Has anybody been following the situation of Bobby Fischer?

Being one of the "Brainy" kids in the 1970's, I was a big fan of his.  I remember being in CHess Club in Elementary School, replaying his matches.  Next to Neil Armstrong, most of us wanted to be Bobby Fischer.

After his dropping out of sight after he refused to defend his crown, he was almost never heard of.

Largely forgotten, it was not until the 1993 movie "Searching For Bobby Fischer" that most of us even remembered he was still alive.  That was right after his match in Yugoslavia, which was the start of his problems now.

I have to admit, I am puzzled at his actions.  He has been an outspoken critic of the US since his arrest warrent was issued.  Even before then, his antics have kept his former fans wondering at his sanity.

During the early 1980's, he was largely homeless, living at friends houses.  In 1981, he was arrested because he matched the description of a bank robery suspect.  The description the police had was "tattered clothes, scraggly beard", which he apparently matched.  After his arrest, he refused to answer questions, was held for two days and the next year published a 14-page pamphlet, "I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse.'

Fischer came to Pasadena and "retreated to the protective cocoon of the Worldwide Church of God, an apocalyptic cult that predicted the end of the world every four to seven years and whose members tithed up to 30 percent of their income. Such protection came at a steep price. It was reported that out of his $200,000 income that year he donated $61,200 to the WCG. 'They cleaned out my pockets,' he later said.'

Even more puzzeling is his almost rabid anti-Semitism.  Being of Jewish descent himself, this is all the more puzzeling.  While he was homeless, his chess trophies and other memorabilia that were stored at a Bekins Storage facility were sold for non-payment of rent.  Since then, he has been claimg that Bekins is part of a "World-Wide Jewish conspiracy" against him.

He has been going on about the "Jewish Conspiracy" for over a decade now, and when 9/11 happened, he applauded the action.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Fischer was interviewed on Bombo Radyo in Baguio City in the Philippines.

"This is all wonderful news," he said, "I applaud the act. The U.S. and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them for years. Robbing and slaughtering them. Nobody gave a s**t. Now it's coming back to the U.S."

Even the United States Chess Federation (an organization which tended to ignore or forgive his behavior) had enough by this time, and denounced him.

I do not know why our government would waste its time trying to track down that jerk-weed.  Both the Clinton and Bush admins tried.

He's not worth the air fare to bring him back, and he is no danger to anyone (except himself).