Photo by Maria E.
Susan’s previous article:
The US is on the verge of wining Olympiad Gold! They are controlling their own destiny. But let’s take a look at the history of the Chess Olympiad.
The last time the US won Gold was in 1976. But that was the year the Soviet Union boycotted. So the victory has an *. If you do not count 1976, you have to go back to 1937. That was an era when the US dominated by winning 4 in a row: Prague, Czechoslovakia 1931 (Kashdan, Marshall, Dake, Horowitz, Steiner H.), Folkestone, United Kingdom 1933 (Kashdan, Marshall, Fine, Dake, Simonson), Warsaw, Poland 1935 (Fine, Marshall, Kupchik, Dake, Horowitz) and Stockholm, Sweden 1937 (Reshevsky, Fine, Kashdan, Marshall, Horowitz)!
Therefore, it would be so big if the US could win Gold in 2016 with Fabiano Caruana (started his chess career in my Chess Club in New York in May 1998), Hakaru Nakamura (participated in my Mayor’s Cup Invitational in June 2001), Wesley So (trained at Webster University – SPICE for more than 2 years – Went from #99 in the world 2652 to #10 2762 in a little more than 2 years), Sam Shankland, and Ray Robson (still at Webster University = SPICE – Went from 2599 to 2680).
This is an exciting time for US Chess with the performance of US team in Baku, and the upcoming World Championship in New York City between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin.
Olympiad History
Photos round 1-11 and Closing Ceremony:
Closing Ceremony: https://goo.gl/photos/UmMWCdYaNAw2cDy17
Olympiad day 11 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/p4hn7Bu1aJMi1wgd6
Olympiad day 10 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/PpjGnLVEHR1R49KMA
Olympiad day 9 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/6CfWjjapJL7Gpd9XA
Olympiad day 8 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/R3akNDqge8C5FMtr5
Olympiad day 7 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/E8vRDCQH8CA4qqc26
Olympiad day 6 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/MKEx8yQmzo1KP7iZA
Olympiad day 5 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/GHK3w3yXHTFrywZo6
Olympiad day 4 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/tJ2fJntYh9mqEMcC6
Olympiad day 3 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/FXY2ov9VZn8qRCdf7
Olympiad day 2 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/jwCyfFtgtzJeARie8
Olympiad day 1 photos: https://goo.gl/photos/VEGTVLLGC454Kh6b7
Re: Paul Truong’s article
“and 1 (So) developed his world class talent in the US”
Excuse me but to set the record straight, So already became a grandmaster at the age of 14, made waves in international tournaments and consistently been the board 1 player of the Philippines long before he went to the US. Be that as it may, I still congratulate the US for putting up the best US chess team ever placing on top in the recent olympiad, Thanks too to Ms. Polgar for guiding him through.
#99 in the world is not exactly world class. A strong player? Yes. World class? Hardly. But top 10, yes, world class.
Wesley So decided to move to the US not to train (verb used by Ms. Polgar in her article) but to expose himself to higher level of competitions which was lacking in the Philippines. You don’t train grandmasters, you expose them to constant competitions to reach to that highest level of their potentials. And these guys Caruana, Nakamura, Robson, and So are indeed gifted chess players that happened to exist in one generation of time hence, the Olympiad’s top team. No amount of training can make a player great or special if he is not really meant to be such.
That is an idiotic comment, and it shows your lack of high level chess understanding.
“#99 in the world is not exactly world class. A strong player? Yes. World class? Hardly. But top 10, yes, world class.”
No offense intended but I was trying to present the fact to the readers that Wesley So’s ascent to the top ten best in the world is not due to his training (none at all) in the States but his personal development thru high level competitions and SUPPORT while in the states. And that So and the other guys in the team are not just ordinary-trained chess players but innate chess players.
Here is Wesley So’s comment on his Facebook account after the Olympiad:
“I could name dozens of ways this country has been good to me, here is just one: The Samford Fellowship. It helps young chess players by providing them with the means to buy a computer, books, hire a coach, travel to tournaments, etc.”
Wikipedia’s account of Wesley So tells all about him and his chess exploits before moving to the States.
Again, it shows your lack of knowledge about chess. First of all, Wesley repeated said that he does not handle email, post on facebook or twitter. It is his handlers who write everything. If you do not like facts, go elsewhere to read propaganda.
This was Wesley’s own email before departing from Webster:
Excerpt from thank you email back at Webster –
10/28/2014 3:33:23 A.M. Central Daylight Time, Wesley So writes:
Dear Paul and Susan,
Thank You so much to both for the wonderful experiences, the successes and the failures, and for everything you have taught me. From the morals, to the character, to the chess trainings, and the skills you have tried to teach us—oh I have learned so much. And I will keep in mind all the qualities that you have taught me.
…I just wanted to say that I will always be a product of SPICE and no one can change that fact. I have learned so much in my past two years in Webster University that I believe I have grown from a young kid to an adult.
…A quick word of thanks to my teammates as well. They have treated me like a family ever since I moved here, working with them and sharing all kinds of ideas and life experiences has been such a thrill. University life would never be as much fun without such great friends.
…Nothing lasts forever, but this past two years has been a wonderful learning journey for me.
…I wish you all the best as well to SPICE and to Webster University.
Best Regards,
Wesley So
I followed Wesley So’s progress.
I can fairly say that he has the talent of a Super Grandmaster from the very beginning when he was a prodigy.
Mr. Paul Trong’s article is accurate when he mentioned that Wesley So’s ELO rating got stymied at 2650 for the longest time when he was still in the Philippines. Something was obviously missing.
It was through the SPICE program and specifically through Coach Susan Polgar tutelage that had further elevated his skills to the next level. Wesley at that time needed a “shot in the arm” to propel himself to new heights.
I recall SuperGM Le Quang Liem ELO was higher than Wesley So when he entered Webster U. But his training at SPICE helped accelerated his pace. Coach Susan Polgar knew Wesley So is very special.
Exposure to various tournaments is only one component. SPICE program offered multitude of opportunities to Wesley So’s overall ascent to where is at right now.
Now being crowned as an Olympic champion and nearing the 2800-level (World’s #6), Wesley So’s ultimate goal is within sight.
But whatever goals he reaches, he will forever be known as one of the greatest pupil of Greatest Woman Chess Player of All-Time, Mulitple Olympic Gold Medalist and Coach par-excellence Susan Polgar.
@ Chess Admin: That complimentary and courtesy letter was written by a woman for So but not by So. Read again.
@ Jamaal Worthy: Greatest pupil (?) of Susan Polgar: Really?
1. Bobby Fischer became a grandmaster at age 15 and Wesley So at age 14. Both earned this title without prior proper training but thru their own and sheer natural talent. How So, already a grandmaster, became a chess pupil at SPICE is beyond me.
2. Wesley So’s ascent to the world’s top 10 is not because he was trained and developed in the States but because his stint in the US afforded him the ability to compete in many high level of competitions within and outside of the US. His winnings and consistent top placements in these competitions including his gold medal performance in the recent Olympiad pushed his FIDE rating to where it is now.
3. Susan Polgar provided all the support, guidance and motivations to So during the latter’s stay at Webster University.
4. So left Webster in 2014 and moved to Minnesota where he continued to compete in many tournaments until his placement of the US Team for the recent Olympiad.
The issue here is not that I was critical to So’s entry in the US Team. I’m proud of him being part of a great team. I was critical only on the point that made it appear that Wesley So became what he is now for the reason that he was trained at Webster. I repeat, he was already a grandmaster at age 14 as Bobby Fischer was at age 15. Naturally talented players don’t need special training. With proper guidance and support, they will always excel because they are special players and are meant to be so.
Thanks for allowing me to post my comments.
Again, you simply have no idea what you are talking about. We, the moderators allowed you to post complete nonsense. But this is the last time. If you continue to post this kind of utter nonsense, you will be blocked.
Let us repeat one more time. Very few people get to the top without help. The closest one to being a loner was Bobby. But he even had help from Lombardy, Evans, and a few others. Susan Polgar was one of his closest friends. So would not get to where he is at today without the SPICE program and direct training from Susan. All his teammates at Webster can tell you how many hundreds / thousands of hours she spent teaching him. In spite of his natural talent, he was stuck in the mid 2600’s for 3 years and after 2 years being trained by Susan, he jumped to the top 10 and stayed there since.
As many moderators here have pointed out, your opinion is complete utter nonsense.
You are quite thick. So said multiple times publicly with his own mouth that he does not do email, go on twitter or facebook. In fact, he clearly stated publicly that he stayed away from the internet, and his handlers take care of all his social media. Wake up!