Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Bobby Fischer Conspiracy by Seth Hall

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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?
Image result for bobby fischer
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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