Iceland has approved a residency permit for Bobby Fischer, but the former chess champion faces hurdles in travelling there because he remains in Japanese custody and lacks a valid passport.

Lawyers have exchanged documents in the first court hearing on detained former chess champion Bobby Fischer’s battle against deportation to the United States.

JAPAN rejected former chess champion Bobby Fischer's demand for protection as a political refugee yesterday and issued an order to deport him.

FORMER world chess champion Bobby Fischer, detained in Japan for allegedly travelling with a revoked US passport, wants to renounce his American citizenship, his lawyer said yesterday.

FUGITIVE US chess master Bobby Fischer has applied for political asylum in Japan in a new bid to avoid being deported to the United States, where he could face a jail term.