Bobby Fischer, regarded
by many as the most gifted chess player of all time, made a reputation of his
bizarre behavior throughout his lifetime. As he aged, his life and his deeds
only became stranger, and near the end his behavior seemed to be beyond the comprehension
of even his closest peers. Considering all that he did and said, it should be a
surprise to no one that the circumstances surrounding his death were also
unusual. But behind his death lies an unanswerable question: Were the paranoid,
obsessive claims he made about the Illuminati and other secret organizations
the products of a decaying mind, or were they frantic attempts made by a genius
to shed light on something no one else knew? When one takes a closer look at
the circumstances surrounding bobby Fischer's death, it becomes apparent that
foul play was involved to some extent. Let's explore the evidence
including his claims involving secret societies, the mysterious cause of his
death, and the unusually discrete nature of his passing and burial.
One thing that was
certain about Fischer is that he was one of a kind. One needs only to see that
he was “the man with the highest Elo rating in chess history…” to understand
that (Sackstein 2016). He not only was the highest rated player, but he was also
“the first American to become the
undisputed champion since Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894…” (1). An Elo rating was a
numerical system with which chess players were ranked all around the world on
the same scale. Also, as mentioned before, Fischer became the first American to
unseat a Russian player at time of both heightened geopolitical tension (the
cold war) and during an era in which world chess championships were won almost
exclusively by Russians. Because of this, Fischer’s personality and odd
mannerisms were under a spotlight in the world of chess.
Being the savant of the chess world
did come with its drawbacks, however. Fischer was cited by many as suffering
from many psychological issues, especially later in his life. Some say that
“Fischer’s reclusive and increasingly bizarre behavior alienated him…”
(Decrypting Bobby Fischer: Professor Brings to Light the Darker Side of
Genius). This erratic behavior manifested as anything from boycotting
world-class competitions without warning to endorsement of the 9/11 attacks
(Bobby Fischer forfeits second chess game). Many believe it was these behaviors
which resulted in him dying in alone and far from his former homeland. But
could it be that his drift into obscurity was facilitated by something beyond
his eccentric personality?
As a noticeable shift in Fischer’s
personality begun to occur, many of the statements he made were about secret
organizations. As someone close to him described it, “His behavior, however,
grew more paranoid,” (Decrypting Bobby Fischer: Professor Brings to Light the
Darker Side of Genius). Although this could mean that his mental facilities
were in decline, it is important to note that Fischer was never actually
formally diagnosed, and therefore could not be verified as having any sort of
mental illness. Additionally, near the end of his life, Fischer supposedly
urged his friends to “keep his secrets safe…” (Weber 2008). Even Ponterotto, a
psychologist who went to great lengths to posthumously evaluate the extent of
Fischer’s mental illness, admits that “ethically, he cannot diagnose Fischer,”
Because he never had a chance to evaluate Fischer while he was still living
(1).
Ponterotto, a chess player himself,
made great efforts to understand what psychological disorders, if any, may have
plagued Fischer throughout his life. After conducting interviews with virtually
every living person who had known Fischer, and evaluating other sources
including a 994-page FBI file on his mother, he felt that Fischer most likely
suffered from a paranoid personality disorder it can be hard to argue that
someone who described his own adversaries as ‘CIA rats’ had a firm grip on his
own reality and the world at large (Bobby Fischer forfeits second chess game).
It is also important to consider, however, that Fischer had exiled himself from
the chess world in what could have been an attempt to escape from some
high-profile adversaries. Among the people he criticized were both bush
presidents and the mayor of New York, Ed Koch. He claimed that these people,
along with the United States as a whole, had forced him to live in exile for
frivolous crimes although the rational explanation of his behavior would be
mental deterioration, it is hard to ignore the fact that he may have indeed
been the victim of a calculated series of personal attacks (Chun).
Perhaps the most important conflict
that plagued Fischer’s life was not waged between himself and some powerful
secret society, but was instead between himself and his dependence on chess. By
all accounts, his eccentricity begun to become dangerous only after competitive
chess was no longer a part of his life. “His personality was fused with his
chess identity,” said Ponterotto. “The problem is that he didn’t have balance…
he lost [chess] and became more vulnerable to mental illness,” Fischer was
already considered eccentric and bizarre by many, but his inner demons we're
unrehearsed when he stopped competing, as he had nothing to distract himself
with (Decrypting Bobby Fischer: Professor Brings to Light the Darker Side of
Genius). It is arguable to say that such a fate was inevitable for him, though,
because he could never have occupied himself with chess competitions
indefinitely.
Although the extent to which Fisher
struggled with his mental health is unknown, what can be said about him is that
he made plenty of enemies in the real world. This is apparent in the
circumstances surrounding his death: he died in exile from the United States
for violating an embargo against eastern-bloc nations by participating in a
chess tournament in Eastern Europe (Decrypting Bobby Fischer: Professor Brings
to Light the Darker Side of Genius). He left the country, accusing everyone
from the Rothschilds to both bush presidents of conspiring against him (1).
Although it would be easy to attribute these accusations to his own paranoia,
it fails to explain some suspicious circumstances that culminated in his flight
from the country. In an interview, Fischer suggests that he is being targeted
by several large, powerful organizations, most of them supposedly linked to
Judaism (Mercado). He claims that they are responsible for stealing possessions
that were worth “... no less than 4000 dollars,” and he had spent “just in
storage fees alone over 10,000 dollars…” on special equipment that was supposed
to ensure that everything he kept would be safe from thieves (1). Although it would seem that Fischer, having
gained considerable wealth from his career as a professional chess player,
could be the target of ordinary thieves, it seems unlikely someone without
specific intent to steal Fischer’s personal belongings would bother breaching
several-layered combination safes and drill-proof doors. Fischer had admitted
all these things in an interview just a few years after he was released from
custody in japan for allegedly attempting to leave the country without a
passport (Weber). This was also just a few short years after he had exiled
himself from the United States after he violated their embargo against
socialist countries in Europe (1). Could these have been desperate attempts to
flee powerful and invisible forces that were wishing him harm? If this was
indeed the case, it seems like it was a futile effort. Not many people noticed
when Fischer finally died (in Iceland) even though he left behind an enormous
legacy in the world of chess. The most unsettling fact about his death is how
it can’t seem to be attributed to any specific illness. All acquaintances did
was “[Confirm] the death but gave no cause,” which could mean that they were
concealing whatever, or whoever, was responsible (1).
What seems likely, though, is that
all the evildoers that Fischer saw destroying his way of life were all
imagined. As Dr. Ponterotto said, “And there’s some correlation between the
neurological functioning in creative genius and in mental illness. It’s not a
direct correlation or a cause and effect… but some of the same
neurotransmitters are involved,” (Decrypting Bobby Fischer: Professor Brings to
Light the Darker Side of Genius.) Ever since he was young, people had described
him as fiercely competitive, and had remarked many of his behaviors as odd
(Weber.) It is important to remember that it’s impossible for formally diagnose
someone who is already deceased. However, it is possible to come to a
reasonable conclusion based on both external and internal factors that likely
contributed to mental illness. First of all, his family had a long history of
mental illness, and such a thing in known to be highly hereditary (Weber).
Also, as mentioned before, highly intelligent individuals are more prone to
mental illness. If you couple this natural predisposition towards illness with
the sudden and complete withdraw from chess that Fischer experienced, some
paranoid/erratic behavior makes sense in context. Even people who haven’t done
any research on the topic believe it’s more likely that Fischer’s choice to
spend the end of his life was not made because secret and powerful
organizations forced him to. When asked if they believed if Bobby Fischer’s
mysterious disappearance and death had anything to do with powerful secret
societies rather than his own declining health, 65% of respondents chose the
former as being more likely. It’s enticing to believe that he was the target of
large and powerful secret societies, especially as his intelligence makes his claims
seem more valid, but Occam's razor prevails. It makes far more sense that an
erratic and brilliant chess player would slowly lose their grip on reality
after years away from the game rather than a secret society making it their
mission to destroy someone’s life with no clear motive.
Bobby Fischer was probably one of
the best chess players of all time. Although we will never know exactly how to
interpret his words and actions, it seems to be the case that he was a victim
of his own mind rather than globalist organizations.
Fischer’s death was mysterious,
those close to him “... gave no cause” for his death (Weber.) Some of the
possibilities for his demise were as follows:
1. Conspiracy by powerful world
organizations to neutralize the threat that he posed to their plan for world
domination
2. A steady decline of both mental and
physical health
Although both can be argued and
supported by concrete evidence, it remains unclear exactly what was bobby
Fischer’s undoing.
Works Cited
“Bobby Fischer forfeits second chess
game.” The Crimson, 14 July 1972, www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/7/14/bobby-Fischer-forfeits-second-chess-game/.
“Bobby Fischer.” Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Fischer.
Brady, Frank. “What We Can Learn
From Bobby Fischer.” Chess Education Program. What We Can Learn From Bobby
Fischer, 19 Nov. 2011, Dallas, UT Dallas.
“Decrypting Bobby Fischer: Professor
Brings to Light the Darker Side of Genius.” Fordham News, 8 May 2012, news.
Fordham
News.edu/university-news/decrypting-bobby-Fischer-professor-brings-to-light-the-darker-side-of-genius-2/.
The Editors of Encyclopædia
Britannica. “Bobby Fischer.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, inc., 4 Nov. 2015, www.britannica.com/biography/Bobby-Fischer.
Mercado, Pablo, and Bobby Fischer.
“First Bobby Fischer Interview.” 14 Jan. 1999.
Sackstein, Matt. “The Enigma of
Bobby Fischer Part 1: All the King’s Men.” Matt Sackstein RCL Blog, 21 Sept.
2016,
sites.psu.edu/mattsacksteinrclblog/2016/09/21/the-enigma-of-bobby-Fischer-part-1-all-the-kings-men/.
Sarah Burns. “Bobby Fischer against
the world.” Trinity news, 14 July 2011, trinitynews.ie/bobby-fischer-against-the-world/.
Weber 2008, Bruce. “Bobby Fischer,
Chess Master, Dies at 64.” New York Times, 18 Jan. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/obituaries/18cnd-Fischer.html.
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