[NT] Bobby Fischer an INTP or INTJ

[A_priori]

For those of you who are not familiar with who bobby Fischer was, he was the world chess Champaign from the mid 70s with a peak rating of almost 2800. He was a genius and an American icon who I believe will forever remain the worlds best chess player.

Anyways, I was just watching this documentary "Bobby Fischer against the world" and was trying to typecast what he might be. I'm thinking he's an INTP but he does show some characteristics or an INTJ, I was wondering what other NTs thought..

So INTP or INTJ and why?

 

[The Ü™]

How about ISTP? (Even though chess is "strategic," it's could also be played for the thrill.)

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

INTJ for sure.

 

[Infinite Bubble]

I thought INTJ too. Ni for envisioning many moves ahead, and walking away from games because the audience or lighting wasn't right for him, makes me think tert-Fi. INTJs can also be very paranoid as he was later in life, but that's most likely down to Schizophrenia. The only problem i have is that he did memorise a lot of reading material for moves when he was young, which seems more like Si. But I have no reason to believe why an INTJ couldn't do the same, especially if they enjoy the activity.

 

[Nicodemus]

How about ISTP? (Even though chess is "strategic," it's could also be played for the thrill.)

He did play it for the thrill of seeing the opponent crack.

 

[A_priori]

He did play it for the thrill of seeing the opponent crack.

The ISTPs that I know wouldn't likely have the patience or interest for chess. This is strictly subjective as most everything on this forum. I only know of 3 ISTPs and none of them are into chess.

 

[Nicodemus]

I don't see how playing for the thrill would make one an ISTP to begin with.

 

[A_priori]

I thought INTJ too. Ni for envisioning many moves ahead, and walking away from games because the audience or lighting wasn't right for him, makes me think tert-Fi. INTJs can also be very paranoid as he was later in life, but that's most likely down to Schizophrenia. The only problem i have is that he did memorise a lot of reading material for moves when he was young, which seems more like Si. But I have no reason to believe why an INTJ couldn't do the same, especially if they enjoy the activity.

Intresting points made. It's funny because I equated the whole parinoia thing in the same light.

 

[A_priori]

I don't see how playing for the thrill would make one an ISTP to begin with.

Lol ya no doubt ...

 

[Riva]

Are we to come to type him based on his chess strategies or reading about him or watching his interviews? - the third I believe is the best.

I haven't watched any videos/interviews of him.
I have read about him.
I haven't analysed his chess strategies - which I believe is a wrong way to type him or anyone.

So lets type him by his eccentric behaviours - INTP.

INTJs are eccentric but they are good at hiding them. Bobby Fischer not so much.

I'm of course stereotyping for the fun of it.

The only problem i have is that he did memorise a lot of reading material for moves when he was young, which seems more like Si. But I have no reason to believe why an INTJ couldn't do the same, especially if they enjoy the activity.

Chess is based on pattern recognition and counterattack. What better way to recognize patterns than to have seen them / studied them / memorized them? After awhile what one memorizes and applies over and over (practice) becomes reflex action. Sportsmen do it too. Memorizing must be Si but physically applying or simply applying when the moment is at hand isn't Si it's immediate reaction / reflex.

He was probably aiming for it.

How about ISTP? (Even though chess is "strategic," it's could also be played for the thrill.)

Is seeking thrill limited to SPs is a good question to ask.

 

[The Ü™]

The ISTPs that I know wouldn't likely have the patience or interest for chess. This is strictly subjective as most everything on this forum. I only know of 3 ISTPs and none of them are into chess.

Oh please, a lot of people like chess.

I don't see how playing for the thrill would make one an ISTP to begin with.

Artisan temperament (the thrill-seeking temperament).

 

[Craft]

Occam's Razor. INTJ.

 

[RaptorWizard]

This guy is clearly a Mastermind INTJ, but if he isn't, he's an IxTP, based on the flow of the comments presented thus far.

 

[violet_crown]

I neither know nor care. He had unreasonably delicious hands, though.

He was probably a massive prick, but I bet the man got more box than the USPS.

 

[nortia]

INTJs are calculating with their sometimes incredible foresight. In this respect I would say Mr Fischer was was an INTJ. Memorizing hundreds of different scenarios could have just been a confidence booster.

 

[Nicodemus]

According to Mr. Fischer, nothing in chess is more important than a good memory.

 

[A_priori]

Well I have played chess since i was a young kid and one thing I can tell you from experience is that even when I played at around 1700, it was difficult to remember anything past 10 moves from opening. With every move that is made in chess thousands upon thousands of differnt variables are created. To me chess is way more than memory. I personally think it is much more about improvising and planning ahead. In order to become really good you have to have a mind for the abstract and I think any decent chess player would agree. Don't get me wrong, i think that memory does play a valuable role in chess, I just disagree that it is the most important element.

Fischer was a most interesting mind, he would flip through chess books like nothing and visually play though an entire game in a matter of seconds. I don't think this is as much about memory recall as it is connecting the dots if you guys know where I am going with this. For this reason I am not disregarding INTP as a possibility. IDk, it's really tough to say though..

 

[Infinite Bubble]

I found two quotes that could shed a bit more light on him...

TL;DR quote:

First of all, I'll make a tour of the whole world, giving exhibitions. I'll charge unprecedented prices. I'll set new standards. I'll make them pay thousands. Then I'll come home on a luxury liner. First-class. I'll have a tuxedo made for me in England to wear to dinner. When I come home I'll write a couple chess books and start to reorganize the whole game. I'll have my own club. The Bobby Fischer ... uh, the Robert J. Fischer Chess Club. It'll be class. Tournaments in full dress. No bums in there. You're gonna have to be over eighteen to get in, unless like you have special permission because you have like special talent. It'll be in a part of the city that's still decent, like the Upper East Side. And I'll hold big international tournaments in my club with big cash prizes. And I'm going to kick all the millionaires out of chess unless they kick in more money. Then I'll buy a car so I don't have to take the subway any more. That subway makes me sick. It'll be a Mercedes-Benz. Better, a Rolls Royce, one of those fifty-thousand-dollar custom jobs, made to my own measure. Maybe I'll buy one of those jets they advertise for businessmen. And a yacht. Flynn had a yacht. Then I'll have some more suits made. I'd like to be one of the Ten Best-dressed Men. That would really be something. I read that Duke Snyder made the list. Then I'll build me a house. I don't know where but it won't be in Greenwich Village. They're all dirty, filthy animals down there. Maybe I'll build it in Hong Kong. Everybody who's been there says it's great. Art Linkletter said so on the radio. And they've got suits there, beauties, for only twenty dollars. Or maybe I'll build it in Beverly Hills. The people there are sort of square, but like the climate is nice and it's close to Vegas, Mexico, Hawaii, and those places. I got strong ideas about my house. I'm going to hire the best architect and have him build it in the shape of a rook. Yeah, that's for me. Class. Spiral staircases, parapets, everything. I want to live the rest of my life in a house built exactly like a rook. (on what he'd do when he won the world championship).

Seems like Ni vision to me. He knew what he wanted to do, and said it with certainty. Also had the goal of winning the world championship (but of course any type can have goals).

But the thing that was great about Capablanca was that he really spoke his mind, he said what he believed was true, he said what he felt. He wanted to change the rules [of chess] already, back in the twenties, because he said chess was getting played out. He was right. Now chess is completely dead. It is all just memorisation and prearrangement. It’s a terrible game now. Very uncreative.

True, he said memorisation was a large part of it, but he certainly didn't think it was the be and end all of the game.

 

[COLORATURA]

I thought INTJ too. Ni for envisioning many moves ahead, and walking away from games because the audience or lighting wasn't right for him, makes me think tert-Fi. INTJs can also be very paranoid as he was later in life, but that's most likely down to Schizophrenia. The only problem i have is that he did memorise a lot of reading material for moves when he was young, which seems more like Si. But I have no reason to believe why an INTJ couldn't do the same, especially if they enjoy the activity.

I wish I could remember the exact definition I read one time. It said that Ni used past, present, & future to correlate patterns. It can take a past piece of information along with the way something looks currently, and predict the future. I don't see why Si would be the only function good for memorizing for this matter. They are more into protecting their past experiences. I would even go as far as to say I would presume someone with Ni may come to remember something they didn't realize they previously did when a "aha!" moment happens.

I think Ni would be ideal for playing chess. Te would be great for strategizing.

 

[A_priori]

TI-NE ?