Reykjavic, Iceland
Iceland’s parliament gave Bobby Fischer Icelandic citizenship this week so that the American chess champ can settle in Iceland and avoid U.S. charges. Fischer was arrested in Japan last year. He has been wanted by U.S. authorities since 1992, when he violated an embargo against Yugoslavia by accepting $3 million to play a chess match there. Since then, he had surfaced only in the occasional radio interview, railing against Jews and Americans. But in Iceland, the scene of his famous 1972 defeat of Soviet champ Boris Spassky, he is still seen as a genius and an artist. “He’s like Rembrandt or Mozart, one of these very big people,” Icelandic activist Einar Einarsson told The New York Times, “so his personality is beside the point.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
How accurate are political polls?The Explainer And how much should you read into figures ahead of the 2024 election?
-
5 insightful podcasts you may have missed this summerThe Week Recommends A few podcast veterans and a number binge-worthy newcomers created an entertaining summer for podcast listeners
-
Code-switching: the origins, purpose and pitfallsThe Explainer Balancing your identity and respectability politics sometimes means taking on a different tone or behavior to fit in
