Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) was born in Chicago, his actual father being Jewish Hungarian mathematician-mechanical engineer Paul Nemenyi, who emigrated from Hungary in 1939. Regina met this top scientist in U.S in 1942.
Moscow Chess Club, 1958
In 1943 Regina Fischer moved her family from Chicago to Wash where Nemenyi was then living, then to Idaho, Oregon, Los Angeles and into Arizona. Frank Brady's book Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy showed Regina was a registered nurse; in 1949 she got a Master's in nursing education.
When Bobby was 6, he enjoyed games so his sister bought him a plastic chess-set and learned the game together. Alas Fischer was expelled from a Manhattan public school, then he left his Brooklyn High School. He didn’t receive any counselling nor was he given psychotropic medication.
In 1951, Fischer connected with Chess Masters and later, in 1955, 12 year-old Fischer joined the famous Manhattan Chess Club. In 1956 he became the youngest junior champion of U.S.
Chess Grandmaster-psychoanalyst Dr Reuben Fine noted in his book, Bobby Fischer's Conquest of the World's Chess Championship, that Regina took her son to get care after the Junior Championship. But as soon as school was mentioned, Bobby screamed, stormed out and continued his paranoid fury. Regina consulted 3 other mental health professionals, men who were also chess masters, about curbing her son's chess obsession. None succeeded.
In 1957, nearly 15, Fischer was the youngest-ever U.S Champion and an international master. In 1958, having wowed masters throughout eastern-central Europe, he wrote his first book Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess, and left school permanently.
When Bobby was 6, he enjoyed games so his sister bought him a plastic chess-set and learned the game together. Alas Fischer was expelled from a Manhattan public school, then he left his Brooklyn High School. He didn’t receive any counselling nor was he given psychotropic medication.
In 1951, Fischer connected with Chess Masters and later, in 1955, 12 year-old Fischer joined the famous Manhattan Chess Club. In 1956 he became the youngest junior champion of U.S.
Chess Grandmaster-psychoanalyst Dr Reuben Fine noted in his book, Bobby Fischer's Conquest of the World's Chess Championship, that Regina took her son to get care after the Junior Championship. But as soon as school was mentioned, Bobby screamed, stormed out and continued his paranoid fury. Regina consulted 3 other mental health professionals, men who were also chess masters, about curbing her son's chess obsession. None succeeded.
In 1957, nearly 15, Fischer was the youngest-ever U.S Champion and an international master. In 1958, having wowed masters throughout eastern-central Europe, he wrote his first book Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess, and left school permanently.
lokalpatrioti
Regina originally encouraged Bobby to broaden his interests and friendships beyond chess. But as Bobby's genius for chess became more apparent, Regina did all she could to support his passion. But Bobby clashed with his mother so frequently that eventually they lived separately.
His battle with Boris Spassky began in 1960 and culminated in their 1972 match in Reykjavik: 24 games by the two best players in the world. As the planet watched, Fischer prevailed and as a reward, visited the White House to meet Pres. Richard Nixon.
Why did the FBI investigate Regina’s activities so closely? It was early in the Cold War; Bobby's mother and presumed father Hans Fischer had lived in Russia for years and both had high-level scientific training. Yet the ever-continuing FBI reports on Regina Fischer and her two husbands never revealed any espionage!
Bobby Fischer's mental illness developed thus: Bobby's mother's mental issues and financial hardships predisposed him to disturbance. Bobby didn’t know who his real father was; he was raised by a single mother experiencing horrid stress from FBI surveillance. This added to Bobby's own level of psychosocial stress and vulnerability to psychosis, magnified by endless media pressure.
Fischer relentlessly insisted on his special conditions: lighting, seating, silence etc. He complained opponents were trying to poison his food, his hotel rooms were bugged, opponents were colluding at tournaments and prearranging draws. He feared sabotage of his planes.
Regina originally encouraged Bobby to broaden his interests and friendships beyond chess. But as Bobby's genius for chess became more apparent, Regina did all she could to support his passion. But Bobby clashed with his mother so frequently that eventually they lived separately.
His battle with Boris Spassky began in 1960 and culminated in their 1972 match in Reykjavik: 24 games by the two best players in the world. As the planet watched, Fischer prevailed and as a reward, visited the White House to meet Pres. Richard Nixon.
Why did the FBI investigate Regina’s activities so closely? It was early in the Cold War; Bobby's mother and presumed father Hans Fischer had lived in Russia for years and both had high-level scientific training. Yet the ever-continuing FBI reports on Regina Fischer and her two husbands never revealed any espionage!
Bobby Fischer's mental illness developed thus: Bobby's mother's mental issues and financial hardships predisposed him to disturbance. Bobby didn’t know who his real father was; he was raised by a single mother experiencing horrid stress from FBI surveillance. This added to Bobby's own level of psychosocial stress and vulnerability to psychosis, magnified by endless media pressure.
Fischer relentlessly insisted on his special conditions: lighting, seating, silence etc. He complained opponents were trying to poison his food, his hotel rooms were bugged, opponents were colluding at tournaments and prearranging draws. He feared sabotage of his planes.
Spassky and Fischer
National Theatre Reykjavik, July 1972
dw
In Aug 1972 Fischer played Russian Grand-master Spassky for the world title, becoming the 11th World Chess Champion. Fischer unbelievably ended a 24-year streak of Russian domination. But 3 years later, he refused to defend his crown under rules proposed by the World Chess Federation. His competitive chess career ended.
Why did he represent the U.S, given his own nasty view of American culture? I want to see the U.S wiped out. Death to the U.S. . After the terror attacks of Sept 2001, Fischer loved the Twin Towers news, applauding the act. “The US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them for years. Robbing them and slaughtering them. Nobody gave a shit. I want to see the US wiped out .
He had 2 Jewish parents, yet Fischer’s gross anti-Semitism emerged: the U.S is a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew bastards. These rants could be heard in broadcasts Bobby made on radio. Russian Grand-master and world chess champion Garry Kasparov suggested Bobby's anti-Semitism was related to his conflicts with Jewish-American Grand-master Samuel Reshevsky. Apparently Bobby also disliked other Jews involved in, and around the chess community, especially the clever Soviet-Jewish players who were all united against him. Because of his fearsome anti-Semitism and his horrid praise for the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre, Fischer was seen as vicious
Valery Krylov, specialist in psycho-physiological rehabilitation of sportsmen, worked with world chess champion Anatoly Karpov for decades. Krylov arrived at a schizophrenia diagnosis for Fischer, after examining his correspondence. A more recent diagnosis suggested that Bobby suffered from Asperger's Disorder (and/or paranoid schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder and delusions). The evidence was strong for paranoid personality disorder which was apparent in Bobby’s youth with solitariness, poor peer relationships, social anxiety, school failure, hypersensitivity and idiosyncratic fantasies.
As Bobby isolated himself in the 1970s, the psychosocial stressors intensified. The State Dept issued an arrest warrant in connection with his Yugoslavia rematch with Spassky in 1992; he suffered the loss of his mother and sister; he was arrested in Japan in 2004 in connection with the 1992 warrant; and he struggled for years to find a safe haven from U.S arrest. Icelandic citizenship arrived in 2005!
National Theatre Reykjavik, July 1972
dw
In Aug 1972 Fischer played Russian Grand-master Spassky for the world title, becoming the 11th World Chess Champion. Fischer unbelievably ended a 24-year streak of Russian domination. But 3 years later, he refused to defend his crown under rules proposed by the World Chess Federation. His competitive chess career ended.
Why did he represent the U.S, given his own nasty view of American culture? I want to see the U.S wiped out. Death to the U.S. . After the terror attacks of Sept 2001, Fischer loved the Twin Towers news, applauding the act. “The US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them for years. Robbing them and slaughtering them. Nobody gave a shit. I want to see the US wiped out .
He had 2 Jewish parents, yet Fischer’s gross anti-Semitism emerged: the U.S is a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew bastards. These rants could be heard in broadcasts Bobby made on radio. Russian Grand-master and world chess champion Garry Kasparov suggested Bobby's anti-Semitism was related to his conflicts with Jewish-American Grand-master Samuel Reshevsky. Apparently Bobby also disliked other Jews involved in, and around the chess community, especially the clever Soviet-Jewish players who were all united against him. Because of his fearsome anti-Semitism and his horrid praise for the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre, Fischer was seen as vicious
Valery Krylov, specialist in psycho-physiological rehabilitation of sportsmen, worked with world chess champion Anatoly Karpov for decades. Krylov arrived at a schizophrenia diagnosis for Fischer, after examining his correspondence. A more recent diagnosis suggested that Bobby suffered from Asperger's Disorder (and/or paranoid schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder and delusions). The evidence was strong for paranoid personality disorder which was apparent in Bobby’s youth with solitariness, poor peer relationships, social anxiety, school failure, hypersensitivity and idiosyncratic fantasies.
As Bobby isolated himself in the 1970s, the psychosocial stressors intensified. The State Dept issued an arrest warrant in connection with his Yugoslavia rematch with Spassky in 1992; he suffered the loss of his mother and sister; he was arrested in Japan in 2004 in connection with the 1992 warrant; and he struggled for years to find a safe haven from U.S arrest. Icelandic citizenship arrived in 2005!
Regina's death in 1997 and Joan’s death in 1998 were devastating losses, particularly because Bobby couldn’t attend the two funeral because he’d be arrested on arrival in the U.S for violating U.S 1992 sanctions.
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20 comments:
In high school, my parents feared rugby as a rough, brutal sport that could damage their clever son. Meanwhile chess was a perfectly suitable sport for boys who needed to protect their bodies, on their way to intellectual university careers.
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Chess legend Bobby Fischer, who died in Iceland last week aged 64, was buried in a private ceremony near the city that hosted his famous victory over the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky. Fischer’s spokesman, Gardar Sverrisson, said the American-born world chess champion was buried at a quiet ceremony attended by a few friends and his companion, Japanese chess player Miyoko Watai. The Catholic burial was held on a cold, bright day at a small country church near the southern Icelandic town of Selfoss, 60 ks S.E of Reykjavik. One of the attendees said Fischer had requested that only a handful of people be at his funeral.
Hello Hels, Well, they say that genius is next to madness. I would like to add, in light of our now years of discussions about evil but talented people, that %$$%& mentally ill people are still %%^&&% mentally ill people, and perhaps deserve treatment or confinement, but not publicity and a platform, despite any talent. Fischer way crossed over the line where he deserved any sympathy or respect. The game of chess would have survived without him.
--Jim
I knew nothing about his anti semitic views only that he was one of the world's best chess players. Another excellent informative post.
It's a rather sad tale about a clearly deeply disturbed man. His tight and narrow focus on chess combined with his brilliant playing skills certainly point to Asperger's.
Joe
ambitious mothers who wanted their sons to be symphony pianists or brain surgeons would have had nightmares about their teenagers being damaged by rugby thugs. I understand that totally, and would have supported chess (or swimming, tennis etc) instead.
Reuters
that was such a tragic end :( In a foreign country, with no family and only one friend tending to him during his horrible illness. His beloved mother and sister's names are not on the tomb stone, and the cross has been taken off and on.
Parnassus
I have a real problem with dealing with geniuses who have mental disabilities eg Beethoven who was manic depressive and Tolstoy who suffered from severe depression. I wonder if other disturbed geniuses were offered long term psychiatric counselling, psychotropic medication and, if necessary, mandatory hospitalisation. Fischer rejected any psychiatric support.. of course he did - he was mentally disturbed!
The game of chess might have survived without Fischer, but what a terrible waste of his genius that would have been. And the U.S would never have had a world champion :(
Fun60
I wonder how much Fischer's virulent rants influenced ordinary people. He began to read and distribute anti-Semitic literature and frequently ridiculed his family's Judaism and, later on against America in general. He started to call radio stations regularly, letting loose with unhinged calls for Hitler and genocide to rise again.
Orlin Goranov of Bulgarian National Television read an article published on a white supremacist website where Fischer said “The Jews don’t like to work. That’s one of the things the Jews didn’t like about Hitler’s concentration camps. There were no gas chambers. That’s all baloney.”
Andrew
his tight and narrow focus 100% on chess actually protected the young lad from having to deal with anybody outside his tiny family. As did his being expelled from schools, not talking to any psychiatrist and not having a normal job. So in one way this situation worked for him, but in the long term he paid a very great price.
There are no proven cures for Asperger's. But some effective non-surgical treatments can easily be put in place to help manage some of the condition's worst symptoms eg depression, anxiety or OCD.
I suspect that Fischer was wise to not have psychiatric support because lets face it , at the time it didn't amount to very effective management and may have blunted his obvious chess genius. At least he maintained his great achievement in life , being able to play chess. As for his anti Semitism , it was vile and probably he did have have a personality disorder and may have been on the spectrum as well but the reality is that a lot of not vey good things have happened in the name of building an Israeli state . Maybe his fault lay in the extreme way he communicated his feelings and thoughts rather than in the blamelessness of both the US and Israel.
A very interesting post Helen . I didn't know much about MR Fischer.
mem
Fischer could have lived in misery himself, if that is what he wanted. But he damaged other peoples' lives, sometimes seriously.
Chess master Ron Gross reported when Bobby bit fellow chess player Gil Ramirez on the arm, leaving bite marks that were grossly visible for years. Journalist Ivan Solotaroff reported Fischer seriously bit a former Worldwide Church of God member who he felt had betrayed his trust. I hope the chess genius didn't have rabies :(
Boa tarde e um excelente sexta-feira, com muita paz e saúde. Bom final de semana minha querida amiga.
Luiz Gomes.
viagenspelobrasilerio.blogspot.com
Luiz
thanks for reading the post. I think the question of supporting and helping people with very special talents is both important and ongoing.
You always find such interesting topics Hels. I remember Bobby Fischer and I remember all the hype around that chess match, but I didn't know this story. It's sad, tragic and very anti-climatic after the hype around the match. Thanks for sharing this. And Happy rest of the weekend.
Erika
I find Fischer's life story rather tragic, partially because of the misery he brought to other people. But also because he wasn't the first genius to be in mental anguish all his life, and we surely could learn (yet again) how to handle such a person.
Wow That is truly nuts .
mem
my beloved always believed I exaggerate, in order to make my histories more vivid. But in this story, Fischer did all the exaggerated behaviour and language :(
In my youth I was addicted to chess.
I won the Maccabi chess championship in my then country three years in a row and watched every game of the Fisher-Spassky match together with my equally fanatic chess friends at university.
Bobby Fisher was my hero!
Together with other Jewish youngsters we created the Bobby Fisher chess club only to be disappointed when learning that we had named our club not after a Jewish hero but after an antisemitic monster that was not even able to defend his title!
As much as I did know about Bobby Fisher, this blog entry of yours has opened my eyes to much of what happened behind the scenes.
Sad story, sad ending.
Dabas
you created the Bobby Fisher Chess Club because the man was a genius, a very successful player that you and all the friends could only aspire to. Here is why we all need to be more careful.
That has happened in many fields of endeavour where heroes became appalling. HP Lovecraft may have been one of the 20th century’s most influential writers, but he was also one of its most horribly racist. Lyndon Johnson was the greatest champion of racial equality to be U.S President, yet his language and thinking was often blatantly racist. Florence Nightingale influenced many political leaders with her writings as a staunch supporter of British colonialism; she believed the misery of Indigenous lives was a small price to pay for expanding the British Empire.
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