by TChris

Bobby Fischer, wanted by the U.S. government for engaging in the "unpatriotic" act of playing a chess match in Yugoslavia, may have found a way to avoid prosecution.

After a series of strategic moves worthy of one of his greatest matches, fugitive chess legend Bobby Fischer reached an agreement with Japanese authorities to avoid deportation to the United States on Wednesday. He will instead be released after nine months in prison here and flown to freedom in Iceland as early as Thursday morning, according to sources familiar with the case.

Iceland (described in the linked article as a "chess loving nation") granted Fischer citizenship so that he would have a sanctuary from U.S. prosecution. While Fischer is more than a little daffy and has made some viciously ugly statements, the "crime" of playing chess in a sanctioned country hardly merits prosecution.

Fischer may not have scored a checkmate, as federal authorities are thinking about charging him with tax evasion or some other extraditable offense. Doing so would be a waste of resources. Let Iceland have him; Fischer isn't worth the effort.