Myers-Briggs Types and Chess

That's a misuse of the instrument. 

Total agreement here. heh

There is no correct pattern. These are just different ways to see, process, and deal with life experiences and the world. It's supposed to promote greater understanding and appreciation of others and ourselves. Jung, Myers, and Briggs would be outraged. 

I feel like that is an inescapable conclusion.

 I am an INFP married to an ESTJ.  We get along great when we are not trying to kill each other....  lol..... 

I don't believe in psychology, I believe in good moves.

INTP Baby! 

infj here

ENTP I believe. Can I stay?

INTJ - the "Mastermind" personality apparently.

I always thought that these personality indices were some kind of modern, scientific-sounding replacement for astrology.

But that's probably just what an ISTJ Virgo would say.

ISTJ, just had to do this a few months ago. I also recharge my batteries when I get a little alone time and play chess online, or study a position on the board.

INFJ. I guess that means I'm better than all of you.

Was talking to a lady one day and she mentioned her personality type and I though ugh, that's gotta be one of the worst ones, poor girl.  As I was thinking this she said how happy she was to be ____ and how they're the best personality type to be

While Mazrim_Taim was just kidding, I think we all tend to feel this way about our personality type.

INTJs are only about 1-2 percent of the population.  Given their introversion, they won't "find someone" like themselves at a reception.  Indeed, they probably won't even be looking.

16 or 32 types is really too many.  The Big 4 -- NT, NF, SP, and SJ are useful to take note of.  Each of the big 4 has one (other) Doppelganger, that you need to be aware of.  That information will help you avoid lots of disagreements with that particular personality type.

And the Department of Defense has spent (many) millions using Myers-Briggs to hone it's team building and organization of the Army.

I would assume that a relatively higher proportion of chess players are introverts (I), and perhaps NT, since chess is a fairly "big picture" kind of game.

I'm an NT, and do very little "calculating" over the board.  With decent positional judgement, and an eye for combinations, you can get away with not calculating too much, especially at Quick Chess speeds, @Game in 15/5.

Then again slower time controls (Game in 6 hours) might be more attractive to the Sensor (S), "calculator" types, who prefer to calculate 5 or 7 ply down the chess trees.

Chess players are typically so hyper-analytical, it might be hard to herd a group of them into a room and administer the MBTI test.

Surely the chess players would challenge both the nature of test, and the specificity of the questions.  This 8 month old thread testifies to that. No surprises there.  

My partner is a psychologist, certified MBTI trainer, and consultant to the NAVY, so I needed to acquire an "honarary degree" in MBTI, just to keep myself safe. 

MBTI is well established, and about 50 years old.  There are a couple of "next generation" variants as well.  It's a useful tool, and, like most tools it can be misused.  But that is also true of the "annual performance review" inside corporations and government, as well.

Going back to the site and reading the descriptions I think I'm closer to INTP than INTJ.

Not very interesting except that as I was (re)reading the first few pages there seem to be a lot of INTP type (which as they already mentioned is unique compared to general population).  And only two or so identified as extrovert.

Would be interesting to know the stats for, say, the top 100 players.  As zborg guessed, I wonder if most are NT.

Indeed, I think INT( ) is a safe bet for a much higher proportion among chess players than the general population.

And among the top 100 GMs, that data would be even more interesting.

So what are the "doppelgangers" for the 4 major types?  I'm guessing you mean for each type there is a type that they can't stand to be around?

NT versus SJ.

The NT thinks he sees the "big picture," the SJ thinks the NT has no common sense.  I grew up an NT in a SJ extended family.  My family thought I lived on another planet.

NF versus SP.

The SP is a "details person" who examines things to death and drives the NF crazy, because the NF seeks "emotional closure" (among friends) for most decision-making inside small groups.  Indeed, NF and SP can drive each other crazy when they both serve on Homeowner Boards of Directors together.

Of course, these are just general rules of thumb.  In principle, all the types are capable of "getting along," but it is useful to know that people come in at least 4 flavors, when a disagreement breaks out.

The official word is that everyone can "get along."  But this "Doppelganger" knowledge can help you understand why arguments sometimes spin out of control, i.e. people are essentially talking past each other, and unknowingly rattling each other's cages.

Jung orginated the "dark side" concept of the individual personality.  Unfortunately, Jung is no easy read.   There are, however, Jungian pychologists practicing today.

When I was in college (many years ago), Jung and Freud, got hopelessly trashed by the Psych 101 Professors.  "Not scientific," blah blah blah.  Whatever.