Why Chess and Economics don’t mix
A Havard Professor (Grandmaster Ken Rogoff) on his chess addiction and why he had to give up the game
Every year Harvard Economics Professor Ken Rogoff says he recieves an unsolicited letter from one of the world’s top chess players. It is a different one every year but the question is the same: how can I get out of chess.
Because Ken Rogoff is one of those exceptional people who has managed to excel not just in one field but in two.
Professor Rogoff has been chief economist at the IMF, he’s worked the Federal Reserve, but he had a life before economics. As a child Ken developed an all-consuming passion for chess. He left home – and school – at 15 to pursue this passion and he did very well indeed. He became an international grand master — the highest title in chess and was once ranked 40th in the World.
Justin Rowlatt asks Ken Rogoff why was forced to decide to stop playing the game he loved.
Click here to hear the interview.
I would suggest that Mr. Rogoff merely traded one ‘addiction’ (chess) for another (economics). Of course, the latter is much more socially acceptable (and yes, profitable) in this part of the world.
Quit chess and go get a real job selling hemp on the corner.