I met today an old friend whom I haven’t seen in years: Josh Waitzkin. Most remember Josh as a young chess prodigy and later in his teenage years as the “subject” of the book and movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer”.
Today he is a very pleasant, well built and well educated young man. Despite his fame and being one of the most promising young chess players in America at the time, seven years ago, Josh walked away from chess. In the late nineties, he discovered a whole new world that changed his life.
He became very interested in learning about Buddhist and Taoist philosophies as well as Tai Chi. In fact he became 13-time Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands National Champion and Two-time Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands World Champion.
Besides training hours daily in Martial Arts, in the last few years Josh was busy writing a very interesting book about learning.
Josh’s new fascinating book The Art of Learning will be available in stores on May 8th, in which he shares with the reader his experiences growing up as “wunderkind”, the joys and challenges of being a celebrity, how he was able to use his experiences and knowledge learned in chess, in Tai Chi, and a whole lot more.
Look out for this wonderful read that well may become another movie!
Expecting a kid to be the next Fischer is unrealistic & unreasonable. No doubt Josh is a very talented person, but the pressure of living up to Fischers greatness could have killed him mentally.
Thank God he was wise enough to realize that he shouldnt live his life according to other peoples expectations.
Good job Josh!
That book looks great on a computer screen.
With so many books being sold online these days, that should probably be a prime consideration for authors.
Okay Josh,
Apply your experiences and knowledge learned in martial art / Tai Chi to chess as well!
There is the forms, the techniques, the feel, the heart, the will, etc.
Play some chess…
I wonder what is special about Fischer ? Nowadays there are 7 or 8 GM’s with ratings above 2750.
Fischer looks great because in his time, there are not many people can achieve rating above 2750. He is the only one, and the next is 100 more points lower.
If only a person could make as much money in chess as they can at Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands 😉
GeneM
Wikipedia quotes Josh (at what age?):
“Studying the opening is just memorizing moves and hoping for traps, but studying the end game is chess.”
This quote is an over-statement in its denigration of the opening phase of traditional chess1. But at some level it seems sympathetic with the arguments favoring inclusion of chess960 (FRC) in the brotherhood of chess.
Not that remarks with similar implications are hard to find in the chess world.
FWIWorth, the endgame in chess960 is also just “chess”.
However, the true depth of chess strategy for reaching an early endgame (against a stronger opponent) has atrophied under the rigidity of chess1, compared to what it would be in chess960.
GeneM
competition for Tai chi?
Why not for yogga,
What a crazy world!