| Searching for Bobby Fischer XII
26.11.2003 Yet another mission to find the reclusive American chess genius, this time conducted by a Sydney Morning Herald reporter in Tokyo, was unsuccessful. In his article Shane Green explains why this was in fact a bit of a relief. Here are the relevant links.
Checkmate for grandmaster
The train takes you eight stops west from the centre of Tokyo, away from
the suits of the business district to the working-class area of Kamata. From
the station, you walk past a shoeshine man waiting for business, then part
a way through shoppers drawn by the display of plastic gadgets outside the
supermarket. The office-cum-residential block seems an unlikely place to find
the Japan Chess Association. But then, in the particular search you are on,
the unusual has been the norm. You have come as part of the quest to find Bobby
Fischer, the American chess grandmaster, regarded by some as the greatest chess
player ever.
By all accounts, Fischer, 60, is living in Japan, giving the association as
his mailing address. The young office worker who answers the door is unable
to help, politely taking a business card, promising to pass it on to someone
in charge. But even if Fischer answered the door, even if he talked, you know
the conversation would barely touch on chess, for these days, Fischer is playing
another game, one characterised by paranoia, bitterness and anti-Semitism.
Wanted by US authorities, Fischer has become a recluse.
The
full article is to be found on the SMH web site
Some other interesting links
After winning the world chess championship in 1972 Bobby Fischer drifted into
seclusion. For a period he found refuge in Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide
Church of God in Pasadena, a fundamentalist cult that believes in the Second
Coming.
- Chess
Champion Becomes Pawn
Worldwide Church of God article on the $3.2 million lawsuit filed against
them on behalf of Bobby Fischer, alleging intrusion of privacy, public disclosure
of private facts, fraud and deceit, mental and emotional distress, appropriation
for commercial use, and more.
- Bobby
Fischer speaks out!
1977 interview telling how he got involved in Armstrong's WCG. Long, historically
relevant.
- Ambassador's
report 4
Worldwide Church of God description of the lawsuit filed by Fischer.
- Bobby Fischer -
Where Are You?
Article on Fischer's reclusive lifestyle which "rivals the tale of Howard
Hughes" (middle section of the page).
- Bobby Fischer
Live Radio Interviews – MP3 sound files. You need good nerves to
listen to some of the interviews.
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