I would understand and respect his decision to quit, but I think he is kind of too much in a ranter/sore loser mode in both the interview and the blog post.
IM Shankland quitting chess
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Jul 18, 2010
0
#43
Anyone who plays tournament chess plays because he is COMPELLED to do so. So if he feels that he should quit, then he should. But I don't think that he will, he was just speaking out of frustration.
Many years ago I was working for a company out in the boondocks and living in the company hotel. Every evening I used to play chess with this Ukrainian old guy, and every night we would get frustrated and swear never to play again - and the next evening we were back at it again "just for one more game...".
That is the nature of chess. You can get a chessplayer out of chess, but you can't get chess out of a chessplayer.
henri5 wrote:
Anyone who plays tournament chess plays because he is COMPELLED to do so. So if he feels that he should quit, then he should. But I don't think that he will, he was just speaking out of frustration.
Many years ago I was working for a company out in the boondocks and living in the company hotel. Every evening I used to play chess with this Ukrainian old guy, and every night we would get frustrated and swear never to play again - and the next evening we were back at it again "just for one more game...".
That is the nature of chess. You can get a chess player out of chess, but you can't get chess out of a chess player.
Josh Waitzkin quit.
He's 18. He's got plenty of time to quit crying, and get back into the game.
He's playing in the junior championship, even as I type this.
he's in a three-way tiebreaker right now, but I'm pulling for him 
Something tells me if he beats zhao and robson and wins the us chess champion that he will not quit
He did win? Good for him. :)
SerbianChessStar wrote:
Something tells me if he beats zhao and robson and wins the us chess champion that he will not quit
US Junior Chess Championship. But yes, I agree with you.
Jul 20, 2010
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#52
Shankland did beat Ray Robson in an Armageddon game to win the 2010 US Junior Championship. Shankland had Black and the same amount of time. Earlier, Shankland defeated Parker Zhao.
I think Shankland quit norm hunting not chess.
"The new Boston team is called the Nor’easters ..."
"The captain of the new team will be David Vigorito and the team’s roster (which must number nine) has been issued and it is: IM Samuel Shankland, IM Robert Hungaski, IM Vigorito, IM Jan van de Mortel, FM Charles Riordan, FM Braden Bournival, FM Christopher Chase, NM Alex Cherniak, and NM Carey Theil."
boston_gets_a_second_team_in_us_chess_league
Jul 20, 2010
0
#54
Congrats to Shankland.
I remember playing him when he was 1800 and just another promising junior. I highly doubt he will completely quit given that he hasn't wrapped up the elusive GM title yet. But if he does, like so many before him, it does reflect a bit on the dearth of good opportunities for all but the absolute top players.
Then again, I can think of worst things to do than trapse around Spain or Hungary in search of a final norm.
Jul 20, 2010
0
#55
pdela wrote:
henri5 wrote:
What's his complaint? In his game against IM Bryan he blundered away a won game - so he would rather have blundered against a Grandmaster?
IM Bryan didn't get a norm in that event, even despite it was announced as a GM-event and he won the tournament
That happens. I know a bunch of guys who were IMs with about 2600 just because they didn't play with enough people from different federations (it is also a requirement). Or did not get enough title-holders (thanks to some 2400-rated Russian candidate master who didn't bother paying the FM-fee). 
Shankland is 18 and I know when I was a teenager I did far worse things than be angry and over-react over a disappointment. I don't want to kick him when he's down because anyone who makes FM, let alone IM, is a great player.
But it does raise a larger point for me: Does being a GM mean what it used to?
I mean he complains about players rated around 2200 choosing variations that lead to dead draws. Surely a true Grandmaster can overcome such players and force victories?
Becoming a grandmaster should be difficult. Extremely difficult. Better that than have the title lose value.
bsrasmus, yes, he still intends to be here on chess.com-- in fact he came on chess.com/tv yesterday via skype shortly after his last round win against ThunderHolt to explain the game.
i already gave him a raise earlier this year, so not in a position to do so again at this juncture. but i certainly appreciate having him on the site as do many of us.
campione, i agree that becoming a GM should be really hard. i think nowadays it's still fairly difficult.
pdela wrote:
ouch, really pissed-off
kinda trying to kill the camera man gazing him
True.
Don't forget about the venue. The tournament area was like a dungeon. We played on rusty, wooden tables where the floors were really dusty. The main stairs had dust literally all over them. I remember a bird flying in the room on the last day but that was kinda funny. The bathroom area was pretty bad... They almost ran out of paper towels. I noticed a few guys walking out without washing their hands...
And then the hotel we checked in had spiders! Maybe we were unlucky but we switched out the day before the tournament.
I know chess players will play wherever there are tables and chairs but c'mon...
I didn't know wood rusted, lol. I would think the people putting on the event could afford better. Anyway I was wondering if anybody read his blog, I posted above, and agreed with why he said he lost his love for chess.