On May 26, 1981, a police patrolman arrested Fischer on the sidewalk of Lake Street in Pasadena, claiming that he matched the description of a man who had just committed a bank robbery in that area. During the arrest, he was slightly injured. He was held for two days and subjected to harsh circumstances, further assault and interrogation. He was released on $1000 bail and the matter later dropped. Two weeks later, he published a 14-page pamphlet detailing these experiences and expressing both outrage and some sense of paranoia that the arrest had been pre-arranged.

In 1984, Fischer wrote to the editors of the Encyclopedia Judaica, stating that he was not, and had never been, Jewish, ...

On May 26, 1981, a police patrolman arrested Fischer on the sidewalk of Lake Street in Pasadena, claiming that he matched the description of a man who had just committed a bank robbery in that area. During the arrest, he was slightly injured. He was held for two days and subjected to harsh circumstances, further assault and interrogation. He was released on $1000 bail and the matter later dropped. Two weeks later, he published a 14-page pamphlet detailing these experiences and expressing both outrage and some sense of paranoia that the arrest had been pre-arranged.

In 1984, Fischer wrote to the editors of the Encyclopedia Judaica, stating that he was not, and had never been, Jewish, and asking that his name be removed from the publication. Encyclopedia Judaica complied with the request.

Fischer arranged a financial settlement through FIDE with the Soviet Chess Federation, over the issue of many thousands of unauthorized photocopied versions of his book My 60 Memorable Games being distributed in the Soviet Union by the Soviet Federation.

Real chess players spoke with a reverence when speaking about Fischer. I was Chairman and President of the Irish Chess Union for an extended period of time but without the reverence for Fischer. This was probably because I was a third rate player but excellent organizer. I met Spassky on a number of occasions. He was a perfect gentleman, which Fischer wasn't.