Q & A Interview With Jeremy Silman

Lunatic & Workaholic

[click to see Silman's Bio]

Q: When do you intend to play again?

Silman: Never. I'm fully retired from chess combat. No more for me. Nada. Zip.

Q: Come on! You're playing this “World against Silman” game. How do you explain that?

Silman: I refused for a long time, but finally caved when several friends insisted I do it. I must admit that it has become interesting though. The opening (a Queen's Indian Defense) has captured my attention.

Q: See, you miss competitive play.

Silman: Perhaps, but I won't play again – preparing myself for that kind of competition takes more time and energy than I can spare. So I really am out.

Q: Okay, how's www.jeremysilman.com going? You seem to be spending a lot of time on it. What happened to our weekly golf get-togethers?

Silman: It's tough. I created this site as a service; then I decided to make it better and better. This led to me spending all my time honing the design and quite a bit of money paying top people to write articles. When you add in the time I spend writing my own articles, putting together news and news wires – well, golf might be a thing of the past.

Q: Sounds like the usual creative process. You've always enjoyed that.

Silman: Yes, but it's turned into a much bigger project than I ever imagined. My dream is to get dozens of grandmasters and international masters writing for the site – to create something really special. That takes money and enormous effort, support, and time.

Q: So give up! I miss thrashing you at golf!

Silman: Hey, it's crossed my mind from time to time. But I won't. Especially since the site is getting closer and closer to what I envisioned – and this is still just the beginning of my true site-plan.

Q: One more site question on something I've been wondering about. Why astrology and the other non-chess subjects?

Silman: Well, I will admit that I'm personally not an astrology buff. But I know that millions of people enjoy it, and giving them access to the most famous astrologer in the world, Joyce Jillson, seemed a no-brainer. Why not make astrology fans happy? By the way, Joyce – who is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met – is also an excellent chess player.

Q: And movies?

Silman: I love movies, especially Asian cinema. Do I really need a reason other than that? Everyone has their own specific interests – some enjoy chess, others are into politics, stamp collecting, fine wines, and some live for their hunting rifles and fried squirrel. Jeremysilman.com is really four independent mini-sites. I don't expect everyone to visit them all.

Q: What about that strange spiritual stuff?

Silman:  I was listening to radio one night when I was driving back from some job. I tuned into a random station and was fascinated by a show that announced that they were trying to find out what Buddhism was. That captured my attention! But I was horrified to realize that none of the listeners, including the host, had a clue! They began ridiculing Buddhists! They began announcing things that were dripping in so much ignorance that I was absolutely disgusted. It occurred to me that offering views of other beliefs might prove beneficial to curious people with open minds. Learning about these things doesn't mean you have to believe it, but knowledge does give a person a greater chance to accept and understand those that are different than themselves.

I wish I had a good Buddhist writer, and someone skilled in Islamic thought, and a Rabbi, and a Christian mystic.

Q: But won't it upset some people?

Silman: At the risk of repeating myself, every subject has its own site. You go to the chess site and there's nothing but chess. If you hate chess, you go to the movies site and there's nothing but movies. It shocks me to see how many people have trouble wrapping their minds around this concept. If one goes to Yahoo, there are endless subjects. People accept that and just pick the ones they personally are interested in. It's the same on jeremysilman.com. In fact, if you are a chess player and don't wish to see anything other than chess, make the blue chess page a favorite and you'll go directly there.

Amazingly, some people are actually offended by the non-chess material! Offended! I'll make them an offer – these people should invite me to their trailers and let me throw away anything they own that isn't about chess. Then I'll learn from their example and take their criticisms to heart.

Q: I thought old age would make you less of a lunatic?

Silman: Sorry, I'm only getting worse with age.

Q: Let's move on, you're beginning to scare me!

Silman: By all means.

Q: You know I've played chess in tournaments on and off for twenty or so years. And I also follow most chess news. So what's the story with this multiple World Champion thing? I'm confused!

Silman: Kasparov was the World Champion. Kramnik won a serious match from Kasparov and earned the title. Since nobody has beaten Kramnik in a match, he's still the World Champion. It's that simple.

Q: Wait a second! What about FIDE?

Silman: What about them? What do they do for anyone? It's just another example of self-serving politicians who don't really care about real issues or real people – in this case chess and professional players.

Q: You're full of love today, aren't you?

Silman: Just being honest.

Q: What about this drug testing agenda?

Silman: I already talked about that in the “raves” section of my site.

[Click HERE to see Silman's article on that subject.]

Q: Are you writing any more books?

Silman: BENKO'S LIFE, GAMES & COMPOSITIONS finally came out in March. That took me six years of pain, but I'm very proud of the result.

Q: So what's next?

Silman: I'm “only” a year late on a new endgame book I'm doing. I'll eventually get it done…hopefully before my publishers shoot me.

Q: What's your philosophy on life?

Silman: “We are all confused.” That's pretty much it!

Q: You're kidding.

Silman: Not at all. In fact, it leads to a logical progression: Since none of us have a clue (though most like to pretend they do), why not just let everyone do what they want to do as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else? Why not respect other cultures, other views? Why not treat everyone kindly and with dignity? I admit that this is pretty simplistic, but why embrace complicated concepts if we can't even do these obvious things?

Q: Who is your favorite chess writer?

Silman: There are a lot of really excellent chess writers. John Nunn and John Watson certainly stand out. Do they ever do anything that isn't fantastic? However, both of those guys are serious theoreticians – almost chess scientists. I tend to enjoy more irreverent material. Bent Larsen is an incredibly entertaining chess writer, and the late Mikhail Tal's stuff is the best of the best.

Q: Do you play lots of different types of games, are you into sports, or are you just a chess guy?

Silman: We've already ascertained that I'm hopeless at golf. I really love playing tennis, and boxing lessons is another passion (of course, I'm also a boxing fan). I'm adept at speed eating, which explains me being somewhat “larger” now than I was in my youth.

Silman, before he took up speed eating

Q: What's the story with the gazillions of books you own?

Silman: I have about 2,000 chess books, and several thousand books on art, mysticism, anthropology, and philosophy. Collecting books is a real addiction. It's a shame they don't have nano-books – that way they would take up no space and I could inject them directly into the vein.

Q: What about novels?

Silman: I used to read Hermann Hesse as a child, and he was a huge influence on me. DEMIAN was my favorite at that time. Later (in my teens) I got into Colin Wilson. His wonderful book, THE OUTSIDER is a classic. But he wasn't just a novelist. Wilson's books on criminology are fascinating, and he also wrote books on philosophy, literary criticism, and just about everything else you could imagine.

Q: No guilty reading pleasures?

Silman: Of course! I often take any one of many books by Eric Van Lustbader on trips – they make great airport reading. I went through periods where I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy. Perhaps my favorite writer of fantasy is Tim Powers. I'm still waiting for someone to make his THE ANUBIS GATES into a movie. And, before I forget, I simply must mention FAT FREDDY'S CAT.

Q: Like all chess players, you've traveled a lot. What are your favorite places?

Silman: I adore Japan, and would love to live in Tokyo for a few months every year. Europe is great. You just can't go wrong driving around the French or Italian countryside. The fact is, no one place is better than another – it's a totally individualistic experience. Each country has its own flavor. Comparing Abu Dhabi with Brazil or Shanghai with Prague is silly. Each location and each culture is fascinating.

Q: Do you have any chess heroes?

Silman: Every true player has chess heroes! My favorite players: Lasker, Alekhine, Larsen, Petrosian, and Fischer.

Q: Did you ever wish you had chosen a different profession? Chess seems a bit odd.

Silman: I might have become an archeologist, but let's face it, chess didn't treat me so badly. I've traveled the world, met many wonderful people, and never have to answer to anyone. I stay up all night, sleep until my cat (click HERE to see more about Silman's dominating cat) drags me screaming from the bed, and pretty much lead a disgustingly decadent lifestyle.

Q: Oh come on – you're a complete workaholic!

Silman: I'm a decadent workaholic. There's a difference!

Q: Good grief. Is there anything else?

Silman: I hope people are enjoying the site. I'm doing my best to make it a great experience for everybody, and if you have ideas, comments, or questions you would like to share, don't hesitate to write me.

Even though a lot of letters come my way, I try hard to answer all my mail. So be patient and I will get back to you.

[Click to contact Mr. Silman.]