Endgame_ Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise And Fall Part 12

Zita's theory about Bobby was that he was dominated by an idee fixe of reproducing himself, much as Henry VIII quested after a son. She felt that the obsession driving Bobby was I must get married, I must have a child, I cannot die without an offspring, or else my genius will vanish forever I must get married, I must have a child, I cannot die without an offspring, or else my genius will vanish forever. Fischer began collecting photos of other Hungarian girls he'd like to meet, and he recruited his new friend and a.s.sistant Janos Rigo-an international master and chess organizer-to serve as a matchmaker. The girls had to have certain characteristics or else he didn't even want to meet them. They must be: (1) blond and blue-eyed, (2) young, (3) beautiful, and (4) a serious chessplayer. When Rigo would bring photos to him, Bobby almost always rejected the women as not having all or enough of those qualities. Finally, Bobby placed the following advertis.e.m.e.nt in several Hungarian newspapers (his description of himself is revealing, as is the fact that he didn't risk narrowing the pool of candidates by sticking with all four of his requirements): Single, tall, rich, handsome, middle-aged American man with good personality desires to meet beautiful young Hungarian girl for serious relations.h.i.+p. One or more photos please.

He gave Rigo's address for replies, and there were some responses, but none met his perfectionist standards, and ultimately, he nixed them all.

Bobby continued reading anti-Semitic literature as well as neo-n.a.z.i tracts and getting into heated arguments about the evilness of the Jews with virtually everyone he met. Once, when coming home late at night from an event, with Rigo serving as his driver, he refused to allow a Jewish chess player to enter the car until the man was willing to proclaim that the Holocaust didn't happen.

Some of the many hate books Bobby read while in Budapest were The Myth of the Six Million The Myth of the Six Million by David Hoggan; by David Hoggan; On the Jews and Their Lies On the Jews and Their Lies by Martin Luther, written in 1543; and by Martin Luther, written in 1543; and Jewish Ritual Murder Jewish Ritual Murder by Arnold S. Leese. He also read an account of n.a.z.i general Ernst Kaltenbrunner, a leader of the SS who ended up being found guilty at the Nuremberg trials and executed. While in prison and awaiting judgment, Kaltenbrunner wrote a letter to his family and Bobby was affected by it. Here are excerpts of what Kaltenbrunner wrote: by Arnold S. Leese. He also read an account of n.a.z.i general Ernst Kaltenbrunner, a leader of the SS who ended up being found guilty at the Nuremberg trials and executed. While in prison and awaiting judgment, Kaltenbrunner wrote a letter to his family and Bobby was affected by it. Here are excerpts of what Kaltenbrunner wrote: My own destiny lies in the hands of G.o.d. I am glad that I never separated from Him. I cannot believe that I shall be held responsible for the mistakes of our leaders, for in the short time of my activity I have striven hard for a reasonable att.i.tude, both internal and external.... They ought to have paid more attention to my words.... We have no property worth mentioning. Perhaps the only resource for you will be my small stamp collection.... Was it not my duty to open the door to socialism and freedom as we imagined and desired them?...I have not given up hope that the truth will be found out and for a just legal decision.

When Bobby discovered that Kaltenbrunner's son was still alive, living in Vienna, he visited him to discuss whether the concentration camps did or didn't exist. If they did did exist, he wanted to know whether the entire Holocaust story was blown out of proportion, and the account of millions being exterminated a myth. Bobby was disappointed when he met the executed SS leader's son. The younger Kaltenbrunner was an avowed liberal and had no interest in discussing his father, the camps, or anything else concerning n.a.z.ism or anti-Semitism. But he exist, he wanted to know whether the entire Holocaust story was blown out of proportion, and the account of millions being exterminated a myth. Bobby was disappointed when he met the executed SS leader's son. The younger Kaltenbrunner was an avowed liberal and had no interest in discussing his father, the camps, or anything else concerning n.a.z.ism or anti-Semitism. But he was was a chess player! To Kaltenbrunner the fact that the great Bobby Fischer was gracing his home-for whatever reason-was equivalent to having the president of a country stop in to pay a visit. When Bobby left, Kaltenbrunner affixed an engraved plaque to the chair in which Bobby sat: a chess player! To Kaltenbrunner the fact that the great Bobby Fischer was gracing his home-for whatever reason-was equivalent to having the president of a country stop in to pay a visit. When Bobby left, Kaltenbrunner affixed an engraved plaque to the chair in which Bobby sat: IN THIS CHAIR SAT THE WORLD'S CHESS CHAMPION, ROBERT J. FISCHER IN THIS CHAIR SAT THE WORLD'S CHESS CHAMPION, ROBERT J. FISCHER.

In the summer of 1993, an American feature film called Searching for Bobby Fischer Searching for Bobby Fischer was released to stellar reviews. Originally t.i.tled was released to stellar reviews. Originally t.i.tled Innocent Moves Innocent Moves, the film was ret.i.tled before final release, with producers deciding to mimic the t.i.tle of the book on which the film was based. Using Bobby's name, they thought, would have more promotional power. Searching for Bobby Fischer Searching for Bobby Fischer was the true story of a young boy, Josh Waitzkin, who showed incredible talent for the game, and how he became successful at the board, at first despite his parents' doubts and then with the encouragement of his parents and his extraordinary chess teacher, Bruce Pandolfini, played in the film by Ben Kingsley. It was one of the most respectful and sensitive films ever made about chess. The character of Bobby is not in the film, but he is seen in doc.u.mentary footage. What he accomplished in Iceland inspired the film, which discusses the so-called Fischer Boom of increased chess activity, post-1972. The film grossed more than $7 million and was nominated for an Academy Award. Bobby was indignant and then irate when he heard about it, proclaiming the film a misappropriation of his name and, therefore, an invasion of his privacy. When the final box office receipts were tallied, the producers were disappointed, citing the ambiguous t.i.tle of the film as the cause for relatively low attendance, and on hindsight they wished that they hadn't used Bobby's name. was the true story of a young boy, Josh Waitzkin, who showed incredible talent for the game, and how he became successful at the board, at first despite his parents' doubts and then with the encouragement of his parents and his extraordinary chess teacher, Bruce Pandolfini, played in the film by Ben Kingsley. It was one of the most respectful and sensitive films ever made about chess. The character of Bobby is not in the film, but he is seen in doc.u.mentary footage. What he accomplished in Iceland inspired the film, which discusses the so-called Fischer Boom of increased chess activity, post-1972. The film grossed more than $7 million and was nominated for an Academy Award. Bobby was indignant and then irate when he heard about it, proclaiming the film a misappropriation of his name and, therefore, an invasion of his privacy. When the final box office receipts were tallied, the producers were disappointed, citing the ambiguous t.i.tle of the film as the cause for relatively low attendance, and on hindsight they wished that they hadn't used Bobby's name.

He was never asked by the filmmakers to give his approval of the project, nor did he receive any compensation from it. He claimed that the film made more than "a hundred million dollars," which was highly exaggerated. It's "a monumental swindle," he wrote. After checking with his attorney, he discovered that because he was a public figure, the producers-Paramount Pictures-had the right to use his name. Even though Bobby felt Paramount's behavior was unethical and unfair, he took no legal action. Even so, after that he continually complained and wrote negatively about the film, even though he'd never seen it and had been told that it was an excellent depiction of how a child enters the chess world.

Bobby felt safe enough to travel and eventually went to many countries: often to Germany as a companion to Benko, who was playing chess for a team there...to Austria to go shopping with Rigo...to Switzerland to meet his bankers...to Argentina to promote his Fischer Random variation...and to the Philippines, China, and j.a.pan for social and business reasons. Mysteriously, he also journeyed to Italy to meet a member of the Mafia; he wanted to meet a mafioso because he admired the Mafia's family structure and code of conduct and wanted to know more about it. Whether this was the real real reason he flew to Italy is not known. reason he flew to Italy is not known.

At the beginning of 1997 Fischer's pa.s.sport was expiring. Though it could have been renewed at the U.S. emba.s.sy in Budapest, Bobby was worried: What if his pa.s.sport was confiscated and he was trapped in Hungary, unable to travel anywhere and possibly unable to access his bank account? Or, even worse, what if they arrested him? He considered all possibilities as if he were a.n.a.lyzing a chess problem, and decided that he didn't want to be confined in Hungary. Bobby asked Rigo to drive him to Bern, Switzerland. When they arrived, he entered the U.S. emba.s.sy, trying to look calm, though he was feeling intense trepidation. His reason for attempting a pa.s.sport renewal in Switzerland rather than Hungary was that even if he were stymied and had to stay put in Switzerland, he would still be able to access the money he had on deposit in the Union Bank of Switzerland. Rigo waited for him in the car outside of the emba.s.sy, equipped with a list of emergency telephone numbers to call should Bobby be detained or arrested; he also had a set of keys to Bobby's safe deposit boxes and other locked cases. Within forty minutes, Bobby exited the building with a big smile on his face: He had a new U.S. pa.s.sport, valid until 2007. It was now safe for him to return to Budapest.

Of course, there was one country Bobby still couldn't travel to, since if he did it would mean almost certain arrest: the United States. This presented an emotional dilemma in July of 1997. Regina had died and Bobby wanted to attend her funeral. Some chess players in the state of Was.h.i.+ngton conjectured that he surrept.i.tiously entered the United States wearing a disguise, first flying to Vancouver, Canada, and then crossing the border to Seattle and traveling south to California by car, where he attended the service incognito. According to the story, he didn't talk to his sister, nephews, or anyone else. He just stood on the sidelines, unrecognized.

Not a year later, Bobby's sister, Joan, then age sixty, died suddenly of a stroke, and Bobby once again felt the pangs of not being able to show his respects at a family member's graveside. This enforced separation from his family aggravated the hatred for America that he'd felt since 1976, when he lost his case in federal court and refused thereafter to pay taxes. It's not clear why, during Bobby's years eluding American authorities, his sister and her family didn't visit him in Europe; his mother, however, had visited him once in Budapest.

After the schism with the Polgars and the Lilienthals, Bobby's life in Budapest became less social, but since he'd lived an isolated life for so long, he didn't appear outwardly affected by the two families' lack of warmth. Still, the absence of these supportive relations.h.i.+ps must have hurt, despite his role in the schism.

His daily routine consisted of rising in the afternoon and having breakfast at his hotel-usually in his room, but occasionally in the dining room-swimming in the indoor pool or taking a trip to one of the city's many thermal baths, then making a visit to a library or bookstore. Sometimes he'd vary his routine and go on long walks, wandering with his memories near the caves in the Buda Hills-or he'd have an espresso on the terrace of the Hilton on Castle Hill. Rigo usually picked him up at his hotel at about seven p.m. for dinner. Bobby deliberately varied the kinds of food he ate: j.a.panese, Chinese, Indian, Hungarian, even Kosher, alternating restaurants every night. Occasionally he was joined by Pal Benko or Lajos Portisch or Peter Leko-a young Hungarian grandmaster-or one or two others. Bobby would only sit with his back against the wall, preferably in a corner and away from the windows-all tactics to escape notice by other diners or pa.s.sersby. He always picked up the check for everyone at his table.

He carried his own bottle of water and only occasionally would have alcohol. Once he drank a little too much palinka palinka, a plum brandy made in Hungary and Transylvania that is supposed to aid digestion after a meal, and he got drunk. He was so unused to such a quant.i.ty of alcohol that his hangover lasted for three days.

Many have wondered how much of the Hungarian language Bobby mastered during his almost eight years in Budapest. Zsuzsa Polgar believed that he spoke almost no Hungarian; Zita claimed he only knew about seven words, gymulcsriz gymulcsriz, his favorite desert, being one of them; and Rigo thought he knew about two hundred words, enough to order from a menu, ask for directions, and make himself understood to shop owners and others. The fact that most older Hungarians knew Russian, and that many also had a command of German, while most of the younger generation could speak English, helped Bobby in communicating.

Once or twice a week in the late afternoon Bobby went to the movies and saw mostly popular American films. He said that he identified with the character played by Jim Carrey in The Truman Show The Truman Show, that he sometimes felt as though he lived in a Kafkaesque world where he-Bobby-like Truman, was the only honest person in the world and everyone else was an actor.

Back in his hotel room at around eleven p.m., Bobby would read and listen to music and the news on BBC radio. He had decided to write an anti-America book in which he'd present his arguments against the country, tying that in somehow with his distrust of and animosity toward Jews (and his personal enemies, whom he called "Jews" regardless of their religion). He connected all this with the rage he still felt for the loss of personal effects he'd kept for years in a storeroom in California, which had been sold at auction when the storage rent wasn't paid. As preparation for the book, Bobby spent part of his nighttime hours recording on ca.s.sette tapes his anti-Semitic and anti-American screeds.

As the hours faded into dawn, he'd play over games from the latest tournaments, impeccably dissecting each move using his mental microscope, looking for errors, misinterpretations, and fallacious conclusions-especially ones that might prove conspiracies among those he believed were the chess world's thieves and embezzlers. Each game became a mystery novel. The goal was never to find a murderer-rather, it was to discover how the "cheating" had occurred.

He began to limp noticeably, and several of his colleagues urged him to see a doctor, a dreaded experience that Bobby would only agree to if he were in enormous pain. Finally, after the suffering became intolerable, he relented, was examined, and was told that he was suffering from orchitis, an inflammation of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e. As he walked, he was "guarding" the gland and therefore limping. Usually, a ten-day antibiotic treatment alleviates the symptoms, or a fast in-office medical procedure can release the pressure. Bobby availed himself of neither. Instead, he told everyone that his limp was caused by an old leg injury (he'd broken his leg many years before), and he just suffered through the pain of orchitis until the swelling subsided on its own. He continued to walk with a slight limp for the rest of his life.

"As Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf Mein Kampf, the Jews are not the victims, they are the victimizers!" blared Bobby Fischer during a live broadcast on Calypso Radio in Budapest on January 13, 1999. How many of the 1.5 million citizens of Budapest, or the ten million people who lived in all of Hungary, were listening to Bobby when he offered his hate-filled comments is not known, but the interviewer, Thomas Monath, was dumbfounded as to what to do. Turn off his microphone? Shout him down? Bobby's rant could be heard for years all over the world because the show went online.

It was Bobby, through Pal Benko, who'd approached the station to say that he wanted to give an interview, his first since he'd won the match against Spa.s.sky in 1992. At first, the interview was fairly benign, and questions such as why Bobby preferred to live in Budapest were answered politely ("I like the mineral baths, the people; you have a fabulous city here"), but soon he became impatient, saying he wanted to discuss much more substantive things. If the world, at least the Hungarians, had missed his anti-Semitic remarks during his press conferences in 1992, they certainly couldn't have missed his near hysterical posturing on Calypso Radio seven years later.

The rationale that Bobby offered for his blather was that all of his personal belongings and memorabilia-admittedly valuable to him, and some of interest to collectors-that he'd stored at the Bekins warehouse in Pasadena, California, had been auctioned off because of the failure of his agent Robert Ellsworth to pay the storage bill of $480. "It was worth tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of dollars, and it was stolen!" Bobby complained. Then in some incredible leap of illogic, he equated the loss of his property to a conspiracy hatched by the Jewish people, and his argument was delivered with such venom and vulgarity that the broadcasting station considered ending his time on the show. Monath appealed to him, "Will you please allow me to ask you some friendly questions about chess?" Raising his voice and bullying his way forward, Bobby replied: "No, I won't let you!" He continued his rant, talking about how he was being "persecuted by the Jews," and claiming that "the Holocaust never happened," and using four-letter words to describe "the Jew Ellsworth." It was almost as though he felt that this opportunity of being on the air live might be his one and only chance to set the record straight-to inform both the station's listeners and the world of the injustices done to him. His hatred continued to spill out into the broadcasting ether until Monath could stand it no longer: "Mr. Fischer, you are destroyed in your mind," he said, and Fischer's microphone was rendered mute.

The facts of Fischer's loss of belongings are fairly straightforward: He'd been paying for storage costs for about ten years, and his bin contained a large safe with such things as his letter from President Nixon congratulating him for his win in Iceland, his World Champions.h.i.+p medal presented to him by FIDE, letters, score sheets, paintings, trophies, statues, sc.r.a.pbooks, photos, books, and hundreds of other items. One great loss for the chess world was the original scores of games that Bobby played in a series of simultaneous exhibitions throughout South America and about which he planned to write a book, since he had played a number of interesting games during that time. If sold individually-there were thousands thousands of games, according to Bobby-or as one large cache to a collector, the value of these score sheets alone would have totaled somewhere around $100,000. of games, according to Bobby-or as one large cache to a collector, the value of these score sheets alone would have totaled somewhere around $100,000.

Bobby had been giving Ellsworth, his agent, about $5,000 a year to pay the storage cost and some minimal taxes on property-five lots-that he owned in Clearwater and Tarpon Springs, Florida, which were originally owned by his grandfather (Bobby bought them from his mother in 1992). Those various expenses came to about $4,000 a year; the $1,000 left over was for Ellsworth's management. The storage room was registered under the names of "Claudia Mokarow and Robert D. James," and since Ellsworth was paying the charges year after year, it is possible that the storage company had no idea that the material in the bin belonged to Bobby Fischer. Somehow Ellsworth had blundered-either through carelessness or a clerical error-and didn't pay $480 that was owed, and as contractually agreed upon, the company had the right to dispose of the storage room's contents. As soon as Ellsworth discovered his mistake, he felt guilty about it, and one can understand how heartbreaking it was to Bobby: "My whole life!" he said, outraged.

Ellsworth actually realized his error in time to attend the auction and buy back $8,000 worth of the material, not bidding on comic books and other memorabilia that he believed-wrongfully, as it developed-would no longer be of any interest to Fischer. Harry Sneider, Fischer's former physical trainer, accompanied Ellsworth to the auction and Sneider's son subsequently traveled to Budapest with twelve boxes of material. When he handed them over, Bobby said, "Where's the rest?" He claimed to have had at least one hundred boxes in his storage unit and maintained that what had been brought to him was only one percent of his belongings.

He just wouldn't let it rest. Before he was done, he gave thirty-five radio broadcast interviews-they all found their way online-most of them through a small public radio station in the Philippines and some lasting almost two hours, expounding on his theory that he was a victim of a conspiracy that involved a Jewish cabal, the U.S. government, the Russians, Robert Ellsworth, and the Bekins Storage company.

It seemed that Bobby had lapsed over the years into a state of increasingly frequent paranoia, believing as he did that people and organizations, bonded in a conspiracy, were out to persecute him. It was as if he had a form of Tourette's syndrome where, plagued by a temporary storm in his mind, he couldn't stop himself from denigrating Jews in the vilest terms: His hate rhetoric just spewed out and he couldn't-nor did he want to-control it. He was not delusional nor did he have hallucinations-that anyone knows of-so he could not be labeled psychotic. (One psychiatrist, Dr. Magnus Skula.s.son, who knew Bobby well toward the end of his life, insisted that the term "psychotic" definitely didn't apply to him.) Indeed, removed from stressful situations (such as the loss of his possessions at Bekins), he was completely in touch with reality and could be charming, friendly, and even rational (if limited to certain topics) at times. Dr. Anthony Saidy, one of Bobby's oldest and closet friends, wrote a letter to Chess Life Chess Life about Bobby's broadcasts in which he stated: "His paranoia has worsened through the years, and he is more isolated than ever in an alien culture." Saidy added that the media were exploitative in publis.h.i.+ng the most hideous of Bobby's statements, that the press should leave him alone. about Bobby's broadcasts in which he stated: "His paranoia has worsened through the years, and he is more isolated than ever in an alien culture." Saidy added that the media were exploitative in publis.h.i.+ng the most hideous of Bobby's statements, that the press should leave him alone.

When Bobby read Saidy's comments he was furious. He lambasted Saidy for living in the United States, a truly alien culture by his definition, and called Saidy a Jew (he is not).

The smell of camphor trees in Kamata, a suburban section of Tokyo, intrigued Bobby. Many of the j.a.panese would scoop up or pluck the aromatic leaves and boil them and inhale the steam, claiming that it was good for colds; others felt that camphor steam could be harmful. Regardless of who was correct, the trees drew people's attention, including Bobby's. If you picked up just a few of the fallen leaves and crushed them in your hands, you could smell their pungent scent. Bobby increasingly relied on homeopathic remedies as an alternative to prescription drugs for his aches or pains, and he was always looking for natural cures; this quest for medicinal herbs may have plunged him into trouble.

He'd arrived in Tokyo on January 28, 2000, after first announcing to his friends that he'd be gone from Budapest "for a few months" and storing everything in Benko's apartment. He never returned. In j.a.pan, he had a standing invitation to stay with Miyoko Watai, the president of the j.a.panese Chess a.s.sociation, a woman he'd known since 1973, when he first visited the country, seeking a venue for his upcoming yet never-played match with Karpov. Over the years they'd corresponded, and she'd visited him both in Los Angeles and in Budapest. Miyoko, one of the strongest women players in j.a.pan, admitted that as a chess player Bobby was her idol and that before meeting him she'd read everything about him she could find and had played over every one of his games. She was in love with him.

To his friends, though, Bobby denied that there was a romantic relations.h.i.+p with Miyoko, who was two years younger than him.

Bobby was still looking for a woman who could bear him a child, and hoped he would meet a number of young Filipina women, among whom he might find a candidate. So Bobby began a routine of flying back and forth between Tokyo and the Philippines, staying in j.a.pan just shy of three months (for immigration purposes) and then doing the same in the Philippines, and living-to some extent-a life similar to the one in the film The Captain's Paradise The Captain's Paradise, where the protagonist has a wife in two separate ports and rotates visits to each. In Bobby's case, he wasn't married, but he was intimate with Miyoko in Tokyo and with other women in the Philippines, and this back-and-forth philandering went on for several years.

Bobby and Miyoko, both in their late fifties, lived a quiet life in the quiet suburb of Tokyo called Ikegami, traveling to various onsen onsen-hot springs-going to movies, taking long walks, sitting in the park, where no one seemed to recognize Bobby, and just living what could be called an unremarkable but romantic middle-cla.s.s life. A rare false note was struck when Bobby and Miyoko attended a screening of the American film Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor. When the j.a.panese Zeroes began bombing the s.h.i.+ps in Battles.h.i.+p Row and destroyed the USS Arizona Arizona, Bobby began clapping loudly. He was the only one in the theater to do so-much to the embarra.s.sment of the j.a.panese. He said that he was shocked that no one else joined in.

But then the three months were up, and just before the flag fell on the immigration clock, Bobby would scoot off to the Philippines.

Life in Baguio City, about 130 miles from Manila, was somewhat more exotic than Tokyo. Half of the city's population consisted of university students (some 150,000 of them), so the opportunity to meet the type of girls Bobby preferred (young and beautiful) was greater than in j.a.pan. Curiously, though, during those periods when Bobby was in j.a.pan he didn't stray from Miyoko.

In the Philippines Fischer was hosted by an admirer at the Baguio Country Club for his first three months, played tennis every day, and met and dined with Torre and occasionally with the dignified Florencio Campomanes, the former president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Eventually, Bobby leased a home in the same compound where Torre lived and, as a constant dinner guest, often enjoying the cooking of Torre's wife.

At a party hosted by Torre at the country club in early 2000, Bobby met an attractive young woman named Justine Ong, who changed her name to Marilyn Young, a Filipina of Chinese extraction, and they began dating. Several months later, she announced that she was pregnant. The idea of abortion was abhorrent to Bobby and he refused to even discuss it. At the birth of the child, named Jinky, Marilyn had Bobby's name recorded on the birth certificate as the father. He promised to support mother and child, as he did, buying them a home in the Philippines, sending occasional gifts to the child, and money to Marilyn. His friends have said that he wasn't certain that the child was his, but just as he was supported by Paul Nemenyi, not knowing whether Nemenyi was his father, he would do the same for Jinky, and even stand in as the child's t.i.tular father. This arrangement went on for seven years, with Bobby sending greeting cards to the young girl signed "Daddy," and having mother and child visit him later on. One of his friends who observed them together said that Bobby treated little Jinky with affection, but he didn't seem as close to her as one would expect if he thought she was truly his daughter.

In one of Bobby's broadcasts (August 9, 2000) from Tokyo to Radio Baguio, he made mention of having been arrested in j.a.pan around that time on a "trumped-up drug charge" but gave very little other information about it except to say that he was in jail for eighteen days before being released and how absurd it was because he took no drugs, not even aspirin. The arrest took place in the spring or summer of 2000, and it received no publicity that this writer could find; it's possible that the j.a.panese authorities, not knowing who Fischer was, simply saw a foreigner coming frequently in and out of the country with a backpack of herbs-the profile of a drug dealer-and interrogated him. Knowing Bobby's penchant for noncooperation with authority figures, he might well have been incarcerated more for his att.i.tude than anything else.

Perhaps the most horrendous of Bobby's broadcasts came on September 11, 2001. He was called by Radio Baguio in the Philippines (he was living in Tokyo at the time) to comment on the attacks in the United States on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The interview was his shortest, only twelve minutes, but it created an international fury since it was picked up in its entirety online. Bobby's polemic was a full-frontal attack on a suffering nation.

In speaking his mind, Bobby had no idea-or if he did, maybe he didn't care-that he was sealing his fate with the U.S. government, Jews around the world, and the vast majority of the American people who felt wounded and outraged over the carnage of the 9/11 attacks and Bobby's blasphemy concerning them. To say that Bobby's broadcast was one of the most hateful by an American in the history of radio would not be an exaggeration. Following is a transcribed version of some of his comments: Fischer: Yes, well, this is all wonderful news. It's time for the f.u.c.king U.S. to get their heads kicked in. It's time to finish off the U.S. once and for all. Yes, well, this is all wonderful news. It's time for the f.u.c.king U.S. to get their heads kicked in. It's time to finish off the U.S. once and for all.Interviewer: You are happy at what happened? You are happy at what happened?Fischer: Yes, I applaud the act.... f.u.c.k the U.S. I want to see the U.S. wiped out. Yes, I applaud the act.... f.u.c.k the U.S. I want to see the U.S. wiped out.Fischer: The United States is based on lies. It's based on theft. Look at all I have done for the U.S. n.o.body has single-handedly done more for the U.S. than me. I really believe this. You know, when I won the World Champions.h.i.+p in 1972, the United States had an image of a football country, a baseball country, but n.o.body thought of it as an intellectual country. I turned that all around single-handedly, right? The United States is based on lies. It's based on theft. Look at all I have done for the U.S. n.o.body has single-handedly done more for the U.S. than me. I really believe this. You know, when I won the World Champions.h.i.+p in 1972, the United States had an image of a football country, a baseball country, but n.o.body thought of it as an intellectual country. I turned that all around single-handedly, right?Fischer: But I'm hoping for a But I'm hoping for a Seven Days in May Seven Days in May scenario, where sane people will take over the U.S.... scenario, where sane people will take over the U.S....Interviewer: "Sane people"? "Sane people"?Fischer: Sane people, military people. Yes. They will imprison the Jews; they will execute several hundred thousand of them at least.... Sane people, military people. Yes. They will imprison the Jews; they will execute several hundred thousand of them at least....Fischer: I say death to President Bus.h.!.+ I say death to the United States. f.u.c.k the United States! f.u.c.k the Jews! The Jews are a criminal people. They mutilate [circ.u.mcise] their children. They're murderous, criminal, thieving, lying b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. They made up the Holocaust. There's not a word of truth to it.... This is a wonderful day. f.u.c.k the United States. Cry, you crybabies! Whine, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Now your time is coming. I say death to President Bus.h.!.+ I say death to the United States. f.u.c.k the United States! f.u.c.k the Jews! The Jews are a criminal people. They mutilate [circ.u.mcise] their children. They're murderous, criminal, thieving, lying b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. They made up the Holocaust. There's not a word of truth to it.... This is a wonderful day. f.u.c.k the United States. Cry, you crybabies! Whine, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Now your time is coming.

Earliest known photograph of Bobby Fischer, sitting on his mother's lap in 1944, when he was one year old. Regina Fischer was homeless when she gave birth to Bobby, and they first lived in a shelter for indigent mothers. MCF photo MCF photoBobby's mother, Regina, and her husband, Gerhardt Fischer, while in France during the 1930s. Though Gerhardt's name is on Bobby's birth certificate, it is not certain that he was Bobby's father. MCF photo MCF photoChess can be studied virtually anywhere, and Bobby was seldom without a chess board. One night, exasperated, Regina lightly tapped her nine-year-old son on his head with her bare foot: "Get out of the bathtub!" MCF photo MCF photoThe ebullient Carmine Nigro, Bobby's first chess teacher, visited New York's Was.h.i.+ngton Square Park in 1955, where Bobby was playing in an outdoor tournament. MCF photo MCF photoBefore he became obsessed with chess, Bobby dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. Here he is wielding a bat for his grade school's team during a game in Brooklyn, in 1955. dailynewspix dailynewspixBobby engaged in a systematic regimen of reading every chess book in the Brooklyn Public Library and memorizing what was most helpful in each. Here he is, at age fourteen, reading a volume of Alexander Alekhine's best games. FB Photo FB PhotoBobby at fourteen, interrupted while playing a game with his friend, teacher, and mentor, Jack Collins. MCF photo MCF photoRegina picked up her son at the Manhattan Chess Club many a late evening and escorted him home on the subway. Here he's fallen asleep with his head on his mother's shoulder. This snapshot was taken by Bobby's sister, Joan. MCF photo MCF photoIn 1958, after being refused an extension of his visa in Russia because of his rude behavior, Bobby arrived in Yugoslavia with his sister, Joan. JAT, the Yugoslavian airline JAT, the Yugoslavian airlineAlthough Bobby had played some speed games against Tigran Petrosian in Moscow, this game at the Portoroz International, in 1958, was their first formal encounter. They drew. Yugoslavian Chess Federation Yugoslavian Chess FederationDavid Bronstein was one of the strongest players in the world in 1958, but was only able to draw his game with Bobby, which created a sensation, proving that Bobby was of World Champions.h.i.+p caliber. Yugoslavian Chess Federation Yugoslavian Chess FederationRegina Fischer, a frequent protester, at the head of a peace march in Moscow, 1960. She went from there to East Germany, where she completed her medical degree. Planet News, Ltd Planet News, Ltd.Bobby played three games against Mikhail Tal in Curacao, in 1962, just before the flamboyant Russian became ill and was hospitalized. Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn CollectionBanned from traveling to Havana in 1965, Bobby sat in a closed room in New York's Marshall Chess Club and played his opponents by teletype. After he defeated Va.s.sily Smyslov, the two a.n.a.lyzed their game by phone. The Queens Borough Public Library, Long Island Div. The Queens Borough Public Library, Long Island Div., New York Herald-Tribune Photo Morgue Photo MorgueWilliam Lombardy (left) and the bearded Miguel Quinteros, both grandmasters, served as Bobby's seconds at the 1972 match. Icelandic Chess Federation Icelandic Chess FederationRegina Fischer, wearing a blond wig as a disguise, secretly visited Bobby in his hotel room during his match in Iceland. Bobby was preparing for his next game against Boris Spa.s.sky. MCF photo MCF photoIn 1972 Fischer finally reached the summit of chess, playing in Iceland for the World Champions.h.i.+p against Boris Spa.s.sky of the Soviet Union. Icelandic Chess Federation Icelandic Chess FederationAt the banquet after he had won the match, Bobby, who often seemed uninterested in women, surprised the a.s.sembled dignitaries by dancing with an Icelandic beauty. Icelandic Chess Federation Icelandic Chess FederationBack in the United States, Bobby had become America's hero by defeating the Soviet Union. In New York, on the steps of City Hall, Mayor John Lindsay awarded Bobby a gold medal and a Proclamation of Acclaim. Dailynewspix DailynewspixAfter winning the champions.h.i.+p, Bobby appeared on a number of television shows and received unprecedented media coverage. Here he is in late 1972 on The Merv Griffin Show The Merv Griffin Show, thinking about a move. Courtesy of Courtesy of The Merv Griffin Show The Merv Griffin ShowIn 2004, Bobby was imprisoned in j.a.pan for traveling without a valid pa.s.sport, and was threatened with extradition back to the United States. Icelandic friends worked to free him, but after ten months in jail, bearded and haggard, Bobby appeared to be a broken man. Einar Einarsson Einar EinarssonMiyoko Watai visited Bobby daily while he was in jail in j.a.pan. Subsequently, she cared for him during his illness in Iceland, where friends said they were an affectionate and loving couple. Einar Einarsson Einar Einars...o...b..bby, nearing the end of his life, walking down a country road near alpingi, the site of Iceland's original parliament. Founded in AD 930 during the Viking era, Iceland's national parliament is the oldest in the world and still in existence. Einar Einarsson Einar EinarssonThe last known photographic portrait of Bobby Fischer, who had become an Icelandic citizen, taken at 3 Frakkar (3 Coats), his favorite restaurant in Reykjavik. Einar Einarsson Einar Einarsson

14.

Arrest and Rescue

BOBBY F FISCHER WAS a non-convicted felon-at-large with a ten-year prison sentence hanging over his head. After nine years of the government's apparent lack of interest in pursuing him, however, he really didn't feel like a fugitive. He traveled almost anywhere and did virtually anything he wanted to do, was a multimillionaire, had a woman who loved him, and although he was a man without a country, a modern-day Flying Dutchman hauntingly roaming the seas, he felt relatively secure. Then everything went amiss when he discovered that his memorabilia had been auctioned off; it was as if he'd lost not just old letters and score sheets, but a part of his inner being. a non-convicted felon-at-large with a ten-year prison sentence hanging over his head. After nine years of the government's apparent lack of interest in pursuing him, however, he really didn't feel like a fugitive. He traveled almost anywhere and did virtually anything he wanted to do, was a multimillionaire, had a woman who loved him, and although he was a man without a country, a modern-day Flying Dutchman hauntingly roaming the seas, he felt relatively secure. Then everything went amiss when he discovered that his memorabilia had been auctioned off; it was as if he'd lost not just old letters and score sheets, but a part of his inner being.

In a real sense, he'd lost himself-his grip was slipping.

It was a conspiracy, he conjectured, and the United States government and the Jews were responsible. He wanted the world to know about his devastating loss. That was when the radio broadcasts started. Most were aired over a small station in Baguio City, and if he'd gone on the air at that same station ten years earlier, he probably could have continued to live as he had since 1992, since so few listeners were normally tuned in. In 2001, though, with the Internet rapidly expanding, his rants were heard all over the world, and what he said brought renewed scrutiny by the United States government.

Following Bobby's 9/11 remarks, editorials were written denouncing him; the U.S. Chess Federation made a motion to ban him from its organization; and players-and even some of his closest friends-who'd forgiven his 1992 hate mongering in Yugoslavia, were now totally incensed. Scores of letters were sent to the White House and the Justice Department demanding his arrest; many of them stated it was long overdue. The government's engine of bureaucracy accelerated slowly, however, and although the Justice Department decided to make its move against him, it took time and approvals to decide when and where an arrest could be made.

Bobby was astute enough to know that by making more and more broadcasts calling the United States a "s.h.i.+t country of criminals," demanding a new Holocaust for Jews, and chanting "death to the President," he was increasing his chances of eventual arrest. When nothing happened, however, he felt invulnerable and continued to travel without hiding. Since he was never questioned or stopped at any airport or customs entry point to any country, he felt free to persist with his broadcast vitriol.

Nevertheless, he did exhibit a certain wariness in dealing with the U.S. government. His pa.s.sport (which he'd renewed for ten years in 1997) was running out of s.p.a.ce on the pages that are normally stamped when one leaves or enters a country. From 1997 to 2000, while living in Hungary, he'd traveled to many European countries, and from 2000 to 2003 he'd made fifteen trips from Tokyo to Manila and back again. Finally, he was told by a customs agent that he had to have additional pages added to his pa.s.sport. It would have been more convenient to go to the American emba.s.sy in either Tokyo or Manila, but he chose to have it done in Switzerland, for the same reason he chose that country when he'd had his pa.s.sport renewed in 1997: In case they confiscated the pa.s.sport, he could remain in Switzerland, where his money was safe and he could have physical access to it (unless he was arrested). He was also considering the possibility of settling in Switzerland permanently, so he looked for any excuse to visit that beautiful country.

Bobby arrived in Bern at the end of October 2003, checked into an inexpensive hotel, and the next afternoon went to the U.S. emba.s.sy on Sulgeneckstra.s.se. Although he didn't know the Bernese dialect, his German was fluent enough to be understood easily, and since it was the U.S. emba.s.sy, everybody spoke English anyway. He was told that his pa.s.sport would be taken apart and then new pages would be inserted. The process would take about ten days. Bobby gave the authorities the address of his hotel and his cell phone number and asked if they could call him when the reconstructed pa.s.sport was ready.

When he returned to the hotel, he checked out immediately. A short time later, he took the train to Zurich about one hour away and registered at an upscale hotel there, using an a.s.sumed name. All of this cloak-and-dagger movement was a way of hiding his whereabouts should the emba.s.sy at Bern be informed by Was.h.i.+ngton that a warrant had been issued for his arrest and his pa.s.sport should be confiscated. It's true that the emba.s.sy had his cell phone number, but he'd left no forwarding address at the Bern hotel. If the authorities came after him in Zurich, he could probably make an escape before they arrived. As it developed, after about a week he called the emba.s.sy himself and discovered that all was well: His pa.s.sport was waiting for him.

Back at Bern he wondered if it was a trap, if the moment he entered the emba.s.sy he'd be arrested. He took the chance and walked into the building as nonchalantly as he could. Voila! Voila! The doc.u.ments clerk handed him his pa.s.sport, and he remarked to her how nice it looked with the twenty-four new pages perfectly sewn in. With the knowledge that his old pa.s.sport was good until 2007, he then flew "home" to Tokyo. The doc.u.ments clerk handed him his pa.s.sport, and he remarked to her how nice it looked with the twenty-four new pages perfectly sewn in. With the knowledge that his old pa.s.sport was good until 2007, he then flew "home" to Tokyo.

Barely six weeks later the Department of Justice sent him a letter revoking his pa.s.sport, stating that the revocation was issued because he was "the subject of an outstanding federal warrant of arrest for a felony," which didn't refer by name to the Fischer-Spa.s.sky match of 1992, but made reference to the U.S. Code under which Fischer was accused: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, t.i.tle 50, Sections 1701, 1702, and 1705, signed by President George H. W. Bush.

There were problems with the revocation of the pa.s.sport, however. Fischer never received the notice and therefore couldn't appeal it, which according to law he had the right to do. The Justice Department claimed that the letter had been sent to the hotel in Bern (the location Bobby had given to the emba.s.sy) and was returned to them with no forwarding address appended. It was dated December 11, 2003, and when a faxed copy of the letter was ultimately examined, it didn't have an address for Fischer on it, the implication being that the emba.s.sy had never sent the letter to Bern. According to law, Bobby would have had sixty days for a hearing and perhaps another sixty days to confront the appeal if it didn't go his way. Such a hearing would only determine whether he was the subject of the warrant for arrest and whether the proper procedures for his application had been in effect when he applied for the pa.s.sport renewal in 1997. The law stated that a pa.s.sport "shall not be issued to an applicant subject to a federal arrest warrant or subpoena for any matter involving a felony." One of two things had to be operative in Bern in 1997: Either the State Department made a clerical mistake in issuing him a renewed pa.s.sport at that time, or else Fischer didn't indicate on his application that he was a wanted felon. If he'd lied by omission, he would have been guilty of fraud, a charge that could have been added to his sanction violation and his income tax evasion.

Had he received the notice, his appeal-had he attempted it-would probably have been denied, but it might have given him some time to travel to another country, or to some hideout-perhaps somewhere in Switzerland, such as the Alps-to avoid arrest.

Not knowing that his arrest was imminent, and believing that his pa.s.sport was legal, on July 13, 2004, he went to Narita Airport in Tokyo to board a plane bound for Manila. He was arrested and shackled in chains.

One of the first things Fischer tried to do while he was behind bars was to ask permission to call someone-perhaps an attorney who could a.s.sist with setting bail. The authorities wouldn't permit him access to a telephone, however. People who violate j.a.panese law, even unknowingly, may be arrested, imprisoned, and deported. They may also be held in detention for a minor offense, without bail, for months or more during investigation and legal proceedings. Bobby's claim that he was an American citizen and had a right to make a phone call was ignored.

Twenty-four hours later, an immigration official at the airport called Miyoko to tell her what had happened, and she immediately contacted an attorney and headed for the airport detention facility to see Bobby-but when she arrived there, visiting hours were over. She did see him the next day, for thirty minutes. "He was so upset, and I didn't know what to say to console him," she told a journalist.

Fischer was kept in the Narita Airport Detention Center for illegal immigrants for almost a month on the initial charge that he was attempting to travel on an invalid pa.s.sport, but the more serious charge echoed back to 1992, for defying the American trade embargo and partic.i.p.ating in the match with Spa.s.sky in the former Yugoslavia. It's possible that Fischer's broadcasts were the fuel that sparked the U.S. government to activate the decade-old charge against him. Certainly, the Department of Justice wanted him deported back to the United States to stand trial for his violations, possibly in concert with the Department of the Treasury, for income tax evasion. Miyoko, for her part, thought that U.S. authorities could have arrested Bobby anytime post-1992, but they didn't and only went after him when "suddenly he started to attack America and it made the government very angry."

Bobby was like a caged panther, pacing up and down, continually complaining about everything, from the food, to the temperature, to the disrespect his captors showed him, and screaming at the guards. He wasn't the ideal prisoner; he was the type of person who couldn't be incarcerated indefinitely without doing harm to himself or others. As it was, he sparked fights with the jailers and eventually was transferred to the East j.a.pan Immigration Detention Center in Us.h.i.+ku, forty miles northeast of Tokyo. The center had all of the trappings of a high-security prison, and its inmates were incarcerated there for relatively long periods. Fischer claimed that at sixty-one he was the oldest prisoner in the center and therefore deserved more deference. But his seniority and chess credentials counted little with the guards. Once, when he told the guard who brought him his breakfast that his soft-boiled eggs were really hard-boiled and that he wanted an additional egg, they got into a scuffle. He ended up in solitary confinement for several days and wasn't permitted visits or even allowed to leave his cell. Another time, he purposely stepped on the gla.s.ses of a guard he didn't like and was given solitary again.

Miyoko visited him a few times each week-a two-hour trip each way from Tokyo-and she brought him newspapers and some money so he could buy extra food (usually natto natto, which was fermented soybeans) from the jailers. Several people immediately tried to a.s.sist Bobby in securing his release, most prominently Masako Suzuki, a brilliant young lawyer who became his chief counsel and most determined advocate, and John Bosnitch, a forty-three-year-old Canadian journalist of Bosnian origin who was stationed in Tokyo. They formed a committee called "Free Bobby Fischer" and worked with others trying to extricate Fischer from his cell. Suzuki filed proceedings to address what she claimed was an illegal arrest. Fischer called it a "kidnapping."

It isn't known how much Fischer paid for his legal defense, but it probably wasn't all that much since Suzuki was receiving pro bono advice and a.s.sistance from those who felt Bobby was being persecuted. His plight had become a cause. And although Bosnitch was not a lawyer, he seemed to know the intricacies of the j.a.panese legal system and was both pleasantly aggressive and courteous, which impressed the lawmakers and officials he had to deal with. He was subsequently named an amicus curiae in Fischer's case and sat in on and partic.i.p.ated in all of the legal proceedings. One of the first orders of business was to prevent Fischer's deportation to the United States. Bobby believed that if he were brought back and forced to stand trial, he'd be convicted. But that was the least of it. He was convinced that he was so hated by the government that he'd be murdered while serving time. One of the ways he thought the deportation might be prevented, or at least delayed, was for him to become stateless by legally renouncing his citizens.h.i.+p. Then the United States would have less jurisdiction over him. He wanted to stay in j.a.pan.

Renunciation of United States citizens.h.i.+p requires three things: (1) an appearance before a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer, (2) the renunciation must be done in a foreign country (normally at a U.S. emba.s.sy or consulate), and (3) an oath of renunciation must be signed in person before a U.S. official.

Bobby wrote to the U.S. emba.s.sy in Tokyo asking them to send a member of the diplomatic staff to the detention center so that an official could accept his citizens.h.i.+p renunciation. No one came. He also wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell to enlist his help in allowing him to renounce his citizens.h.i.+p. No answer. Finally, Bobby wrote another letter to the U.S. emba.s.sy in Tokyo insisting insisting that they send someone, and in case they didn't comply, he appended his renunciation. If Bobby had any trepidation about permanently severing his relations.h.i.+p with the United States, there was no evidence of it in the renunciation he wrote. He that they send someone, and in case they didn't comply, he appended his renunciation. If Bobby had any trepidation about permanently severing his relations.h.i.+p with the United States, there was no evidence of it in the renunciation he wrote. He had had to get out of his imprisonment, and so he attempted to surgically remove himself-quickly and precisely, slicing away at his homeland, aware that it would be a permanent farewell, never to be undone. The text: to get out of his imprisonment, and so he attempted to surgically remove himself-quickly and precisely, slicing away at his homeland, aware that it would be a permanent farewell, never to be undone. The text: I am Robert James Fischer. I am a U.S. citizen. I was born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago, Ill. U.S.A. My U.S. pa.s.sport no. is or was Z7792702. It was issued at the U.S. Emba.s.sy in Bern, Switzerland. The issue date is January 24, 1997 and the expiry date is January 23, 2007. I Robert James Fischer do hereby irrevocably and permanently renounce my U.S. citizens.h.i.+p and all the supposed rights and privileges of United States citizens.h.i.+p.

Bobby Fischer's renunciation of his citizens.h.i.+p was never accepted by the United States. He remained a citizen. Meanwhile, Suzuki and Bosnitch appealed to the courts on Bobby's behalf for him to become a political refugee from the United States and be allowed to live in j.a.pan. Their argument was that when he competed in Yugoslavia, he violated the trade sanctions purely as a political act against the United States, and he was now being punished for it. This request was denied. Bobby's team also pleaded to the court that it strike down the deportation order requested by the United States and brought by the j.a.panese Immigration Bureau. That request was denied too. Bobby had been locked up for over a month at this point and was becoming desperate. Finally able to make outgoing calls, he, along with his team, started contacting a number of countries to determine if they would offer him asylum: Germany-Bobby's plea was based on his paternity, in that his father, Gerhardt Fischer, was German, and under the blood citizens.h.i.+p law of the country, Bobby claimed to be a German citizen. The problem was that Bobby was a Holocaust denier, which is a crime in Germany. If the country offered him asylum, his past remarks would get him arrested as soon as he entered.

Cuba-Since Castro was so anti-American, and Fischer knew the premier, he thought Cuba might accept him. Nada.

North Korea-Possibly the most anti-American country in the world. The problem was that Miyoko thought it was the worst worst country in the world and could not see herself living there or even visiting. country in the world and could not see herself living there or even visiting.

Libya-Mu'ammar Gadhafi was attempting to ingratiate himself with the United States and couldn't take the chance of antagonizing President Bush.

Iran-To the Iranians' way of thinking, Bobby was Jewish, and they had no interest.

Venezuela-No reason given for rejection.

Switzerland-Although the country was politically neutral, Bobby's anti-Semitic views were not acceptable there.

Montenegro-Fischer's connection with Vasiljevic, who had scammed so much money from the citizens, left them unenthused.

The Philippines-Although Bobby was adored by the Philippine chess community and had established ties there, he was unhappy with the ouster of president Joseph Estrada, whom he believed was "pushed out illegally." He also felt that crime and corruption was rising in Manila and even in Baguio, and although he enjoyed living there, he was uncertain about gaining, or even wanting, asylum.

Iceland-Yes, Iceland! As a result of the 1972 match, Fischer had more to do with promoting Iceland than anyone in modern times. In effect, as a hero who'd come to the island and performed great deeds, he'd become part of the Icelandic sagas. The Icelanders were also known for their strength, fairness, and stubbornness. They had the ability as a people not only to offer him asylum, but to secure it and extricate him from prison.

Saemi Palsson, Fischer's old bodyguard, was tracked down at his winter home in the north of Spain. "Saemi, this is Bobby. I need your help. I'm a prisoner in j.a.pan and I want to get asylum in Iceland. Can you help me?"

A former policeman and carpenter who in his youth had gained unlikely fame as a "rock dancer," who delighted people with his "twist" performances, Saemi would do anything for a friend. He also had an innate sense of self-publicity. Although he hadn't seen Bobby in thirty-two years, Saemi phoned some political and business leaders and several from the chess community who he thought might be able to help Bobby. He was on a plane to the East in short order.

While Palsson was en route to j.a.pan, a group of stalwart Icelanders met in Reykjavik to discuss whether there was any way asylum could be offered to Fischer. A committee was formed using Bobby's initials: "RJF." Perhaps as an afterthought someone came up with another meaning for the acronym: "Rights, Justice, Freedom."

Though the rest of the world, including his own country, was vilifying Bobby for his outrageous positions and statements, the Icelanders felt sorry for him. They deplored what he'd said, but felt he had a right to express himself. The Icelanders also felt a sense of obligation. Fischer, in effect, had honored the country of Iceland by playing there in 1972, and now he was in trouble. To not help him, they believed, would be a greater moral offense and act of ingrat.i.tude than even his verbal attacks of hostility and hatred.

All of the members of the committee were eminent Icelanders and ardent chess enthusiasts: Gudmundur Thorarinsson, former member of parliament and the princ.i.p.al organizer of the 1972 Fischer-Spa.s.sky match; Magnus Skula.s.son, a psychiatrist; Gardar Sverrisson, a political scientist; Helgi Olafsson, a grandmaster; and Einar Einarsson, a bank executive. The group met for over five months in formal meetings, and there was much correspondence and phone exchanges between them as they began lobbying the Icelandic government to consider Fischer's case. In the midst of this, they contacted both the United States and j.a.panese emba.s.sies in Reykjavik to protest Fischer's incarceration. In a letter to Fumiko Saiga, the j.a.panese amba.s.sador to Iceland, the RJF Committee stated, in part: We feel obliged to express our deepest dismay and sorrow of the j.a.panese authorities' grotesque violation of his [Fischer's] human rights and of international law.... As we protest in the strongest possible terms against your handling of this matter, we request immediate release of Mr. Robert J. Fischer.

Palsson began visiting Bobby at the jail and met with some of the j.a.panese officials to see what he could do. Having a representative there from Iceland, although Saemi wasn't an official, helped Bobby somewhat to make a credible case that the country was considering asylum. The problem was that he wasn't helping his own case.

Bobby continued making broadcasts, this time directly from the detention center's pay telephone, and they went immediately on the World Wide Web. Most of his vitriol was directed toward the Jews ("absolute pigs"), with a slight softening of his invective against the United States. Although still unkind ("the whole country has no culture, no taste, it's filled with pollution"), his anti-American remarks were tempered somewhat-though hardly enough to win points with the U.S. Justice Department.

Fischer then announced that he was going to marry Miyoko Watai, his longtime companion. "I could be a sacrifice p.a.w.n," she said to the press. "But in chess there is such a thing as p.a.w.n promotion, where a p.a.w.n can become a queen. Bobby-san is my king and I will become his queen." Shortly after that the couple was married in a private ceremony in the prison. John Bosnitch was a witness. But was the marriage ceremony legal? More than a year later, when asked by a reporter whether she ever "tied the knot" with Fischer, Miyoko replied, "I'd rather not say," and then added, "I prefer not to talk about private things." Immediately, the media began implying that the alleged marriage was just a ploy to help Fischer obtain his release and live in j.a.pan, but Suzuki disagreed: "It was already a de-facto marriage," she said. "Now it is a legal marriage. I have never seen a case where there is so much pa.s.sion and devotion." Miyoko was more forthright when she stated: "We had been satisfied with our life before he was detained. Marrying him legally may be helpful to avoid the possible deportation and enable him to get a permanent visa in j.a.pan."

Fischer, on the advice of the RJF Committee, wrote to Iceland's foreign minister, David Oddsson, and requested a residence permit, which was forwarded to him immediately. The j.a.panese court didn't accept it, though. If a country offered Fischer citizens.h.i.+p citizens.h.i.+p, they specified, they'd consider deporting him to that country. In the meantime, the Tokyo District Court issued an injunction to stay the deportation order on the grounds that a pa.s.sport violation was not an extraditable offense. The final lawsuit against the deportation could take as long as a year. After months behind bars, it didn't look as though Bobby could emotionally survive for much longer.

Almost every day Fischer's team attempted a new strategy. He was encouraged to write a letter to the Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, and he composed a five-hundred-word plea, extracts of which follow: Us.h.i.+ku, j.a.pan January 19, 2005Althingi, The Icelandic Parliament 150 Reykjavik Iceland

Honorable Members of Althingi:

I, the undersigned, Robert James Fischer sincerely thank the Icelandic nation for the friends.h.i.+p it has shown to me ever since I came to your country many years ago and competed for the t.i.tle of World Champion in chess-and even before that....For the past six months I have been forcibly and illegally imprisoned in j.a.pan on the completely false and ludicrous grounds that I entered j.a.pan on April 15, 2004 and that I "departed" or attempted to depart j.a.pan on July 13, 2004 with an invalid pa.s.sport. During this period my health has steadily deteriorated, I've been dizzy for about the past two months now....When the Narita Airport Immigration Security authorities brutally and violently "arrested" me...I was seriously injured and very nearly killed. Furthermore it is surely not beneficial to my health either physically or psychologically that they've dragged me here to Us.h.i.+ku which is only about 66 kilometers from the leaking Tokaimura Nuclear Power Plant (j.a.pan's Chern.o.byl!!) in Tokai City. They just had another accident there on October 14, 2004!...Neither the j.a.panese nor the American authorities have ever bothered to offer any explanation whatsoever for this outrageously criminal act [his arrest]. Apparently, they're strictly heeding Disraeli's advice which was to "Never apologize, never explain!"Because of all of the foregoing I would therefore like to formally request that Althingi grant me Icelandic citizens.h.i.+p so that I may actually enjoy the offer of residence in Iceland that your Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. David Oddsson has so graciously extended to me.Most Respectfully, BOBBY FISCHER.

During his incarceration in j.a.pan, the only respites Bobby had from boredom and emotional turmoil were the visits from his lawyers and Miyoko, and his use of the telephone. He