Thu, Aug 05, 2004 - Page 5 News List

Pleas for leniency in Fischer case fall on deaf ears

AP , TOKYO

Still, his decision to play in Yugoslavia may pay off once again -- though it's a very long shot.

On Monday, officials in Montenegro indicated their country is willing to take Fischer in if the US and Japan are open to sending him there.

Because Yugoslavia -- renamed Serbia-Montenegro last year -- was the site of the rematch, the country has a "moral obligation to help Bobby," said Bozidar Ivanovic, a top chess official there.

But President Filip Vujanovic indicated Tuesday that US officials were not supporting the idea.

"Obviously, there aren't conditions for Fischer to be granted asylum" in Montenegro, he told state-run radio.

John Bosnitch, Fischer's spokesman in Japan, said that Fischer has yet to decide whether to pursue the Montenegro option.

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