20 Questions: FM James Canty III
James Canty III is a Detroit-based FIDE Master who wears many hats including streamer, content creator, commentator, and coach. At the time of this interview, he has 35,000 followers on Twitch and continues to grow his following every day. I sat down with him over Zoom to learn more about the Jedi Master himself, including some of his favorite things and how chess has impacted his life for the better.
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1. Favorite Color: Red
2. Favorite Movie: Star Wars Attack of the Clones
3. Favorite TV Show: “I don’t watch TV. I am always studying chess.”
4. Favorite Musician: Drake
5. Favorite Food: Chicken and Rice
6. Favorite Chess Player: Mikhail Tal and his trainer Rashid Nezhmetdinov
7. Favorite Opening: Jobava London
8. Favorite Time Control: Bullet/30 sec
9. Knights or Bishops: Bishops
10. Hobby other than Chess: Working out
11. Proudest moment in your professional career?
The 2022 U.S. Masters in Charlotte, NC. It was the best tournament I’ve ever played. I played multiple grandmasters (GM) and international masters (IM) and lost to only one each. I played the greatest chess of my life.
12. Favorite Chess related memory?
The first round of the 2022 U.S .Masters. I convincingly beat a GM in my favorite way: quickly and tactically.
13. Biggest goal?
Definitely becoming a GM. Of course, IM is a stepping stone, but you have to play at the strength (of a GM) before you actually are at that strength. Based on my performances I am there, but now I need to convert it into the title. I’ve been very close to getting my first GM norm, including at one tournament in March where I went 6.5/7.
14. Any other content creators/streamers you want to recommend for people to check out?
Chess Dojo Live is a huge community and gives out lots of free content. ChessBrah is fun. They have lots of educational stuff, play house music, and just turn it up. Also Hikaru, Gotham Chess, and Daniel Naroditsky.
15. Advice for someone looking to improve?
My coach told me to focus on the work, not the result. When you focus on the result, you don’t get the result. But when you focus on the work that produces the result, you do.
16. Explain Calculation Over Everything (COE) to me. Is there a story behind its inception?
Last December, I asked my psychology and positional chess coach a question and he told me to calculate. I started to notice again and again he would tell me to calculate. He told me some techniques and how I should train. At my very next tournament, in January of 2022, I beat my first GM over the board which was amazing. That's when COE became a thing. In one game, I spent nearly 35 mins before I made a move and drew the game. The fact that I had the discipline to not make a move till I was ready is what COE is.
You can buy COE merch here: James Canty Merch
17. You have called yourself a Jedi Master. Tell me the story behind it and where would you place that in the title hierarchy?
Jedi Master would definitely be above GM, and in a way I would say GMs are Jedi Masters. Of course, the Jedi thing is the mindset and force. I always liked when Jedi used their mind and the force to do something. They had to be very good at their craft to live. They are very wise. Chess is like that. You get that smart intellectual type stuff from both. Hence, Jedi Master.
18. At what point did you realize you could make a living off of chess?
In 2018 I had a chess coach buddy of mine, Frank Johnson, and I saw him streaming. He was making money and having fun. I thought, “I’m a stronger player," I should give it a shot too. Within the first six months of streaming, I became a partner with Chess.com. All with a really garbage setup! I realize anything can happen, you just have to get in there and work. To become a GM, I need to study. With a job or anything outside of chess, it will take away from studying and make it take longer to hit that goal. Streaming has brought sponsorships. I work at Chess.com and do lessons there. Everything blew up after 2018.
19. There is a disproportionately small number of titled black players, not to mention even less black female players, from your perspective what is causing this and what can be done to grow those numbers and increase engagement within black communities?
In black communities, chess is not considered a sport. Basketball and football take precedence over everything else. It’s not cool. It’s not what we grew up with or traditional. Not to mention lack of tournament access, coaches, and funding also contribute to this issue. Every black community is like that.
For me a big goal is to give back to Detroit. I didn’t even play FIDE until 2015. I didn’t know FIDE is the way to make GM, not USCF. I used to think I had a high USCF rating and one day I’dl make GM. But I didn’t even know the route.
Me being black from Detroit, nobody knows you are supposed to play FIDE tournaments to make titles. People of color want to know how to do it. Right now my main focus is getting GM. I am one of the few black players who has a real good shot at getting it. After that, I will focus on foundations and other things.
20. Beyond making a career off of chess, how has it impacted you as a person?
Chess is credited with a lot of the success in my life right now.The focus it takes to play at a high level and discipline it takes to study and get good are applicable in other areas of my life.I’ve studied business, online marketing, and advertising. All of which required the discipline and focus I built through studying chess.
Bobby Fischer once said, “As the mind deteriorates, so does the body.” So it’s very important to have those two intertwined: strong mind, strong body. This is why I workout so much. People ask me, “are you training for something?” I always say “yeah a chess match,” which sounds funny and they joke “you got some heavy pieces bro!” Sometimes a tournament can be 10 hours of you playing chess. It’s important to be focused, in good shape, and eat well.
Some responses have been abbreviated for brevity and clarity.
