Bobby Fischer in grave peril

By Frank "Boy" Pestaño
Chessmoso

THE latest news about Bobby is that he has been in solitary confinement last week due to an argument over a hardboiled egg! It seem that Bobby was asking for an extra egg and there was an argument and a scuffle after which Fischer was hurled alone into a cell lit and monitored 24 hours for five days last week. The more than seven months in detention has made Bobby irritable and angry at the Japanese authorities.

Anyway, Bobby’s supporters in Tokyo have been celebrating this week as his passport from Iceland has just arrived. Last Wednesday, March 9, was Bobby’s 62nd birthday and his supporters presented him a birthday gift, a plane ticket to Iceland. They say that Bobby will eventually beat the extradition rap against him and finally settle in Iceland where he will live happily ever after.

Right? Wrong. The problem is a three-letter word: IRS or the Internal Revenue Service.

They say that you can probably get away if you are in trouble with any government office like the police, the immigration department, the FBI or even the President of the United States if you have smart lawyers. But getting away from the IRS? The proverbial camel has a better chance to pass thru the eye of the needle than fool the Internal Revenue Service. It is feared by all lawless Americans everywhere. Even if Bobby will be in Iceland, he will still be tried in absentia.

In an article in Chesscafe Rene Chun, a New York-based journalist has outlined the peril of Bobby’s status now, which even is he is not aware of. And if anybody will tell him, it will probably destroy his fighting spirit.

Right now the IRS Criminal Investigation Division is hard at work preparing the case against Bobby. The paperwork is being completed, a grand jury has been selected, and interviews are being made while subpoenas have already been issued.

According to Rene Chun, “The first court date for the Fischer-IRS case is slated on April 5, 2005 in room 6101 of the Nix Federal courthouse in Philadelphia.” Why Philadelphia? This is where expatriates are directed to file their 2555s. A 2555 is for a US citizen who earns income abroad but who does not reside in the USA. In short, a person just like Bobby.

Bobby has been very open on his financial status. In an interview over Philippine radio, he says he has over $3.5 million in a Swiss bank – the United Bank of Switzerland. In his own words “plus, plus of course a lot of it is tied up in stocks, bonds, gold, metals. I’ve got platinum, the whole bit. I’ve got about $900,000 in the money market, available 24 hours.”

CRIMINAL. What makes it more perilous for Bobby is that the case is being tried as “criminal” rather than civil. If found guilty he would lose both money and freedom – five years for each criminal count, which means a long time indeed in a federal penitentiary. This will kill Bobby, his spirit, his will and his physical well- being.

Of course, there is a statute of limitation on “an attempt to evade or defeat tax” in six years, which might be inferred that Bobby is in the clear. However, as he has said, he has investments which are generating income, taxable income, which he has not paid. It is estimated that he earned about $3.65 million in his rematch against Boris Spassky in 1972, paid for by Jezdimir Vasiljevic.
According to Chun, “an IRS agent may, at this moment, be pouring over a voluminous computer printout documenting Fischer’s entire banking history, including the interest yield on various accounts, high tech versus blue chip, ATM withdrawals and whether he has free checking.”

High-priced lawyers have utmost respect for these sleuths whom they call “accountants with convictions” or “ accountants with a mission.”

As my hero and idol of countless millions of chess players all over the world, let us hope that Bobby will be left to live his remaining years in peace in Iceland, where he will be treated as a hero and not in the ignominy of a prison cell like a common felon.

LINARES 2005. Kasparov has been on a rampage in the second half of the tournament with an incredible performance rating of 2915 after five wins and six draws. But the surprise of the tournament is Topalov, and if he beats Kasparov today, the last round, he will win the tournament.

Kasimdzhanov amd Vallejo Pons have both collapsed in the second half of the tournament while Anand and Leko have held their ground.

PUZZLE. There were several persons who submitted their answers on the puzzle “the chess tournament,” but only one was able to get the correct answer – Dr. Arthur Padilla of Iowa, USA. As I’ve said this was a really difficult one.