How long could Fischer have stayed on top?

Originally posted by moonbus
It is an interesting possibility that if Fischer had been a more normal human being, he might have been a less gifted chess player. Hard to test though, since we have no control-Fischer to 'experiment' on.

A Fischer distracted by girls, friends, sports, etc. would have spent less time on chess and been a weaker player, I think.

He really did have a fascinating mind, though. There is a story, can't recall now where I read it, that he was visiting some friends in Denmark. The friends went out for a while, leaving Fischer alone in the house. The phone rang, he answered it; the caller spoke only Danish. Later, when Fischer's friends returned, he repeated to them what the caller had said, clearly enough that they understood it. I may be misremembering some details here, but the story seems quite plausible about Fischer. Such is the stuff of legend.