I think his father exploited him by writing that book. He was counting chickens that hadn't hatched yet, and one wonders just how much money drove the father. I think he heaped a whole big pile of expectations on his son, made a bunch of dough off of him, and ultimately made it so that if he wasn't the next Bobby Fischer, he was a failure.
That said, I have no idea what was going on inside the family, so I'm speaking from a position of very limited information.
An even better story would've been the one about Jeff Sarwer. He was the kid that Josh played at the end of the movie. Jeff had a truly remarkable chess career as a kid. He AND his sister won world championships for their age. They were homeless and on the run from the law. He was a better player than Josh, a year younger I think, even though Josh had money, a stable home, coaches, everything.
An even better story would've been the one about Jeff Sarwer. He was the kid that Josh played at the end of the movie. Jeff had a truly remarkable chess career as a kid. He AND his sister won world championships for their age. They were homeless and on the run from the law. He was a better player than Josh, a year younger I think, even though Josh had money, a stable home, coaches, everything.
There was an article about him a few years back. He was into poker and played a blitz chess event.
I think he played in the millionaire tournament in Vegas. I read that he's also in real estate as an investor, I think he took poker winnings and was smart with it.
Josh Waitzkin is a nice guy, I met him through a mutual friend. Josh went his own way in life. He was a world champion in Tai Chi Chuan, also a Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and a successful life coach and author.
I do not agree on topics saying Karpov was defensive and Kasparov was aggressive. Kasparov was a positional or strategic monster too. And of course, Karpov was also a phenomenal attacker, it just depends on what the position dictates.
I like turtles.
I played Josh at the Manhattan Chess club a few years before the club shut down. Competition in the game was fierce back then and even tougher today. All the GMs beat him in the Friday night rapids. Most people hit a ceiling, and at least GothamChess (a youtuber) admits that on youtube. Neither player is even close to any of the GMs in the Meltwater tournament. Magnus Carlsen proved today that he is in a league of his own.
Nakamura is good, but it's hard to predict how far he will go. I heard most of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th century. There are no equals in the 21st century. But, we are witnessing the finest chess players who ever lived, right now. With all of his genius, Fischer could not handle the pressure of today, because the world has opened up to chess, and is no longer just a white man's game.
It is you who do not have a clue. Josh Waitzkin as the next Bobby Fischer was a total nonsense. Not even near to Nakamura's level. The young Judit Polgar always ate Josh alive.
Yeah, declaring Josh "The Next Bobby Fischer" pretty much set him up for failure. The IM title is very respectable, but it takes a lifetime of dedication to reach the very top even if you are talented.
to put josh into perspective, a lowly NM is already a 98-99th percentile player and and an IM is 99.5 percentile. becoming an IM as young as Waitzkin back in the day was a very promising sign, but what makes someone reach greatness in chess is always a bit unpredictable. Even the legendary ray robson never quite climbed the 2700 hill for long and he had everything seemingly going for him.
This is a very sad story.