I was told by a chess playing friend who has Asperger’s Syndrome-an autistic disorder characterized by often superior intellectual abilities but also by obsessive behavior, ineffective communication, and social awkwardness- he believed I too could have a mild form. Having read, Shadow Syndromes: The Mild Forms of Major Mental Disorders That Sabotage Us by John J. Ratey earlier, I did not discount the possibility. I have read a great deal about Asperger’s since then. Recently I finished reading a novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, after being told the way the protagonist thought was the way my friend thought.
Asperger’s did not have a name until the mid-90’s, yet now the books and movies proliferate. For example, the movie, ADAM: A LOVE STORY ABOUT ASHPERGER’S made a showing earlier this year, and the just published book: Parallel Play: Growing Up with Undiagnosed Asperger’s by Tim Page. The NYTimes review (nytimes.com/2009/09/03/books/03maslin.html?_r=1) begins: When Tim Page was a teenager, he thought of Howard Hughes, Glenn Gould, Bobby Fischer and J. D. Salinger as role models.
Having read extensively on Bobby Fischer, I cannot help but wonder if he, too, would have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome?
It is too easy to put labels on people. Anyone can do it.
I believe it is often mentioned in connection with both Albert Einstein and Bill Gates. I’ve heard the term linked with Gates so often that I have a feeling he himself might have stated publicly that he had it; not sure of that.
First, tell me how many licks it takes to get to the bottom of a Tootsie Pop?
As I understand AS as a layman, diagnosing an adult consists of multiple clinical observations as well as diagnostic testing combined with focused interviews of those who know the subject well. Differential diagnosis of AS in general includes several other related possibilities including ADHD, OCD, and plain old schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
The above is for people who acknowledge Asperger’s Syndrome as a condition at all, and don’t simply lump it into other High Functioning Autism conditions. Combine this with a personal belief (learned in skool) that lay psychological diagnosis of the deceased is a mug’s game at best - especially for conditions requiring clinical observation and diagnostic testing never performed during the subject’s lifetime.
I think I come to the same answer as my initial question: The world may never know. 
A more serious answer: Sure it seems possible, but I think it’s equally possible in my lay opinion that there was some form of Borderline Personality Disorder at work. And I wonder if any professional could even render a competent answer to your question.
Interesting issue. I’ve taught students in middle and high school with Asperger’s. I find it plausable as to Bobby. I’d be interested in hearing from experts in the field. That said, it seems in later life his behavior was more indicative of a paranoid with delusions.
I’m no expert, but I think the condition is defined by observations, as defined in DSM !V or whatever the current version is. It is not defined by an underlying chemical or physical condition. Therefore it’s illogical to ask if Fischer had a condition that was not even defined at the time.
But yeah he seems like that. So do some other geniuses. Maybe what Asperger achieved was to put clinical “syndrome” label on geniuses.
As for later life, I’m more convinced about the paranoia and less about the delusions. And how much of the apparent paranoia was actually justified? If the US hadn’t gone after him for years all over the world for playing a chess match in Yugoslavia, who would have believed it possible? As an international superstar who voiced non-conformant opinions, he was dealing with forces most of us never get the opportunity to observe.