Bobby Fischer's visit to the Philippines, Tokyo, Hong Kong in 1973

The pictures, we are led to believe, are part of Fischer’s possessions that had been stored in a locker house in Pasadena for decades. In June this year some of them were purchased in an auction by Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, sponsors of the 2009 US Championship. But these pictures do not appear to be from that auction sale. In fact the source appears to be unclear. We request anyone who has information pertaining to these pictures – the source, the persons depicted – to contact us using the feedback form on the left of this report.

The photos have been published in a YouTube slide show, in a number of installments. Here is the first and probably the most interesting. We will bring you the others in the coming days. For those of our readers who do not have the time (or inclination) to watch eight-minute videos we provide screen shots of some key passages.

The YouTube poster, whose name is given as "Nirocal", comments this video as follows: "These are the last of the photos I have of Bobby Fischer. He opened the first Philippines International Chess Tournament in Manila in October 1973. There are pictures of him visiting Corregidor and the provinces. He then went to Tokyo and Hong Kong.The last picture is of Bobby in Pasadena dated 4/19/1974, taken by Svetozar 'Gliga' Gligoric, Yugoslav Grandmaster, a longtime friend of Bobby's." There is also a similarly worded blurb at the start of the video.