People with austism have an extremely varied spectrum of manifestations of the 'condition.' Some are extremely good at memorising by rote, some are exceptionally good at pattern recognition relating to anything that piques their interest. Of course that translates into an advantage when it comes to learning chess. I suspect that a lot of pros, and casual players that are good, have mild versions of high functioning autism. For the most part autism is a difference in social functioning, and a related difference in attribution of value to everyday objects and social institutions, which results in 'divergent' emotional responses and communications. Consider some of the very famous streamers, then imagine them at a party with your average one-dimensional strangers... 
Autistic spectrum disorder and chess ability
i have no doubt they are decent correlations. If you watched some of Temple grandin's ted talks she mentions how being a high functional autist in her case means having a very concrete imagination e.g, if you tell a kid to picture a church they will imagine the representation of a church, like say the symbolic house of square, triangle and cross on top. She would picture a specific church and add/remove features in her brain as the thought experiment moves along.
a lot of chess improvement is moving from mastering abstract chess principles to more concrete evaluations of case by case analysis. A lot of visualization improvement is to master being able to hold the whole board in view . I can tell you that even as a master when i play blind half the time feels more like looking around an imaginary board with a telescope then a clear idea of where all pieces are at once. These are the skillsets someone on the spectrum with strong spatial intelligence would strive in.
i believe GM Navara is rumored(?) to be on the spectrum and IM lakdawala came out the asperger closet in a podcast. They are good cases to be for morphy, fischer, Ivanchuk and a few other but its all speculation. If Temple Grandin is to be believed, undiagnosed autists are over-represented in the higher strata of sciences and the arts, so its not just a chess thing.
I honestly think we are all a bit on the spectrum...
My mom is a professor on autism and wrote books about it etc... But my completely un educated opinion is that SHE herself is very much on the spectrum, and actually ... We're just all on some spectrum... I mean no offense IDK if this is legit to say this, just my opinion...
I feel like some people on the spectrum do tend to see details rather than the bigger picture, which may or may not be helpful in this aspect.
I'm not an expert, but I don't think Autism and chess have any correlation. If you're talking about savants, then they typically have genius like qualities in a single area (like memory, drawing, division, etc.); however, they pay for it dearly in being severely mentally impaired in other areas. I think with chess, there are too many factors that one needs to be great at. I would love to see a documented case of a chess savant though....I just doubt it.
You’re misinformed about savants, they can be highly specialized in any number of complicated tasks that require an array of different skills. Medical doctors can be savants, musicians can be savants etc. etc.
i remember there was a recent clip where someone asked that and he joked with a reply
Fischer exhibited behaviors that some have speculated might align with ASD, such as intense focus, difficulty with social interactions and rigid routines.
I feel like some people on the spectrum do tend to see details rather than the bigger picture, which may or may not be helpful in this aspect.
This is true for me who is getting a professional evaluation and (probably) a diagnosis. It really helps when playing chess.
disorder? that's an interpretation
It is in the name A= autism S= spectrum D= disorder ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is only a disability because we live in a world that (for the most part) is not willing to accommodate us and respect our diverse community.
I am confused. Why is this relevant to the conversation?
I think there is always one thing very wrong with labeling people using sicknesses: the people described are not sick themselves, hence the label is incorrect. In the Netherlands there are nowadays many children labeled with ADHD. In my time (I am 48), there were none. The difference is much too big, that can not have its cause anymore in the sickness of the person. No, sickness is in the eye of the beholder.
Furthermore do I agree with pdela that many definitions are not well developed and should not be used lightly if used at all. I have studied psychology for some years and I had to study DSM II at that time. It was used for diagnosis. If you would take a look at the current standard (V is coming) then will you see that there are major shifts in definitions and the like. That field of knowledge is still at its very beginning and the big differences between those versions should be an implicit warning not using those labels lightly.
If you can be a top chess player for so many years like Ivanchuk, then are you a healthy person. You are able to manage your life in some way and perform at a very high level at the same time. What more do you need to know that someone is mentally strong and in one or the other way healthy?
Being sick implies being a big trouble for yourself or others. Don't take those words lightly. They describe something heavy. And why should it be sick if you can play chess so good? Is Messi sick, because he is so good at football? Or was Michael Jordan sick? In slang maybe, not in real life.
OK one there has always been people with ADHD but now we know more about it and can diagnose it more accurately. Two BEING NEURODIVERGENT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE SICK!!! I have ADHD and ASD and it astounds me that people still say things like this.
I have ASD and I've been playing for about 15 months from scratch. I am 43 years old. I'm a beginner at the moment but I'm hooked. Chess feels very secure and I know where I stand. No luck involved. That's good for us 👌👌