Posted on 08/12/2004 6:38:04 PM PDT by wagglebee
Russian-born Boris Spassky, an old rival of former world chess champion Bobby Fischer, has called on Washington to show mercy for Fischer, who is wanted by the United States for defying its sanctions, Reuters reported, citing Fischer’s lawyer.
In a letter purportedly written by Spassky and made available to the media by Masako Suzuki, a lawyer working on Fischer’s case, Spassky called on U.S. President George W. Bush to be lenient towards Fischer, whom he described as a “tragic personality.”
“I would not like to defend or justify Bobby Fischer. He is what he is,” Reuters quoted the letter said. “I am asking only for one thing. For mercy, charity.”
Fischer was detained at Tokyo’s Narita airport last month, when he tried to leave for Manila on a passport U.S. officials say was invalid.
The chess grandmaster has been wanted in the United States since 1992, when he violated U.S. economic sanctions by going to Yugoslavia, where he won $3 million for beating Spassky in a chess match.
The letter also noted that Spassky and Fischer had “committed the same crime,” by playing the match in Yugoslavia and added: “Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set.”
Fischer beat Spassky, then of the Soviet Union and now a resident of France, to become world chess champion in 1972 in a victory touted as a Cold War propaganda coup for the United States.
He lost the title three years later after his conditions for a match against Anatoly Karpov, also of the Soviet Union, were rejected by chess officials and Karpov became champion by default.
Fischer vanished after the 1992 match in Yugoslavia but resurfaced after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States to give an interview to a Philippine radio station in which he praised the strikes and said he wanted to see America “wiped out.”
It seems to me that Fischer missed his opportunity for "leniency" four years ago when BJ Klintoon was openly selling pardons.
Boris appears to be a glutton for punishment.
After four hours with that psycho, Spassky would be banging on the bars with a cup, begging to be let out.
Very unfortunate -- I would've loved to have seen that match. Most likely Fischer knew that the match was up for grabs and the thought of losing was just too much for his fragile ego to handle, so he set conditions that he knew would never be met. ......and figured that his legend would only grow because of it.
Fischer would have demolished Karpov.
Fischer's a wuss, and always has been.
Fischer is for certain a deranged lunatic and probably looks at life as a giant chess game, and he thinks he will win here. I think the letter from Spassky was planned a long time ago. Until the comments he made after 9/11, he probably would have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, but he's in a lot of trouble now, but I'm not sure he realizes it. The most fascinating aspect of chess to me has always been that it is one of the few games in which cheating is impossible.
I agree with Spassky he deserves pity, like Gollum.
I think it tragic that Bobby Fischer is anti-American. I think it wrong to single him out for sanctions. If Janet Ma Reno, Mad Albright, Crazy Cohen, and quick trigger Lon Horuchi can walk freely, then why not Bobby? Why not Bobby?
Fischer defied Mr. Clinton when he sided with the Serbs and played chess in Serbia.
Everything was for sale in the final days of x42, politics didn't matter.
It is tragic that he is being charged, but I think he has got worse problems than the violation of these sanctions. If you read his remarks since returning to the public, he is clearly out of it. Anti-american is the only one of his problems as he is also racist and anti-semetic.
Bobby Fischer needs help, not jailtime...
Yeah he should get mercy. What he says doesn't make a cat's fart of wind anyway.
Spassky is a class act. This is exactly what an honorable grandmaster would do under these circumstances.
If you think this sounds strange, consider this: At any given time, the number of living ex-champions of chess is smaller than the number of living ex-Presidents of the United States. They are certainly a breed unto themselves.
lol....no, I don't think it sounds strange at all. I was just making a joke about Spassky's record against Fischer, that's all.
Oh, I see. LOL.
Put him in Ezra Pound's old room in St. Elizabeth's hospital, give him a chess board, and let him have visitors. But no DEMonic media interviews.
CE
A great way of putting it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.