April 29, 2007
Chess
Nature? Nurture? Never Mind. Here’s a Sister Act to Watch.
By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN
Siblings who are elite chess players are rare. The best known are probably the Polgar sisters of Hungary. Susan, the eldest, is a grandmaster and former women’s world champion. Sofia is an international master. And Judit, the youngest, is the best woman player in history.
Other notable chess-playing siblings have included the Byrne brothers, Robert, a grandmaster and the longtime columnist for The New York Times, and Donald, an international master who died at 45; and Gregory Shahade, an international master, and Jennifer Shahade, a two-time United States women’s champion, who were taught chess by their father, Michael, a master.
Why so few elite sibling players? Is it simply because it is highly unlikely for a single family to produce multiple elite players? Or do most siblings have different interests?
The questions go to the heart of a familiar debate: Is chess talent innate or nurtured?
Here is the full article.
At least in Russia there are more examples, not so talanted as Polgar sisters, but still both at least master strength:
Romanovsky brothers, Agzamov brothers, Makagonov brothers, Grigoryan brothers, Alekhin brother was strong expert.
There are lots of examples of strong brothers and sisters, as swedish GM Pia Cramling and brother IM Dan Cramling, hungarian GM Lajos Portisch and brother IM F. Portisch, norwegian GM Kjetil Lie and brother FM Espen Lie (probably soon IM), GM Mamedjarov and his sister, and so on
90% work and 10% gift.
it s both although maybe one of the sibilings has a little more talent of drive will or interest thatn the other. in this part of the planet, u can find too, theres actually a trio, a duo ,etc.
I just started reading “Nature via Nurture”.
But I think the lack of siblings could be a competition thing. Especially if one is markedly better.
Certainly I heard that one of the former U16 world champions brother was “okay” (meaning expert level in his early teens), but when your brother beats you 9 times out of 10, I guess it could easily get slightly demoralizing. Even if he could perhaps have worked and brought the level up to IM or even GM, his brother was likely always going to be “top dog”.
At the top it is likely to be both nature and nurture. I know a few players have got to the top quickly, and seem to have a natural talent, but often the hard work is underplayed. It is much more effective to make it look like you won moving quickly, than to say you worked it all out beforehand with your second, a computer and a pile of books.
But if you don’t get the full handout of natural talent, good health etc, you are going to need something exceptional in nurture to challenge a Kasparov. Of course being brought up with a very single minded parent, with a clear goal might be that exceptional thing.
The problem with Laszlo’s experiment as far as I can tell is lack of control group – those not his own daughters – or was there more to it than I know?
what would i like to know is that how you are raised, does it really matter. at the end of the day dont u realize that what you are is what you made of yourself, and has no contact what so ever with how you were raised. your parents can do the best as possible to raise you in the most best way possible, but its up to you to learn from them or not.