-photographer's attention in recent years as a hotspot (pun intended) for all things cultural, tartan-patterned and artisan coffee-orientated. With views and natural beauty to impress even the most underwhelmed of more party or sun-seeking travellers, Iceland caters for all and has experienced a surge of economic growth in the past 15 years, welcoming over 1,000,000 visitors in 2015. With this wide variety of interests and nationalities in mind, we've compiled a comprehensive list of 100 of the best things to do in Iceland, from scenic walks and nature tours, to the best craft beers and bars to visit, too. Here goes our list of 100 things to do in Iceland!...

If you like the guide we'd be humbled if you cited us in your article. Of course, we will also share your article with our 50k newsletter subscribers and followers across our social platforms.

Either way, keep up the great work!

Warmly,
Jean, June 2018

Greetings Jean,

Your list of 100 things to do in Iceland makes me want to hop on a plane and go there. I have an Icelandic wool poncho acquired during a stop-over in Reykjavick when flying from England back to Canada about twenty years ago. And lately I've been hearing about people who've travelled to Iceland on vacation and you are so right -- it's becoming a go-to destination.

I do notice, however, a glaring omission in your list of the best things to do in Iceland -- ie follow in Bobby Fischer's footsteps there.

Back in 1972, when the United States won the World Chess Championship against Russia, Bobby Fischer put Iceland on the map. Before that, Iceland wasn't a place anyone really knew anything about -- other than that Vikings arrived there thousands of years ago.

Above are iconic photos of Bobby in Iceland in 1972, before, during and after him becoming World Chess Champion.

Then in 2005 -- thirty-three years later -- Bobby returned to Iceland to escape extradition to the USA and lived for three years in Reykjavik until reports of his death and burial there in 2008.

Above are photos of Bobby in Iceland during those years, scanned from the 2012 book by Helgi Olafsson, an Icelander who was a member of the chess group who arranged for Bobby to be granted citizenship and brought to live in Iceland.

...Olafsson first met his childhood hero here shortly after his return. In the following years, the two spent countless hours together. They made trips, went to restaurants, watched movies, played games, spoke on the phone almost every day, had fun and quarelled...

For me the best thing to do in Iceland would be to pay homage to Bobby Fischer. There's a Bobby Fischer museum in the village of Selfoss next to the graveyard where a headstone for Bobby was erected. I'd like to lay some flowers there.

This centre houses memorabilia of the 11th World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer and the Selfoss Chess Club. The American Bobby Fischer became the World Chess Champion when he defeated the Soviet grandmaster and reigning World Champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavik in the summer of 1972. The match is generally referred to as the Match of the Century. It took place at the height of the Cold War, mirroring the tense relations between the two superpowers, the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Since 1948 Soviet chess players had held the World Championship title -- uninterrupted for 25 years. On display at the Bobby Fischer centre in Selfoss are among other things Spassky's and Fischer's scoresheets, a printout from the radiation measurements demanded by Spassky's delegation after the 17th game and a replica of the chess board used during the match, which was staged in Laugardalsholl in Reykjavik. In addition there are many curious items related to Bobby Fischer's stay in Iceland during his last years (2005-2008), for example his chair from the antiquarian bookshop Bokin in Reykjavik. He died on 17th January 2008 at the age of 64. Bobby Fischer's final resting place is at Laugardaelir cemetery, a few hundred metres away from the Bobby Fischer centre. Open from 13:00-16:00 every day.

Thanks for sending your list of 100 things to do in Iceland and perhaps, reminded of Bobby Fischer, you'll consider making that 101.

All the best,
Jackie Jura, June 2018

BOBBY FISCHER, photographic compilation by Harry Benson, 2012 (...Benson met Fischer in Argentina during the qualifiers for the match, and followed him through his training and conditioning in New York, during the many weeks of the match, and was there in the winning moment to document Fischer's historic victory. Fischer was a known recluse, and Benson was one of the very few people he would talk to throughout these defining moments of his life...)

BOBBY FISCHER ORWELLIAN END GAME
(...My website ORWELL TODAY is cited in the latest Bobby Fischer book, ie ENDGAME by Frank Brady, published 2011. It IS amazing to be quoted on PAGE one, CHAPTER one, and LINE one. I'm feeling appreciative toward Brady and honour-bound by Bobby to search for "the truth about how he was murdered."...)

CHESS MEN VAPORIZING FISCHER
(...In 2002 the United States Chess Federation tried to vaporize Bobby Fischer from chess and make him an Orwellian "refs unperson" -- even to the point of removing his name from the title of his own book...)

USA FORFEITS ICELAND TO RUSSIA
(...Another symbolic parallel of the forfeiture of Iceland to Russia is that Bobby Fischer - the first American to beat the Russians and become World Chess Champion, in Iceland in 1972 - had all of his money -- millions of dollars -- invested in an Iceland bank, having been forced to transfer it there by a Swiss bank in 2006, after being persecuted by his own country, America, for 35 years. If, after his recent death nine months ago, his heirs have not got Fischer's money out of the Iceland bank, then the Communist-Capitalists in Russia, his arch enemy, have it now...)

FISCHER CLOCK STILL TICKING
(...We would like to inform you that the new DGT960 clock is available for delivery now.... This idea of former World champion Bobby Fischer, who recently passed away, has been the most important improvement in chess since 500 years....)

CHESS MEN STRIP FISCHER
(...The International Chess Federation, Fide, today, April 4, 1975, declared Anatoly Karpov, the Russian challenger, to be world chess champion after Bobby Fischer, of America, had failed to meet the extended deadline given by Fide within which he had to agree to meet Karpov to defend his title...)

FISCHER MAN AGAINST MACHINE
(...Bobby Fischer, America's first and only world chess champion, who beat the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in a blaze of Cold War publicity in Reykjavik in 1972, has died in Iceland today, January 17, 2008, at the age of 64...)

UNCLE SAM LOST BOBBY FISCHER
(...He lived in an apartment in the center of Reykjavik. He was so often in bookstores, he was buying all kinds of books, about everything. He wasn't only a genius in chess, he was following all what was going on. He was listening to an awful lot of radio. He mainly read international political works. He also read about the First and Second World Wars. He was becoming a historian"...)

HOUNDING OF CHESS LEGEND FISCHER
(...Bobby Fischer was finally 'nabbed' in July this year, 2004, at Tokyo's Narita airport, as he was boarding a flight for Manila, his 1997-issue US passport, valid till 2007, having earlier been revoked by Uncle Sam, apparently unbeknown to its bewildered holder...)

BOBBY FISCHER IN ROOM 202
(...There are many similarities between what happened to Winston Smith in 1984 and what is happening to Bobby Fischer in our present day 2004... In 1984 Winston was sent to Room 101 and in 2004 Bobby was sent to Room 202...)