FISCHER FREE

On Thursday, March 24, 2005, Bobby Fischer will be released from the East Japan Immigration Detention Center in Ushiku, north of Tokyo, and he will drive to Narita Airport, to the east of Tokyo, for onward travel to his new home in Iceland. He will be joined by his fiancée, the women's chess champion of Japan, Ms. Miyoko Watai, who will fly to Iceland with him.
They should be leaving the detention center at 9:00 AM Japan time and arrive at Narita Airport sometime after 10:00 AM. At the airport, we will be trying to give Bobby Fischer a chance to speak to the media sometime between 10:00 AM and 12:00 noon. We hope he will be able to describe his Japanese ordeal and the two decades of harassment by the U.S. government for holding unapproved political views.
When he won the World Chess Championship in 1972 and took the title away from the Soviet Union, this true U.S. national hero showed the world how one freethinking man can defeat any system, no matter how powerful. By going forward, despite U.S. sanctions, with his rematch chess championship against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia in 1992, he demonstrated that no government can stop a man from freely practicing his art anywhere on this planet. And now, over the past nine months, Bobby Fischer has proven that the individual can withstand the combined forces of the world's mightiest governments, whenever he has justice on his side.
We have witnessed a historic battle.
Bobby Fischer will be flying out of Tokyo's Narita Airport on the Scandinavian Airways flight to Copenhagen that leaves at 12:40 PM on Thursday.

KASPAROV QUITS!!!!!!!!

Breaking news: Kasparov retires from professional chess 10.03.2005 The winner of Linares and the world's strongest chessplayer, Garry Kasparov, has just announced his retirement from professional chess. His games in Linares are the last in his professional career, that has spanned thirty years, with twenty on the top of the ratings list. Full details to follow.

Linares Tournament Rife with Draws!

By Lev Khariton
Look at the two positions that happened today, on March 6, 2005. These are the final positions from the games between Leko and Topalov () and Valljeho - Adams(You can find them at any chess site) Incredible! Are these positions drawish? Most unikely. But the top-notch grandmasters probably know better... What should be said is that in certain sports, say, boxing, wrestling and some others in such cases participants are disqualified for one year, two years, sometimes for life for the non-combat behavior. I allow myself to quote what I wrote here exactly one year ago commenting on Linares-2004: "The tournament in Linares this year was one of the most mystic events in recent chess history. It may be, in my view, compared only to the candidates' tournament in Curacao in 1962 when the three Soviet grandmasters (Keres, Petrosian and Geller) actually made a "draw deal" that allowed Petrosian to score the chess Olympus a year later"
Some years ago when Mr.Rentero was organizing the tournaments in Linares, he was very strict about these "grandmaster" draws. I remember that he ruled that in case of such draws grandmasters would have to pay a fine. Where is Senor Rentero now? And who would sponsor such participants next year?
To note: so far Leko has made nine draws.He has passed almost the whole tournament unscathed both by losses and ... wins!

LINARES CHESS TOURNAMENT

Linares Chess Tournament
(February 23 - March 10 / Linares, SPAIN)
Current standings:
1.- Kasparov +2
2-3 . Anand, Topalov +1
4-5 .Leko, Kasimdzhanov 0
6. Adams -1
7. Vallejo -3