Chess and mental illness

And here I was, thinking that trolls are supposed to be funny. 

I don't think the two are related in any way.
Fischer (or anyone else for that matter) would have been the same crazy if he was an Average Joe working at a construction site.
We see serial killers, robbers, schizophreniacs, drug addicts, etc. all day, every day on the news, how they commit this and that, and how effed up they are in their head, yet we don't link that to their jobs.
I don't see why we should do this with chess players. 

People like to play up the chess/mental illness thing because it makes chess seem more mysterious to a greater public that already doesn't understand chess.

I think chess worsens any mental illness because it makes you OCD about calculations, worry about quick decision making in fast games, and can even CAUSE mental illness if it becomes an addiction. Recreational chess is OK, as long as it doesnt upset the patient even more

The thing is it is not like watching Tv where you dont have to do anything. You have to think constantly and focus durkng a chess game, which is hard for anyone with psych issues, you cant give your mind a rest, which is what it needs. Just an opiniom

Why so complicated? Everything in moderation! Mohotmo was a wise man...

My point is heavy duty concentration is the last thing a mentally incapacitated person needs.

100% agreed, even normal people can become OCD when they obssess over a mistake they made for months after the game.

I think they should get rid of the rating system on this site except in online tournaments. It's pointless. Most players on this site are good, that's all that matters. So occasionally you have really easy / really hard games. big deal, and harder games give you much better practice.

Hi guys, I am just a very beginner and I joined this forum especially to express my opinion. 
Leaving aside the anxiety, stress, depression...whatever which could occur in a healthy person anyway, I came to the conclusion that chess could lead to paranoia. Yet, I have to read more about any existing evidence. 

I just analyse myself when I play with my tablet and I concluded that the most stupid mistakes I make when I get too engrossed with my action plan only and I ignore the opponent (which is the CPU).

So, obviously, if I want to get better, I need to direct my attention to the opponent. What he can do yo me? How he can attack me? What are his strengths? 
Well, if we start from here and we talk about the professional level, the player has this kind of perspective very active in mind for extended periods of time. So they have a perception of continuous threat coming from an enemy which attacks them.

From the neuroscience point of view, a new neuropath is created and reinforced all the time in the brain which starts to work automatically and keeps this sense of threat permanent, even outside of a simple game of chess. To make an analogy, when we become very familiar with driving a manual car, our actions become automatic, we don't need to reason to drive. It all becomes a habit.

So, I do believe chess could contribute to developing paranoia and perhaps its influence would be even stronger if other genetic or environmental factors are pre-existing. 

Well, guys, please note, all these are just assumptions on top of other assumptions. Theoretically, the chance that I am correct is very slim.

Chess is the worst thing you can do for mental illness in my opinion. It causes it. Myself as an example

You missed Alekhine who may or may not have pissed himself during matches, and Torre was a bit of an exhibitionist (see what I did there, double entendre chess pun!).

Take your arguments somewhere else, some of you latest posters.. 

The "Fischer was simply maligned" line of BS is revisionism at its worst, and it amazes me how often it goes unchallenged. Regardless of whether the media was always completely fair and appreciative of the complexity of the man, we have an incontrovertible record of statements public and private from Fischer denying the Holocaust and advocating random killing of Jews, along with a potpourri of obsessive and bizarre behavior that included alternately dismissing religion and then supporting it in its most dubious, apocalyptic form. You could make the case that the media wasn't always fair, but to paint Fischer as the victim of a smear campaign that had no basis in reality, and to describe his anti semitism as "purported" is ignorant hero worship at best, and in my experience often a symptom of anti semitic conspiratorial sympathy to the most pernicious of his viewpoints. 

Alekhine mentally ill? I doubt it, but he was an alcoholic.

Yes. Decision science games such as chess involve strong calculated decision making that puts pressure on the brain. Compound that process with an accumulation of matches, make the matches more difficult, maintain a high expectation of achievement, and maintain a drive to constantly improve your game, potentially for a living... and there is a potential recipe for disaster.  

Absolutely, just look at some of your icon pics. And get a load of the banana dude!

Ciao,

Timothy Scott Puente

Humans are just like computers. We have processing power, we have stamina. 

Just like computers, the conditions that the processor/brain is maintained correlate to the lifespan of the processor. 

Play chess all day in a dark room, with minimal social interaction, absolute focus, and basic necessities. You could be so passionate about chess to begin with, but eventually you will seek an environment that satisfies your well-being. Like a better cooling system, a more nurturing fruitful environment.

Maybe chess played in moderation won't cause certain people mental problems, but excess chess to the extent that it's an exhausting obsession can cause problems.

You don't need to be crazy to play chess, but it helps.

nice