Chess is full of nuts! Gk, perhaps excepted. Paul Morphy, the first international champion who pretty much birthed the modern game, wound up in an asylum in New Orleans. He would march around shouting "the little king is coming, the little king is coming."

Upon losing a game to an unknown the brilliant Dr. Alexheine (not sure of the spelling anymore)grabbed his king, knocked over the table and shouted "I know I must lose. God knows I must lose! BUT WHY MUST I LOSE TO THIS IDIOT!!!" whereupon he threw the king out the window. Talk about no glory in winning...!

Fischer got dirty treatment by the F.I.D.E. and I think it really pushed him all the way over but he definitely had one foot beyond the pale and the other perched upon it in the first place.

It was my understanding that in the old USSR chess was a required subject in school (which I think is a pretty good idea in and of itself) and that way they could glean virtually all their population for strong players and prodigies. That a brilliant mind like Kasparov came to the fore as a chess champion says not so much about his singular ability as it does about the Soviet system. That he has strengths in other areas such as politics (unlike Fischer) should not be tied to his prowess as a World Chess Champ. He is a multifaceted individual. Fischer was more of a savant.