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Buongiorno, Roberto:  What's the story on Bobby Fischer, anyway?  (Sorry
if I'm a little behind the times.)

James, here is the past history:

The Associated Press
Updated: 5:19 p.m. ET July 19, 2004TOKYO - It wasn’t a smart move. 
 
'After decades of evading the public eye and U.S. justice officials,
former world champion Bobby Fischer — possibly the best and certainly the
most eccentric chess player ever — has been taken into custody by Japanese
immigration after allegedly trying to leave the country with an invalid
passport.

Fischer, 61, was detained at Narita Airport outside Tokyo while trying to
board a Japan Airlines flight for the Philippines on Tuesday, according to
friends and airport officials. The U.S. Embassy confirmed Fischer was
detained.

It was not immediately clear if Fischer would be extradited to the United
States, where he is wanted for playing a 1992 chess match in the former
Yugoslavia in violation of international sanctions. Japan and the United
States have an extradition treaty.'

If Japan and the US have an extradition treaty, does anyone know why
Fischer is still in Japan? Are they refusing to extradite him for some
reason?

Thanks, Roberto.  I did some googling around myself on the matter, and am
having trouble getting my head around the phrase 'wanted for playing a
chess-match...'

It involves economic sanctions.  At the time, we had sanctions against
Yugoslavia, and any participation in any sporting events held there would
be a violation of those sanctions.  The idea being that the event would
draw tourists/money into Yugoslavia - exactly what the sanctions are
supposed to prevent.  And, as a US citizen, violation of US sanctions is a
criminal act.

I´m not sure, but it appears that Japan is trying to find a 'solution'
without extraditing Fischer, and Iceland is acting in favor of it. There
are some hidden aspects that I don´t know yet, the case is that Fischer
continues retained by Japanese policial authorities, and I dón´t know how
is he going to be safe of the important and relatively punitive charges of
passport falsification.

Well, I hope they let him go to Iceland and be happy.  I think nations and
their evil, self-serving rules should go, anyway, but I guess some
ambitious, pit-bull prosecutorial bureaucrat wants a promotion by busting
a high-profile target, 'outwitting' the really, really smart guy with
handcuffs and pistolpoint.  I'm not impressed.  As a chess champion,
Fischer is a symbolic dominator, not a real one; the eternal struggle--the
brain versus the mailed fist.  I suspect he KNOWS what he's doing, always
has, and I'll bet he's not stuck for chess partners, even in jail.

It does seem odd for someone to get in trouble for 'merely' playing
chess, but remember that economic sanctions are supposed to serve an
important purpose--namely, as a last-ditch effort to avoid a war. The US
(acting in concert with other countries, hooray) had imposed such
sanctions against Yugoslavia, Fischer knew about it and blew it off.

I'll grant you, of course, that the military actions Clinton eventually
resorted to would probably have been necessary even if Fischer had
complied. (In fact, forget 'probably', of course they would have 
been necessary.) But that will always be true of any single individual who
defects from the program, and if we make a regular practice of not
enforcing economic sanctions after we declare them, then we're not really
making as much effort to avoid war as we could. And that would be a Bad
Thing.

There is now a website called Free Bobby at http://www.freebobby.org/

Freebobby.org . Excellent!.

freebobby.org seems to have vanished--anyway, my service is telling me it
can't be found. (an hour later) ... Woops, there it is now. I guess if 
your ISP can't find it you should try again a little later.

Bobby Fischer and Miyoko Watai to marry

Ms. Miyoko Watai (acting President Japan Chess Association) has released a
statement (in English and Japanese) about her decision with Bobby Fischer
(who won the World Chess Championship in 1972) to marry. Bobby Fischer is
currently being held by Japanese Immigration on the false charge of
holding a revoked passport and faces possible deportation from Japan. 

Fischer and Watai, who first met in 1973, have both completed and signed
the Japanese legal documents for marriage. The marriage documents have
been witnessed by John Bosnitch, a Tokyo-based Canadian communications
consultant, and by Mr. Ichiji Ishii, former Vice Foreign Minister of
Japan.

I hope Mr. and Mrs. Fischer are very happy in their marriage. But this
business of the Japanese holding him prisoner on false charges is
disturbing. Surely the Japanese do not customarily hold people on false
charges? Are we quite certain that the charges are not in fact true? I
hope no one would assume automatically that anything alleged against a man
admired for his chess expertise is false.

Mark, excuse me, I forgot the ('....'), it was an article I found in
Internet for a Press (I´ll try to find it again, and see who signs it),
and it judges some situations, but I don´t know if the judgements are
right or not. I copied it textually. I have taking attention in the
contents, this was the reason I released the text without modifications,
expecting some reactions. As I know, the charges are a bit more important
than 'holding a revoked passport', but I´m not clear about the truth.
The only certain things seems to be: Fischer continues in prison, Iceland
has officially offered citizenship for Fischer and the possibility of
traveling to this Country without passport, Fischer appeal was rejected by
Japanese authorities, and Fischer is going to marry.

'World chess great to marry Japanese companion
Posted by freebobby on 2004/8/17 ....', The rest is the message I added
days before.

As I see, this is an old story, dated month 8 of the last year, but I read
the article recently, from a Press agency. It is not signed, so I think
freebobby.org is assuming responsability on the contents, if the posted
message was literally released.

Apart from this, I think there are not news.

Bobby Fischer's U.S. tax time bomb set to explode
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20050305p2a00m0dm012000c.html

If the predictions within this article are correct, the effort to win
Fischer's freedom will soon hit the end of the line (like a runaway
freight train).

Article from Chessbase, incredible:
The ever-watchful Mainichi Daily News reports that Bobby Fischer was
placed in solitary confinement for several days (we are told for five)
'because of a brawl over a single hard-boiled egg'. Apparently Fischer
asked for an extra egg. There was an argument and a scuffle, after which
Fisher was 'hurled alone into a cell lit and monitored 24 hours from
Wednesday to Sunday.'

Mainichi notes that the fight occurred on the same day that the first of
two delegations of eminent persons from Iceland were due to meet him at
the East Japan Immigration Bureau Detention Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki
Prefecture. Officials at the center were aware that Fischer was due to
receive a delegation on exactly the day he ended up in solitary
confinement.

It was the first time Fischer had been placed in a solitary cell since he
was sent to Ushiku in August last year. 'It was a blatant provocation,'
Gardar Sverrisson, an Icelandic politician and member of a Fischer support
group said at the home of the Tokyo Bar Association.

To date, I have advocated the freedom of anyone (including Bobby Fischer)
to play chess anywhere in the world, anytime ... even to the extreme of
violating UN economic sanctions.  However, I take strong exception to the
idea of a fellow American citizen completely evading taxes on a $3.3
million US prize.  [A federal grand jury will take-up the matter soon.]

Mark Thompson and I once privately argued about the case of Bobby Fischer
but neither of us realized or raised the point of tax evasion.

I must reverse my stance to one where I advocate that Bobby Fischer be
extradited to face the US judicial system (albeit imperfect and somewhat
corrupt) to be fairly judged by his peers since I now believe that at
least some of the charges against him (existing and likely soon to exist)
are legitimate.

Derek, I think you are right in your appretiation, tax evasion is an
important charge. About passport, I´m not sure about the charge, I have
read three different versions. In discharge, it would be argued that
Fischer was a fugitive and he was trying to be annonimous in all his
activities, but there are ways for paying taxes in every case. All this
infortunate case is originated by Fischer´s decision of playing Chess
somewhere some day. Was it a stupid decision?. I think yes, others were
hightly benefited, and no one of those benefited people is now wanted by
justice.

When entered Fischer in Japan and how managed him to avoid
Inmigration/Aduane  verification...???. I have read he was seen somewhere
in Europe a few years ago. This may be another dilemma for Japanese
authorities. What`s the true story on the passport: revoked, adultered or
false?

ChessBase article 21.03.2005 entitled 'Bobby Fischer: ich bin ein
Icelander!' says the Althingi there has granted full Icelandic
citizenship today.

At ChessBase 23.03.2005: Bobby Fischer is due to be released from the
Japanese detention center a few hours from now. Specifically at midnight
GMT. 'The passed Fischer pawn has been shepherded home to the eighth
rank,' wrote the RJF Committee, 'It can now be promoted into a piece,
with complete freedom of movement.' Fischer will leave Japan on Scandinavian 
Airways and fly to Copenhagen at 12:40 PM on Thursday.

I've read that the USA has an extradition treaty with Iceland also.

Chessbase report:
Tumultuous welcome for Fischer in Iceland
25.03.2005 They are scenes like we have never seen before, certainly not
in the chess world. Bobby Fischer arrived in Iceland to a hero's welcome
from a midnight crowd at Reykjavik Airport. Looking harrowed and gaunt
after almost nine months in Japanese detention he took time to speak to TV
journalists.