why do gm's die young?

Why do so many gm's die you, such as fischer, spassky, geller, and dvoresky? Is it drugs? Is Carlsen done before he is 50?

Relative to how many gms are in the world(present/past), you are speculating becuase you don't have data/stats to back it up. Let say there are hundred thousand grandmasters and 10 of them died young, you can't say on average gms die young.

accelerated decrepitude.

Most of them are men and 25% of men die in the age span 50 to 65. That's statistics, not chess.

but the statistics don't say why.

Fifty years ago, the life expectancy in developed countries was 65. A hundred years ago it was 50. By the standards of their time, guys like Alekhine and Capablanca didn't die young.

Spassky is still alive at age 79. Geller lived to be 73. Fischer lived to be 64, which was par for the course for when he was born (1943). Dvoretsky lived to be 68, and was born in 1947 - again, par for the course. 

Based on the examples you cite, GMs don't die particularly young.

There's something wrong about these statistics. People who die these days at ages below 70 were still born in the 1940s - but dying below 70 is way below average in developed countries. Not "par for the course" by any stretch. 

Life expectancy for men is much lower than for women. Chess players don't die younger than other people.

R.I.P. magnus

Spontaneous human combustion.

"Why do so many gm's die you, such as fischer, spassky, geller, and dvoresky? Is it drugs?"

Chigorin died at 57, Morphy 47, Zukertort 45 and Pillsbury 33.  Way more drugs back then apparently.

korchnoi would have found this thread funny

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoltan_Sarosy

canada's oldest man is a chess master

he finds this thread funny too

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Averbakh

oldest living chess gm

he doesn't laugh much - but explains what he would do to the op if he ever caught him.

the other folks who i contacted reacted more violently, so i won't be posting their responses here.  my work here is done.

And Liliental, and Spassky, or take people like Blackburne, or Edward Lasker - even (or maybe especially?) Emmanuel Lasker...

And then there's Gligoric, Botvinnik, Bronstein - and Fine, Reshevsky, Denker... and that old American master Helms, and Alburt (free association at work here - but these gentlemen did not die young, you see) - and you have Lombardi, and Benko, and even Larsen. 

And what about Flohr, and Euwe... and Philidor (a GM?)

All with long and worthy lives - and as I write this, Smyslov comes to mind, and Taimanov (continuing on this line of musicians...)

Some live longer, some live less... 

An amazing analysis!!