11:30 GMT: Fischer arrives in Iceland

by ChessBase
3/24/2005 – Bobby Fischer is on a plane en route to Iceland, where he is due to arrive later tonight. During his departure from Narita Airport in Tokyo he was mobbed by press and TV. At 11:05 p.m. Fischer's plane, a private jet sent to pick him up by an Icelandic TV station, landed at Reykjavik Airport (not Keflavik International, which is a NATO base) at 21:30 GMT. Latest news...

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24.03.2005, 18:00 GMT, 19:00 MET: Bobby Fischer and Miyoko Watai arrived in Copenhagen Airport from Tokyo on schedule. They left the plane ahead of other passengers and were driven away in a police car, in accordance with arrangements made by the Icelandic Embassy in Denmark. Together with Saemi Palsson they were transported to Malmö, Sweden. This was because the private jet that had been arranged for then was not able to land at Kastrup Airport due to fog. It is expected that the party will leave for Reykjavik at 19.00 GMT. By landing at Reykjavik Airport Fischer avoids having to set foot on the NATO and US army based Keflavik International Airport. A camera crew of Channel2 television Iceland, headed by Pall Magunsson, chief reporter, will be on board the aircraft, as they are producing a documentary film on the Fischer affair. The jet was provided by the television station.

24.03.2005, 20:00 GMT, 21:00 MET: The Icelandic private jet could not land in Malmö either. So they have diverted to Kristianstad Airport, one hour's drive to the north. The delegation will make it to Iceland tonight. Fischer is in great spirits, says he is not tired, but has more energy than ever, because he is a free man.

24.03.2005, 20:30 GMT, 21:30 MET: The private jet transporting Bobby Fischer to Iceland is expected to land at Reykjavik Airport at 10:30 p.m. local time. Fischer will be greeted by members of the RJF Committee, and his Icelandic Citizenship Brief will be handed over to him. He will be charged $20 for the Brief.

23.03.2005, 11:30 GMT, 12:30 MET: Bobby Fischer and his fiancee Miyoko Watai finally arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland, his new country of residence, at 11.05 p.m., after some 24 hours of travel from Japan. They came on a privat jet on the last leg from Kristianstad, Sweden, after the aircraft had been turned back from Copenhagen's Kastrup airport due to fog. The weather in Reykjavik was warm, with a little rain in the dark.

A full report with videos will follow shortly


CNN reports (on its online web site, but also on TV) that "chess legend Bobby Fischer has walked free from a Japanese detention center and immediately departed on a plane for his new home, Iceland, following a nine-month standoff with Tokyo officials trying to deport him to the United States." Fischer has a long, gray beard and was wearing jeans and a baseball cap pulled down low over his face when he left the immigration detention center on Tokyo's outskirts early Thursday morning. As he was taken to the airport in a black limousine provided by the Icelandic Embassy, his vehicle was mobbed by immigration officials, photographers and reporters. Fischer was accompanied by his fiancee, Miyoko Watai – the head of Japan's chess association – and Iceland's ambassador to Japan Thordur Oskarsson. Fischer and Watai caught an afternoon flight to Denmark en route to Iceland.

Fischer was characteristically defiant as he arrived at the airport and spoke briefly to reporters. "I won't be free until I get out of Japan. This was not an arrest. It was a kidnapping cooked up by Bush and Koizumi," he said, referring to U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "They are war criminals and should be hung," he said.

Fischer, 62, could still face extradition to the United States – Iceland, like Japan, has an extradition treaty with Washington. A federal grand jury in Washington is investigating possible money-laundering charges involving Fischer. [However, Icelandic law would appear to preclude the extradition of an Icelandic citizen – see Laws and Regulations, Act No. 13, Article 2]. The full CNN article is here:


Mainichi Shimbun reports from Tokyo that Bobby Fischer has left Japan from Narita airport, blasting Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and U.S. President George Bush as he left. Fischer departed on a Scandinavian Airlines System flight to Reykjavik via Copenhagen at 1:27 p.m. following his release earlier from the East Japan Immigration Bureau Detention Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Fischer was dressed in baggy blue jeans, a blue denim shirt that hung out of his trousers and over his belt and a sweater with gray stripes. He took infrequent sips from a bottle of water. Though walking with a slight limp, he appeared weary, somewhat thinner than he had been last summer and with a decidedly longer gray beard and hair, Fischer said he was feeling well. "Yeah, I feel good," he said, adding that he was pleased to finally be free. He later said: "I'm very happy to be leaving. Japan is a nice country, but you have a criminal leadership." Miyoko Watai, Fischer's fiancee who accompanied him on the flight to Iceland, said she was thrilled. She said they already had plans for when they arrived in Iceland. "I'd say we'd probably go to a hot spring."

Fischer checked into his flight and then spent several minutes shopping for duty-free electronics as the media contingent waited for him to go through the Departure Gate. Watai said Fischer "really likes electronics." As he walked through the Departure gate, Fischer continued to abuse Bush for invading Iraq and Japan for supporting the U.S. invasion.

At the airport Fischer talked to Mizuho Fukushima, President of the Social Democratic Party, who told him how she had applied pressure over the past week on Immigration Bureau chief Masaharu Miura to make sure he allowed Fischer to leave the country if he secured Icelandic citizenship. "Why didn't you help me last July?" Fischer told Fukushima. "I've been in here for nine months." He blasted the ruling LDP. "The Liberal Democratic Party. That party are criminals. They've destroyed Japan."


Previous ChessBase articles

Fischer released in Japan
23.03.2005 Bobby Fischer is due to be released from the Japanese detention center at midnight GMT. "The passed Fischer pawn has been shepherded home to the eighth rank," wrote the RJF Committee. "It can now be promoted into a piece, with complete freedom of movement." Update: we have just learnt that Bobby Fischer has been released!

Bobby Fischer: ich bin ein Icelander!
21.03.2005 At 5:06 p.m. today the Icelandic Althingi, has granted former world chess champion Bobby Fischer full Icelandic citizenship. Despite stern U.S. diplomatic warnings, the world's oldest existing democratic parliament voted 40 in favour and two abstentions to make Fischer a full citizen. The readings took just 12 minutes.

Fischer to receive Icelandic citizenship
19.03.2005 "Iceland has just got its tenth grandmaster – Robert James Fischer," rejoiced the RJF Committee. The country's parliament decided unanimously a few hours ago to grant Fischer Icelandic citizenship. Japanese authorities have confirmed that in such a case they would release the detained former world champion. Long read.

Playing the Al Capone Gambit against Fischer
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Fischer receives an Icelandic passport
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Fischer's lawyer Masako Suzuki speaks out
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Bobby Fischer applies for Icelandic Citizenship
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