Was chess genius Bobby Fischer on the autism spectrum?

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Watched a documentary on him on HBO... sure seems like he might have been!

That's more of a possibility than Ted Cruz.

He had symptoms of other mental illnesses, in addition to some Aspergian traits. He seemed to have some co-morbid conditions.

LOL.....at least a short drive on the Belt Parkway!

I live in a part of Queens that's about ten miles from Downtown Brooklyn.

In 1972, chess became a big sports event on the radio. You should read up on it some time. It was Bobby Fischer against Boris Spassky. I was in summer camp, and I used to listen to the chess moves they made. There was tension, and there was even cheering from the crowd.

I was never bored listening to this. It was because it was the Russians against the Americans--it was during the Cold War days!

It's a shame Bobby Fischer turned out the way he did. He was an American hero in 1972.

I have recently self-diagnosed with AS after learning what it is. The diagnosis explains every single aspect of my life... including my obsession with chess. All through middle school and high school I was obsessed with Bobby Fischer. I even tried to look like him. Now, after learning of Aspergers, and the fact that Bobby is a suspect, everything makes even more sense. Also... my second favorite chess player is Paul Morphy. He too is suspected to have had AS. It is continuing to blow my mind how all of my historical heroes are people who may have been on the spectrum. "great minds think alike"

Unfortunately, the pressure to perform really took its toll on Fischer's outlook on life.
But.. yeah.. if there was ever a fascinating person it was Bobby Fischer.

A Psychological Autopsy of Bobby Fischer

I think I read this article in the past... its very nice.

Many other "disorders" are comorbid with AS or ASD. In other words, the underlying neurology that produced behaviors that are characteristic of Asperger's are also symptomatic of other things like SAD, ADHD, OCD, etc, etc... Speaking as someone who went 26 years as a case study of undiagnosed AS, I can attest to the fact that you can probably be driven insane... through the cognitive dissonance that occurs. You begin to develop weird psychic structures and your "over thinking" and "mind blindness" can cause paranoia. All of this goes into a feedback loop that can alienate you from everyone really fast. This one video explains every argument/meltdown I have ever had as well as explaining a great deal of my personal relationships with people based on certain incidents where this occurred:

I once joined a chess club in my home state and I can't say anyone I met there was normal. Bobby Fischer is a bit like all the top chess players, very obsessive and mostly isolated individuals who have almost no social life.

Hmmmm. I find this all pretty interesting, as a recent documentary found with a female chess genius , she was using the same area of the brain as is used in face recognition... Seems understanding chess in most part is not so much understanding each piece as it is understanding chunks, ie 5 chunks on the board. As when she was tested she was able to place all the pieces in the right order by momentarily looking at a chess board where pieces were placed... however when a none chess player placed the pieces down randomly she had to resort to identifying them individually which resulted in hardly any pieces being put in the correct area... So over the years she had watched many, many games of chess and in her minds eye had memorized the patterns in chunks and able to make moves very fast... Which creates an interesting argument, as many on the spectrum can be hopeless with facial recognition but ironically can be extremely good at seeing pasterns! So not only would it be interesting to see some research into what area each individuals brain uses on the spectrum for pattern recognition and those that are good at chess.. and final point.. The game of chess itself really isnt that much different from real life, so could this also not be a good tool for those on the spectrum to not just learn a game but in theory aid everyday social life/patience and social ques etc? Just a thought!

Personally, when I learned to play chess, I went from a poor student to consistently being among the top of my class. I think chess can definitely teach you many important life skills: thinking ahead, considering all possibilities (especially thinking outside the box... and when you see a good move... look for a better one...), practicing patience, understanding principles (opening theory, tactics, general strategies, patterns and combinations),constructing mental images, exercising memory, performing mental calculations, learning the value of studying and putting in the extra time to achieve results, practicing manners (etiquette), developing humility (win and lose gracefully (humble in victory- respectful in defeat), understanding consequences, controlling your emotions, seeing dynamics in interactions, appreciating abstract beauty, championing intellectualism as a virtue, instilling competitive drive-- giving one a sense of pride and gratification when one wins and feeling the powerful desire to do better in the future and learn from your mistakes if you lose... you learn the virtue of losing (you learn vastly more from your losses than you do from your victories)--- therefore you feel compelled to take up the challenge of playing against stronger opponents than yourself... chess gives on a sense of personal responsibility, because to play chess at the highest level is to play against the game of chess itself—and that, as a chess player, your true enemy is yourself—your patience- your concentration- your willingness to consider not only all of your possibilities, but also the possibilities of your opponent.... in many other games, there is some element of luck that comes into play, but in chess it is up to each player to be fully responsible for their level of success, because, given that the trees that follow from the permutations predicated by necessity from the rules of the game are astronomical, they are difficult to "see" and therefore the skill cap is equally unbelievably high..... and, very importantly, chess allows kids (and adults) to develop friendships in person (chess clubs/tournaments) and online. Chess is also a great thing for a whole family to engage in. I am in full support of adding chess to the curriculum in public schools... I think it would be a wonderful addition, and I think it would engender a measurable increase in intelligence in our youth.