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| Bobby Fischer -- Found |
| 2004-07-16 |
| Edited for brevity. Former world chess champion Bobby Fischer, wanted since 1992 for playing a tournament in Yugoslavia despite U.N. sanctions, has been detained in Japan, clearing the way for his extradition to the United States. Fischer was stopped at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on Tuesday as he tried to go to the Philippines, an airport official said on condition of anonymity. Miyoko Watai, a Japan Chess Association official who described herself as a longtime friend of Fischer's, said the eccentric chess prodigy discovered when he was detained that the United States had revoked his passport. Fischer became a Cold War hero in 1972 when he defeated Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union to become the first American world chess champion. But the chess prodigy, long know for his eccentric ways, stunned the chess world by refusing to play again, and had slipped mysteriously in and out of public view in the years since. He forfeited the title in 1975, and resurfaced for a dramatic rematch against Spassky in Yugoslavia in 1992, beating him 10-5 to win $3.35 million. U.S. authorities accused him of violating U.N. sanctions imposed against Yugoslavia for provoking warfare in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina. In radio interviews, Fischer praised the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying America should be "wiped out," and described Jews as "thieving, lying bastards." His mother was Jewish. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #10 "IIRC, under Jewish law if his mother is Jewish, so is he." Unless he has converted to another religion, or she did before he was born -- you don't get to remain one of the Chosen then, despite the opinion of the former Jews in my mother-in-law's evangelical church. But, as Liberalhawk wrote previously, otherwise you are just a sinning Jew. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-07-17 12:09:47 AM |
| #9 This is great. I will finally, after 12 long years, be able to feel safe to sleep at night knowing he's off the streets. |
| Posted by: Jaman 2004-07-16 3:58:11 PM |
| #8 ...and he seemed so nice in the movie. |
| Posted by: Jaman 2004-07-16 3:47:22 PM |
| #7 IIRC, under Jewish law if his mother is Jewish, so is he. |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-07-16 3:18:00 PM |
| #6 Reuben Fine, who was one of the strongest American chess players ever and probably the dominant one in the late 1940s, was also a trained psychologist. He opined many years ago that Fischer had a severe mental illness and anyone familiar with his career usually comes to the same conclusion. As hateful as the rhetoric that comes out of his mouth is, my main wish is that he would get help. If only Michael Moore had the same excuse... |
| Posted by: dreadnought 2004-07-16 2:57:37 PM |
| #5 What a moron. He sure could play some chess, though. They should lock him up in a cell with one of those super unbeatable chess computers (like the one that kept beating Kasparov), name it Hyman or George B. or something, and force him (by withholding snacks) to keep playing it over and over. Until he beats his own brains in. |
| Posted by: Meester Feester 2004-07-16 1:52:28 PM |
| #4 Fischer is the living walking talking proof of the adage that you can be smart as hell and still act a fool. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-16 1:38:02 PM |
| #3 But who could ever forget the excitment when Bobby played 6...0-0. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-07-16 1:34:05 PM |
| #2 "Cold War hero" is a bit much. Fischer acted like such a jerk in '72 that people started to root for Spassky. |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2004-07-16 1:27:15 PM |
| #1 Please bring him to New York. |
| Posted by: Lil Dhimmi 2004-07-16 1:22:24 PM |