Ice Fisching X

hehe, it has already begun, in an interview today with Icelandic radio station Fischer said Icelanders should shut down the american military base and bannish all employees of the American embassy from the land. John Bosnitch, Fischers lawyer says Fischer will be very calm. He says Fischer's temper is nothing out of the ordinary, considering the condition he's had to live with the past twenty years. "Bobby Fischer is infact one of the most polite and best-tempered man he's met."

I half-expected Fischer to cause some sort of a scene upon leaving the detention center. Afterall, he was detained there for many months. Good for him for leaving with dignity and class.

Heh, I think after you attack a guard about an egg you lose your "dignity and class" claims. I'm sure there will be no shortage of scenes to come.

Thanks for the update, bradmajors, keep'em coming when you can!

Ok, I see what Mig meant by further incidents.

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20050322p2a00m0dm005004c.html

Fischer wants to sue the US for over 200 Million due to wrongful imprisonment and emotional distress.

Dignity and class??? Dignity and class bit it a long time ago for this dissolute figure. And thanks to Icelandic politicians he now gets to take his travelling hate-fest to northern radio stations.

Dignity and class??? This is a man who gets wood imagining himself in the uniform of a Treblinka guard beating the testicles of prisoners marching to the gas. Save it.

Clubfoot, no need to continue the ad hominem attacks on me. We already know you're capable of being an ass. I'll delete them from now on so please control yourself and save us both the time.

I wonder what he'll do in Iceland? Become a chess coach?

Bobby Fischer, sporting his new "Karl-Marx" beard...
http://wwwi.reuters.com/images/mdf906303.jpg

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/03/24/fischer-japan050324.html

As he left the detention centre, Fischer took a few parting shots at Japan and the U.S.

"This was not an arrest," said Fisher. "It was a kidnapping cooked up by [U.S. President George W.]Bush and [Japanese President Junichiro] Koizumi."

"They are war criminals and should be hung."

In more bizarre behaviour, Fischer pretended he was going to urinate on a wall, called Japan's government "gangsters" and said the U.S. was "Jew-controlled."

This business with Fischer's "fiancee" cracks me up. Do you think this "engagement" is real? I gotta believe it was some kind of ruse to encourage the authorities to let the nutter go. I think you could establish pretty long betting odds against the wedding ever taking place!

This is just what Chess needs right now. Photos of a grubby whack-job all over the press with the words "Chess Genius" right next to them.

Great...

-G

What traditional Icelandic name will Bobby choose?

A vague memory about Iceland: By law, new
citizens must adopt traditional Icelandic
names.

Verified, e.g.,

http://www.allscandinavia.com/icelandicnames.htm
http://guide.appetitenet.com/index.jsp?cid=48243&action=viewLocation&formId=73759

Quote: "In an effort to preserve national
identity, all foreigners taking Icelandic
citizenship must also take an Icelandic name."
----------

For Bobby, a traditional patronymic would be
problematic since his legal father was absent
and he doesn't even acknowledge his genetic
one.

So, questions:

(1) Will the Icelandic legislature allow Bobby
to retain his current name? (Presumably not
"Robert D. James"!)

(2) If not, do you think Bobby would actually
consider changing his name? What to?

(3) If he doesn't, how long before that insult
causes Iceland to rescind his citizenship?

(4) Does it matter, since the US will move to
extradite him from Iceland in a few weeks anyway?

Hey Migalo, the door swings both ways and you started it. Again I was just repeating your own words and again you hit delete. With such fascist tendencies it's a wonder you're a Kasparov apologist and not a Fischer brownshirt.

He's starting to look like Emil Joseph Diemer!

Fischer, with beard and baseball cap, bears a resemblance to Fidel Castro. He even has the slight limp and tendency to rant. Maybe this is the real reason the U.S. was out to get him? :-)

Next the CIA will be sending him a nice box of cigars, compliments of the Bush administration :)

My favorite image from all of this:

http://www.chessbase.com/news/2005/fischer22.jpg

Got to love the little woman in the back pushing the luggage.

Duke and Honey.

Castro? Marx? Diemer?

I rather thought that Iceland has granted him citizenship in return for Bobby helping Iceland to get a huge percentage of the Santa Claus tourism industry?!

As for name change I guess that Robert would do pretty fine even in Iceland?! Or maybe Robertur? Surnames are not as important on Iceland as elsewhere, but a "translation" of Fischer into anything Icelandic might do fine. Although that might spoil possible sponsor deals with the Icelandic fish industry perhaps? Buy our new brand of icelandic "Fischer fingers"!!! What a slogan! Or maybe not? ;-)

Jens in Stockholm

Someone should have told the Icelanders to be careful what they wished for. Smart money says they soon will be pleading with Japan to take Fischer back.

So what is ICELAND actually receiving with their 10th GRANDMASTER - a vulgar, hatemongering, delusional, anti-Semite, who won't play chess anyway - ALEKHINE was a SAINT compared to FISCHER. And now Fischer is suing the US Government for US$200M - where'd this new love for lawyers all of a sudden come from...and won't that be a fun deposition?? As I've told my students for over a decade now: Outside of CHESS, Fischer's an embarrassment...and now every news story refers to him a CHESS GENIUS/LEGEND/Fill In The Blank - NO, he's a spineless, gutless, nearly toothless loud mouth, Hussein look-alike clown who's been an embarrassment to CHESS for over 40 years...and has had NOTHING, ZERO, NADA to do with CHESS for thirteen years...CHESS does not claim BOBBY FISCHER...as someone already posted...Hey ICELAND, do you really believe that Bobby will repay your kindness with kindness in return?? And do you think he is someone that the ICELANDIC people will warm up to, and that they will be proud to call their own??? And finally, did the ICELANDIC taxpayers foot this latest charade??

Hey Mig do you talk about class?, when it comes to read some oy your early articles (98-99)anyone can see how many class you have.

Very classy of you Mig to make joke of an old and sick man. Yes we all know that none in his right mind can claim such positions has Fisher have, and that is ovbius the guy need medical support. But please stop your show. Anytime the Fischer word appears, this second category autoproclamed chess journalist start the slam on him. Do you really think that everyone here is a 1000 elo player who learn the game yesterday and someone you can start forming his opinion with your constant verbal garbage? Its very clear that you can't accept the fact that this man who quit chess so long ago is still more popular that your Hypocrital and always looking for self profit Kasparov. PD: May god that such false and doble standart person never reach russian government!!!

clubfoot & paco,
Can we cut out the personal attacks on Mig? Few people are interested in your views of him, and most of us in fact appreciate his organizing this website.

Guido

Dear Chess Ninja,
this is on a somewhat unrelated topic to the article Fishing for Fischer, or whatever its naem. I'm just here to voice my opinion about your website, more specifically the metaphor that dominates the site "chess as martial arts." I want to comment on your handling of it. First of all I was excited when a friend refered your site to me because I had thought of a similar idea a long time ago. but whereas I am an artist who appreciates subtle metaphor and old kung fu movies it seems you sir are a lover of stupid puns and shallow analogies. ChessNinja.com- Because Losing Sucks? Are we ancient Orientals or are we Surfer-Dude Ninja Turtles here? secondly, where are the "schools"? eagle's claw is to the English as snake fist is to the Sicilian? where is the demand for a revolutionary overthrow of the tyranny of chess strategy. that's right. the so-called different strategies of chess are all informed by the same principles of good play that are so well established that it is almost impossible for anyone but the top grandmasters to do anything innovative (and not have their innovation immediately squelched with the dreaded "?" dubious) what we need is a new age of hcess-- an age of disinformation! a dark age in which all our previous knowledge is burnt so we can start again. we need separate schools of chess knowledge, each radically different, each esoteric like the ancient schools of martial arts. hoarding their own information, swearing their students to secrecy. ritualizing chess information in religious-type chants and mantras and seemingly pointless exercises? you need this. your site needs this. the chess world needs this. we need someone with a completely new and unexpected style to arrive on the scene, out of nowhere "from the next village" so to speak, as in the kung fu movies. in this atmosphere of ours, that is impossible. we see each rising talent coming from a mile away and we know exactly how his style fits in in relation to his elite peers. we need a dark age. lock away the knowledgeable, the masters and grandmasters. lets have some frauds! people like myself, lowly class A never to become anything can gain a following of disciples. I personally want to start a cult to the Danish. Danish style, plum blossom fist. Tiger and Monkey stances. Compton gambit. THE END

Hello Daysleeper:
You are really inspired....by the way, have you heard about FischerRandom Chess?

Daysleeper:
You better wake up. The only point you manage to make clearly is that you don't like this site. Regardless everything else you say, two things sufficiently established are your ignorance and misinformation.
The same goes for paco only, he is a bit more of a well-determined agent provocateur. Why don't the two of you stick to your comic books and sitcoms.

Dear Longtime,
listen, I was joking, but I think chessninja could take some of these things to heart. why not have a martial arts section, with the profiles of great kung fu practioners like jackie chan and bruce lee side by side with gary kasparov and paul morphy? How about a section titled the TAO OF CHESS? also, I'm not trying to provoke an angry response. read between the lines, I'm just kidding around. but honestly, here's another subject for people to think about: obviously bringing a computer into the tournament hall to is cheating. but what if the computer formed the basis of your brain? you might laugh (or, in your case, perhaps scowl in anger) but this question may soon become frighteningly relevant. Androids. They're coming. This is a complex topic, almost as complex as a game of chess, with a tree of possible avenues to explore that branches off in a million directions. lets start one step at a time:

Paco, can you be more specific? What jokes of mine are you talking about? Are you saying nothing negative should be written about Fischer and what he says and does? And by popular do you mean being in the news? Michael Jackson is in the news a lot today too. Any celebrity scandal makes you "popular."

Like just about everyone I admire Fischer's achievements and chess. That doesn't mean he isn't an abhorrent person, and there's no free ride. Who is prepared to say at exactly what point you cease to be responsible for your actions when you have mental problems? I've often said I think he's a paranoid schizophrenic, or at least showing symptoms thereof. And? Only pity? He is surrounded by people saying how healthy and normal he is (even "calm," comically).

I haven't bashed Fischer here or anywhere. I always said the detention was wrong and that the indictment was BS. As for jokes, if you want straight news CNN is a click away.

I couldn't finish Daytripper's first post. Too many dumb puns and contrived analogies. The origin of the name of the site is simple. I thought it was fun, and "ChessMonkeys.com" sounded too much for kids. Feel free to torture the language and both sports by comparing chess to martial arts. Or to football, rodeo, and anything else. I'm sure it can be done with enough bad writing. What does this have to do with Fischer?

You're mistaken, Migalo. You actually did bash Fischer, but only once that I've seen: it was in your vodka 'n' doughnuts rant right after GK's retirement. But whatever the case, why lie about it when you should be shouting it from the rooftops? The Fischer legend is pining for the fjords, gone, pfft, bye bye.

One of the 20th century's ranking war criminals Henry Kissinger bragged that he personally intervened to save the Reykjavik match; so now we must appeal to Kissinger to telephone Fischer in Iceland once again and urge him to eat a shotgun and put us all out of his and our misery.

Oops, I sit corrected. I suppose "screw Fischer" could be considered bashing. (Which I distinguish from criticism, of which I have posted plenty.) But I was drunk. Plus, I'm ever more horrified by how bad Fischer in his current state could be for the popularity of chess, particularly in the US. It's hard to find parallels. A sport like chess that has borderline penetration is very vulnerable to this sort of thing. I'm terrified that Fischer will be loud and proud from his new perch. But I suppose the media will tire of him quickly unless he tones things down. They have already been bowlderizing his comments drastically. We'll have to see what the health care and hate speech laws are like in Iceland.

i have seen no evidence of Fischer having mental problems (whereas it really doesn't take a lot of ill wish to see traces of such in Dubya for example).
He has political views that are absolutely unpopular, is this evidence of mental health problems?

Wait...what do the americans usually think of countries who put dissidents in asylums and prisons because they are labelled criminal and insane? What when some country like China does this?
Then why are americans now doing the same thing? Fischer has political views that americans don't like...unless it's this, it's that he makes "paranoid" comments. Is he paranoid? How do you know his paranoia is not justified? Have you lived a day in his shoes?
So i ask, why do americans have the right to condemn dissidents as insane and criminal, whereas america blames other countries they don't like for doing exactly the same thing?

Is it really that difficult to understand the there are a lot of people in the world who do see that the 911 attacks were if not justified at least somewhat understandable? It's just the kind of thing most people can't talk about in public.

Freedom in america is a sick joke.

Huh? What does Fischer's mental health have to do with this long post attacking the US? Have you ever listened to Fischer's interviews? You don't even have to understand English to realize he is badly damaged. As for content, these aren't debatable political views or political views at all.

When did the US start locking up dissidents? Are you referring to Fischer? He broke a US law, one that had nothing to do with speech matters. If his detention had anything to do with his public statements we don't know anything about it, and that includes you.

As with most paranoids, if a tenth of the people who were out to get Fischer were really out to get him he would have been got a long time ago.

Fischer's name seems to attract a lot of like-minded spirits...
I hope that now he will live in peace, and we will be able to return to our usual friendly chess hooliganism (it will be a lot less fun without Kasparov, though)...

Well stated Mig. Just as it's dangerous to rely on chess bromides, it's equally dicey to bank on political maxims that apply some of the time to a situation as unique as Bobby's. I suggest to my Brethren from around the globe..If you must hate us Americans..please do it for more solid reasons than those found in Bobby's accusations.

First of all I want to say how glad I am to see Bobby out of jail. Now, I don't know what all rambling is about, when Fischer is and should not be considered an American. He renounced his citizenship and I respect his decision. I just hope that he will finish his new chess clock soon. As far as what Mig says about chess being a sport, I beg to differ. Chess is not a sport and it never will be a sport no matter how hard chess fans want it to be. Chess is simply a game, folks! A lot of you might be wondering why chess is losing its sponsers real fast. Well, it's because those old good exciting novelties are not there anymore. At least not as often. Soccer is a sport. Basketball, football are sports. Chess is not! If you think about it Chess and Crossword are not that different, and nobody says Crossword is a sport. Now I know a lot of you will banish me for this, but that's the truth. Get real People!

By the way, Good luck Bobby!

Sarateca...Migalo is on the money here. Fischer is not a dissident. And as for your comment

Is it really that difficult to understand the there are a lot of people in the world who do see that the 911 attacks were if not justified at least somewhat understandable? It's just the kind of thing most people can't talk about in public

...???? People have been bellowing the casuistry argument in all corners of the US for the past four years, including Susan Sontag, Noam Chomsky and the ed board of the Nation. All in public, and you can go to a library and check out the periodicals for illumination of this reality.

John Emms: That is your view. But to me, all the Sports together cannot give me as much joy as Chess gives. Chess is unique, it is unsearchable, its a mystery...its infinite. These so called sports you mentioned above does not interest me. So boring...

Sarateca: Fischer has severe mental illness. Did you forget that he praised the 9/11 attacks, only a evil, and mentally ill person can do that. What more evidence you are looking at? If not for his illness, he would have been treated well in Japanese cell. Its no point listening to his views. he really needs emergency treatment. I am sure even Icelanders know that he is mentally sick person, that is why, they are showing pity on him.

Fischer's just one more example of what media can do. This is just the case of an old man detained in a Japan cell for months because it is claimed in the US that he broke the law. The man happens to be a former Chess World Champ, so he gets all the attention. Did I mention that the guy strongly ill-speaks about almost anything?

That said, no man in his conditions should be kept in a cell waiting for months waiting for an explanation as to why they're detaining him and for how long that will last. See the pictures, when he was arrested, he was chubby, and now that he arrived at Iceland, he looked pretty slim and shabby.

Those Icelanders sure bought themselves a pretty interesting package. I wonder how much time will it take for them to realize it?

BETS ARE OPEN! I say three weeks before he makes a public scandal and creates public debate with Icelanders.

He praised 9/11 so he must be mentally ill? (And be evil at that.) Yeah, makes sense.

A lot of people all around the world praised it. They were happy that the U.S. had been hit. Some Palestinians celebrated etc. It can be a fully natural reaction and it's not the same as being happy that thousands of innocent people were killed. These people are neither ill nor evil.

9/11 was a terrorist attack. America will not celebrate if those countries get attacked in such a way. These people you have mentioned, they celebrate for every evil thing. Admit, you cannot really justify supporting those who praised the 9/11 attacks.

A Google search reveals the following information. There are about a dozen Jews in Iceland, all of them arrivals from abroad and married to Icelanders. They consider themselves to be the world's smallest Jewish community.

If this is correct, Fischer shouldn't have much to complain about on that score in his new home.

I was doing some of those searches myself the other day. Also looking up Iceland's hate speech laws. (They aren't in the EU, which I wasn't sure about.) I know your tongue is in your cheek, Nick, but some might mistake it as an attempt to equate Fischer's rants about Jews to have something to do with race or religion. Anyone (any place, etc.) Fischer perceives as acting against him becomes a "Jew" in his eyes. It is a wholly irrational manifestation of "them." If and when Fischer becomes dissatisfied with something in Iceland we can be sure the Jewish community will be downright enormous!

I too am an expert on mental illness.

Um... what was I going to say? Oh, I know: There is an interesting parallel in the world of independent comic book artists. Really! Back in the late 70s or so a Canadian named Dave Sim started a very good comic book called "Cerebus" which was to run for 300 monthly issues. It reached this goal last year but over the course of the 27-or-so year run it was apparent that Sim had steadily gone nuts. Complete bonkers, to use the medical term. (And thus he and the comic book also became utterly uninteresting and tedious.)

My point? Chess is neither a game nor a sport. It is collaborative art. This makes chessplayers like Fischer going crazy much more comprehensible because they are *artists*.

Predict: Iceland will soon realize they have bought a pig in a poke, will stop reporting on it in a few weeks, and all we'll have left of Fischer is all we've ever had: A bunch of interesting games hanging in the Louvre. I think this was one of Kasparov's sentiments in that Times (?) article: In thinking about Fischer what's the point in getting wrapped up in today's tragedy?

Seems to me that Kasparov should be disappointed. I just saw the SECRET GAME, and well as I had predicted before, Fischer had won that game with a couple of novelties. Too bad Kasparov was wrong all along. I know what I'll be going this chrismas! Iceland, baby! Overall, I am just ahppy that Fischer is out. I know he has said a lot of harsh things, but Bobby was a genius and he can afford to do things like that. Rest of us will play by the rule!

Did you know the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary? Really, try to look it up.

Mig is right. That word isn't there!

Who cares! Bobby Rocks!