Bobby Fischer surfaces

The week's news at a glance.

Narita, Japan

Japanese police arrested fugitive American chess champion Bobby Fischer last week as he was trying to board a flight to the Philippines. A grandmaster at age 15, Fischer became a Cold War hero when he defeated Soviet chess champion Boris Spassky in a series of games in 1972. A few years later, though, he lost the world championship and became a recluse. Now 61, he is wanted in the U.S. for traveling to Yugoslavia in 1992, in violation of an embargo. Fischer had gone there to play a rematch against Spassky, whom he beat again. Japanese authorities said they were planning to deport Fischer for traveling on an invalid passport.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us