The issue of New In Chess just out has a review of the limited edition book Bobby Fischer, Triumph and Despair and several other books about him many of us are familiar with. One of the books folks may not be up on is from 2012 titled A Psychobiography of Bobby Fischer. All in all, a sad article about a boy who was mentally ill who grew into an increasingly ill man and great player of chess.
Who really knows a heck of a lot about his childhood? I think it has been suggested that he and his mother didn’t get along, and that she left him to go off on his own at an early age.
I’m no expert, but I’ve read that schizophrenia starts appearing in teenage years, and that it’s unlikely to manifest beyond those years without having shown up earlier. - I know there’s something wrong with that sentence. 
I’m just struck by his appearances with Dick Cavitt, and (I believe) Bob Hopei[/i], where he certainly seemed “together”, not showing any apparent illnesses to me. On these shows he just seemed to be a very normal, happy, and charming sort of fellow.
You know, I was a long time very angry man with Fischer because of his rants about the U.S. I wanted nothing to do with him, or his games. (and this about someone with whom I’d never met 
) Now, I’m just saddened, and feel sorrow for his illness; really, there was nothing for him to do about his beliefs, from wherever they originated. The point is that I wonder how, or what caused him to deteriorate? I mean, did he have this disorder when he was young, or was he influenced somehow by others? Or, as I’ve often suspected, did chess make him mad? 
The NIC article reviews a number of books about him that give a pretty good look into his childhood and mental illness. IIRC, the diagnosis arrived at by the psycologist who wrote the psychobiography of Fischer labeled it as Paranoid Personality Disorder, not schizophrenia. I haven’t read that book yet. Might order it if i can’t get it through an interlibrary loan. Costs around $60 as it’s essentially an academic text.
Mentally ill people can, and often times do, appear relatively normal as Fischer did on the Cavitt and Bob Hope shows. Clearly, the major downslide into what was really madness gained momentum for Fischer when it came time to function again in the WCC match with Karpov.
If anyone here has a copy of the psychobiography book noted in the NIC article, I’d vrry much appreciate the loan of it to me to read and then return.
My thought is that without chess he would have become dysfunctional much earlier in his life than when he won the title at about age 30 I think.
Update: I just ordered the book A Psychobiography of Bobby Fischer in paperback from Amazon UK for $45 including shipping. For some reason, Amazon US doesn’t carry it in paperback. I should have it late next week. Once I had a chance to read it, I’m happy to loan it to people who are interested in reading it.
It’s interesting that the NIC article cited Darrach’s book as the most accurate portrayal of Fischer.
People can be termed “mentally ill” for a number of reasons. From what I have read, up to one third of the country has suffered symptoms of different mental illnesses. They can function normally with help, therapy, or medication. A young person, obsessed with his vocation, who drops out of school, has problems with his mother, and is treated like a prima donna, is likely to be viewed as having a skewed vision of the world. He did not lead a normal life. Most of his thoughts were internalized and not spoken to others. People like that appear a little crazy to the rest of society.
The Cavett interview was just a snapshot of his life, but quite telling. He looked comfortable, relaxed. He traded joking remarks with Cavett, who was know for his wit. Fischer was candid about himself. It was clear he was self assured. If he had mental illness, he was remarkably adept at hiding it for a 29 year old man. Up to that point, Fischer is completely in control of himself and his life. What comes after that causes him to lose this control is what needs to be examined. Delving into his childhood is interesting but probably not very fruitful. His real problems started after be won the title.
He was bright, but essentially self-educated. The lack of people to bounce ideas off in classrooms, seminars, and late night bull sessions over a beer to smooth out the edges of your ideas allows him to think his thoughts are unique and perfect. There is no one to argue with him, to tease him, to show him different ways of thinking. He dabbles in religion, with a goofy sect that takes his money in exchange for giving him a sense of rootedness. They are soon found wanting, just like many other relationships he had with organizations and people. Very easy for him to become withdrawn into his thoughts and become depressed, probably to a clinical level. Was there a genetic predisposition to depression? Maybe. His lifestyle was not conducive to getting him out of it. Probably would have been disinclined to take medications even if prescribed as such meds make thinking a little fuzzy and less sharp, definitely not good for his level of play. The only thing he is good at, people are trying to control or take away from him. Since he knows that he is the best, this challenge must have been frustrating, enervating, and added to his depression. What he needed was good counsel. What he had was only himself to turn to. While one can deal with being alone, it is not always easy and he made do as he could. Must have been hard for him to deal with worshipers, sycophants, people trying to make money off his name or by association. Who to trust or relax with? What comes easy for most people was hard for him, based on the accounts.
I’m looking forward to reading the Ponterotto book when it arrives. You might want to look at the table of contents available at Amazon here
amazon.com/Psychobiography-B … by+fischer
My impression is that he was quite ill for a rather long time. Ponterotto takes the position, according to the NIC article, that chess helped to keep his Paranoid Personality Disorder contained for the most part up to the point where he won the championship. One of the most interesting comments from Fischer that I recall had to do with crushing the ego of his opponent and loving (savoring?) that moment. I’m curious to see what Ponterotto makes of this comment by Fischer.
From what I recall of that distant era, many very strong players had the same attitude and enjoyment of “crushing the ego” of their opponents. Some guys were really sadistic in the way they treated the opposition. The chess world is pretty small, and even more so back then. It was possible to get to know your opponents well, to understand how they ticked, what buttons to push, what weaknesses to probe. Fischer was not the first person I heard of who relished the meltdown of another’s psyche. The first trash talk I ever heard was in chess not sports.
No doubt true. As I said/wrote, I’m curious to see what a clinical psychologist makes of it in the context of Fischer’s mental state. It looks like chapter nine in Ponterotto’s book may address some of the issues you raise regarding the mind games played by other elite chess players.
Some of the authors who have looked at Fischer from various angles were not competitive chess players. While their perspective of looking from the outside is interesting, there always seems to be some measure of empathy lacking in their work. Playing in intense tournaments for money, for fun and for blood, as well as psychological satisfaction gives a deeper understanding of what players go through and how they think. These authors pick and choose details that the player himself might laugh at as being really unimportant to him. After all, who hasn’t had a fight with a parent or gotten mad and sulked for a few days about a real or imagined slight? Such incidents can be blown up all out of proportion by a biographer as a key insight to a person’s total psychological makeup.
I will be interested to see what Ponterotto has to say, especially as he seems to have focused his clinical studies in helping prodigies in various areas adapt their gift to their life.