Elusive Chess Champ Bobby Fischer Found In Tokyo
LIN: Sometimes you wonder what goes wrong. He is one of the most gifted chess players in history. He is also reclusive, a political extremist and, even though his mother was Jewish, he's known for making violent anti-Semitic comments. Today, 61-year-old Bobby Fischer is behind bars. CNN's Atika Shubert has the story of what might be the chess grandmaster's endgame.</s>ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bobby Fischer, chess prodigy and grandmaster, was once a national hero. In 1972, Fischer, then 29 years old, roundly beat world chess champion Boris Spassky from the Soviet Union. It was hailed as a victory in the Cold War. Now, 61, he is a wanted man. He has been a fugitive since 1992 when he attended a Yugoslav chess tournament in violation of U.N. sanctions. Famously, spitting on a letter from the U.S. government that warned him not to go.</s>BOBBY FISHCHER, CHESS PRODIGY: So this is my reply to whether or not I should defend my title here. That's my answer.</s>SHUBERT: After that, Fischer went underground shuttling between Europe and Asia amid rumors that he continued to play chess on the Internet under assumed names. He surfaced occasionally to broadcast anti-Semitic rants against his home country, the most controversial aired on a Philippine radio program just after the World Trade Center attacks.</s>FISCHER: Well, this is all wonderful news. A sign for the</s>SHUBERT: He also boasted of his place in history.</s>FISCHER: You know when I won the world championship in 1972, the United States had an image of -- you know, it was a football country, a baseball country, but nobody thought of it as an intellectual country. I turned all that around single handedly. I think it was a very risky move.</s>SHUBERT: Yet, he made a strategic error in coming to Japan. Fischer was detained Thursday at Tokyo's Narita Airport on an immigration violation. Japanese and U.S. officials will not say whether Fischer will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges. An ignominious endgame for the man once hailed at the world's greatest living chess player. Atika Shubert CNN, Tokyo.</s>LIN: All right. News around the world begins with an emotional task for parents in southern India. They're remembering the 90 children killed in Friday's devastating school fire. Forty-five of the victims' bodies were cremated in mass ceremonies today. The others were cremated yesterday. In the wake of the tragedy, the government has ordered that all private schools there be inspected. Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat has announced a major restructuring of security services. His plan calls for consolidating nearly a dozen security services into three branches. Many Palestinians are protesting that plan. And on a much lighter note, Lance Armstrong is dominating the course as the Tour de France heads into its final week. Armstrong overpowered his rivals to win the 13th stage today through the Pyrenees Mountains. Barring a major upset, experts say, the Texan appears actually poised to grab an unprecedented six Tour de France victory. It would be pretty amazing, never done before by a man over 30. Well, it's safe to say, Martha Stewart may be the most talked about woman in America this weekend, especially in her hometown of Westport, Connecticut. And then Columbus did sail the ocean blue in 1492, but did the Chinese actually discover America? I'm going to interview a man who says that the history books have it wrong. Plus one company that's banking on your need for a nap. I've got all that on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.