Doesn't get any weirder than this dude:
Japan Detains Ex-Chess Champ Bobby Fischer
By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - 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.
Watai, who said she had spoken with Fischer since his detention, added that he was told he would be extradited but that he would appeal.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said it knew Fischer had been detained but refused further comment, citing privacy concerns.
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.
Fischer, indicted by a grand jury in 1992, managed to elude authorities and left a tantalizing trail that included radio broadcasts from the Philippines and sightings in Japan.
The Athens-based World Chess Federation had no comment about Fischer's arrest.
"The international federation has had no connection with Mr. Fischer since 1975, so officially we are not in a position to say something about this," said Giorgos Mastrokoukos, the federation's public relations director.
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.
Fischer, now 61 years old, became grandmaster at age 15.
He announced that he had abandoned chess in 1996 and launched a new version, "Fischerandom," a computerized shuffler that randomly distributes chess pieces on the back row of the chess board at the start of each game.
Fischer claimed it would bring the fun back into the game and rid it of cheats.
Japan Detains Ex-Chess Champ Bobby Fischer
By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - 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.
Watai, who said she had spoken with Fischer since his detention, added that he was told he would be extradited but that he would appeal.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said it knew Fischer had been detained but refused further comment, citing privacy concerns.
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.
Fischer, indicted by a grand jury in 1992, managed to elude authorities and left a tantalizing trail that included radio broadcasts from the Philippines and sightings in Japan.
The Athens-based World Chess Federation had no comment about Fischer's arrest.
"The international federation has had no connection with Mr. Fischer since 1975, so officially we are not in a position to say something about this," said Giorgos Mastrokoukos, the federation's public relations director.
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.
Fischer, now 61 years old, became grandmaster at age 15.
He announced that he had abandoned chess in 1996 and launched a new version, "Fischerandom," a computerized shuffler that randomly distributes chess pieces on the back row of the chess board at the start of each game.
Fischer claimed it would bring the fun back into the game and rid it of cheats.
