BY FISCHER WATCH

August 16, 2004

Bobby Fischer's attorney, Masako Suzuki, said she faxed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell and the U.S. Embassy in Japan demanding that an American Consular Officer be sent to Mr. Fischer's detention center to accept his renunciation of U.S. citizenship.

In the letter, Suzuki accused the embassy of refusing to send an official to Mr. Fischer, requiring him to come to the embassy in person.  Japanese officials, however, will not allow him to make the trip, she said.

"Although renouncing U.S. citizenship is a legal right ..., the U.S. Embassy in Japan has made it impossible for Mr. Fischer to exercise his right," said the letter, which was also faxed to news organizations in Japan.

Intention To Marry

A separate statement from Suzuki also said Fischer and Japan Chess Association President Miyoko Watai had signed marriage papers that would be submitted later on Monday.  Suzuki said Fischer and Watai had been living together since 2000.

It was unclear whether Japanese officials would accept the marriage application.  A Tokyo ward official, Yoshihisa Yabe, said a person in Mr. Fischer's situation would have to either provide a valid U.S. passport or a U.S. government document confirming his citizenship's validity in order to get married in Japan.

It was also not immediately clear whether marriage to a Japanese citizen would affect attempts to deport him to the United States.