On Chess
Fischer not able to rest in peace
Saturday, April 17, 2010 2:51 AM
We live in a strange world.
The body of chess icon Bobby Fischer might be exhumed from its Icelandic grave because of a legal squabble among prospective heirs.
The would-be heirs include two nephews; his putative Filipino wife and child; and his Japanese companion, who has made spousal claims but has been unable to provide a valid marriage certificate.
The rationale for the exhumation is that DNA reclaimed from it will help resolve the dispute over his estate, which could be worth more than $3million.
The notion of ” Requiescat in pace” (“May he rest in peace”) has become as outmoded as the notion of privacy in our modern culture.
I’m reminded of the bizarre claim on the remains of Ted Williams, perhaps the greatest pure hitter in baseball history – who died in 2002.
His head was placed in the custody of a cryogenic company by a son in the expectation that the Red Sox star could be restored to life with future advances of science.
It’s ironic that two competitive giants who fought the news media to draw a protective circle around their private world should suffer such public indignities after their demise.
Bobby and Ted: You deserve better.
Source: http://www.dispatch.com
Meh, I don’t see exhumation as particularly negative, its just a dead body– nothing particularly sacred about it per se. It appears there are some legitimate claims to his estate, and his still living heirs are entitled to their shares. Perhaps Bobby should have given some thought to the repercussions of not having the kinds of documentation normal folks have for just such an inevitable circumstance as death.
His spirit is in a better place now. The body is just a vehicle for our experiences on Earth. I’m sure that now he doesn’t care about what happens to his former physical shell.
So Fischer’s money survived intact in an Icelandic bank?
It’s ok. Bobby does not need the money or property now.
Rest in pieces.