Bobby We Hardly Knew ya.

From the Detroit Free Press we find that the mercurial chess genious Bobby Fisher, has been arrested in Japan, and not for marajuana, but for a fake passport. I remember the buzz surrounding his crowning as world champion when he beat Spassky in 75. I remember that he kind of vanished off of the radar screen. I am suprised that I never was aware of the following, as I generally would pay attention to any news about Fisher. Not necessarily a chess geek there was something in Fisher's story that appealed to me.

TOKYO -- In a bizarre endgame, U.S. chess master Bobby Fischer was taken into custody after trying to fly out of Japan with an invalid passport.

Wanted at home for attending a 1992 match in what was then Yugoslavia, violating international sanctions, Fischer managed to stay one move ahead of the law by living abroad and being sheltered by chess devotees. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday that it was not yet determined whether the United States would ask that Fischer be turned over to U.S. authorities.

After that, he lived in secret outside the United States. He emerged in 1992 to confront Spassky again in Yugoslavia. Fischer beat Spassky and won $3.35 million.

The U.S. government said by playing the match, Fischer violated UN sanctions against Yugoslavia, imposed for Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic's role in fomenting war in the Balkans.

I don't know about you, but I am not upset about the location of a classic rematch, whether or not it violates U.N. sanctions. I reserve that anger for something much more maddening-Did Halliburton violate U.N Sanctions and make deals with Saddam. And while on the subject of sanctions, is not Israel in violation of a few. It just seems ridiculous that a private individual could be charged with violation of U.N. santions. Heads of States, CEO's of corporations, sure. A dude playing a game of chess-mmmm-not so sure.