Does nationality or race have anything to do with chess?  It seems like there were many good Russian players (Kasparov, Spassky and Alekhine) and many good Jewish players (Fischer, Lasker, Najdorf) and many who are both (Botvinnik, Averbakh, Smyslov).  Who do you think that this is the case, and what about other nationalities and races?

More specifically, culture has a lot to do with how a talent is recognized and cultivated.

A few years ago on ICC a guy was trying to say that Russian brains are different. I thought that was just plain stupid.

Nah. It just depends on their environment and their cultural emphasis on chess. Like for example, Russians honor chess talent and even build special institutions for aspiring talents whereas in America, it's even deemed as nerdy.