Responsibilty of GMs on this site/communtiy

Yes, when I was in the US, I found the Americanos pretty chilled compared to some of the European states. Maybe it's just a "chess" thing ? 

This thread reminds me of a relevant incident that I experienced in the late 1990's.  I was playing in the U1800 section at a USCF tournament in Florida (Orlando I think).  The late GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz (aka "Wojo") was competing in the open section.  We had never met before, but when we randomly crossed paths in the empty motel hallway early one morning, I cheerfully said to him "Good morning grandmaster!".  He looked right past me like I wasn't there, said nothing, and kept walking.  He did not acknowledge me in any way.  At the time, my ego felt a little bruised by his indifference.  But later, a a friend of mine who knew much about the GM explained to me why I should not take this personally.

From what I heard, Wojo interacted socially with strangers only if they were titled players, or his opponents (or had paid to play him in a simul).  I heard that Wojo, and apparantly many Russians (and other nationalities, and New Yorkers), think the average American is strange and goofy because of his/her excessive and naive friendliness towards strangers.  In many parts of the world, one must be introduced through the propper channels, and earn trust, before one can reasonably expect warm treatment.  We need to remember these cultural differences before we judge others for the "rudeness" of their indifference and avoidance of relationship.

In addition to the differing attitudes on friendliness towards strangers, I'm sure Wojo had other very good reasons not to bother with superficial niceties.  I hear that the man went through hell in Soviet prison.  I'm sure he had lots on his mind that morning, and I now regret intruding on his quiet time.

I tend to agree that people in the performing arts should be gracious to their fans.  I frequently get "recognized" around South Florida for some previous television and minor B film work I've done -- but then again I enjoy the attention.  Most actors and singers are nice to fans, the only one I can think off the top of my head that wasn't was Peter Graves.

There is a key distinction here between walking up to Kamsky at a tournament and approching Brad Pitt at a cafe (other than the obvious one that Brad Pitt is a real life celebrity and Kamsky is still a "nobody" but that's beside the point).  

The key here is that Kamsky was "on set" (or on the job) when you talked to him.  Would you go introduce yourself to Brad Pitt in between takes on set?

That's all I wanted to add.  Think about it.

Are you talking about Finegold? ;come on buddy let's have some names otherwise its just not very good gossip.

Looks like the chess pros can be a grumpy lot, no surprises i suppose, chess can take its toll on the brain.

If i met Brad Pitt, I'd say "Brad!! I love you man!" but not if he took up chess and wore out his head.

I was at a tournament in Woodstock, Connecticut, some years ago, playing in the booster section when we found out that GM Roman Dzindzichashvili was playing in the open.  He was having a mediocre tournament; he had already lost to a 2400 and was having trouble drawing against a 2300.  One look at him and you realized that if you were to say anything to him, he'd bite your head off.  We gave him a wide berth.  Nobody annoyed him, and he didn't insult anyone.  In the years since then I've met Roman several times and he is very approachable, friendly, even charming, but that first time, he was anything but, and as a player I understood why.  Larry Christiansen was pretty cool too, as well as Yasser Seirawan, but Pal Benko came off as a total jerk and I despise Ken Rogoff.  Don't get the feeling that a one-time meeting defines who they are, give them multiple chances to be a schmuck, and they might surprise you by actually being a nice person who once had a bad day.

I saw GM Gata Kamsky, GM Joel Benjamin, and IM Irina Krush (now GM) at the 1995 World Open in Philidelphia.  They are all heroes of mine, but I admired them from a distance -- I was far too shy at the time to approach any of them.  Afterwards I somewhat regretted not attempting to say hello since I can rarely attend a major tournament (and I don't see many chess celebrities in Florida where I live).  But now I realize that it is just as well that I didn't bother them.  They had plenty of stress to deal with, and I would not have known what to say anyway (and I have no interest in autographs).  What could a wood-pusher like me have to say that would be of any interest to such accomplished players?

I swear i know exactly which Gm you are talking about, malachi76 

OK. So let me add to a few points that people have missed. 1.) The tournament was over for him and me. He was just standing in the lobby doing nothing as was I 2.) Regardless of who a person is; being rude is not okay. I only point out if you are somewhat of a well known person (even if its only in the chess world- like Kamsky), one has to know that people are going to approach them. 3.) And part of the reaons celebrities get annoyed is becasue they just want to be people some time (i.e not signing autographs, takin pictures etc.). However, when you see a Brad Pitt and say hello. How are you? And how about this weather? I think Mr. Pitt coming off rude would suprise a lot of people. 4.) And I point out Kamsky because he is very well known as far as American Chess is concerned and if anyone was going to be too busy I would expect it more from him.

For those of you who do not agree with me then that is fine. I just wanted to get feedback and I did. However, I am a little confused as to why some people seemed upset when they responded.? And lastly I will not disclose who this young GM is. To me it doesnt really matter who they are. I just expected a little more humanity is all.

And yes American, but I am not sure how much that would matter.

I've thought about this celebrity encounter thing quite a bit, and, I've also seen interviews with celebrities who admit that they are not good with fans.  The gist of the interviews is that some of them are embarrassed by fame.  And, if they happen to be an introvert AND they're embarrassed, well, than one can only empathize.  I think a lot of chess players are introverts.

This is a very important discussion. It's unreasonable to expect GMs to be nice. This thread is a discussion of a more realistic solution to the GM problem on chess.com: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/ban-all-gms-from-chesscom?lc=1#last_comment

I think by nature chess attracts a lot of loners and socially challenged individuals...not all, but if you devote your whole life to looking at a chess board, it would be fair to say that socializing is not one of your assets. In reality the big stars and sporting heroes mostly interact because they have to...otherwise their money supply will disappear very quickly. In chess, there is very little money, only the top players are contracted to deal with the media, smile for the cameras etc. So don't expect anything from a "normal" GM....he is not being paid enough to be forced to do it. Few GMs are very social...I met Anand once, and he was very polite and friendly...but I think he is the exception, not the rule.

Fischer was a good laugh too. After a pub crawl, he'd be happy to help with getting lamposts inside bicycle frames around town.

Why does a person who worked hard to become good at chess owe anything to anyone? They are not world famous movie stars making tens of millions per year. Most make a meager living, and now you intrude on them uninvited and expect them to put up with you who has basically nothing to contribute. Awfully rude of you, I'd say. If you walked a mile in their shoes you might think differently, with 100 schmucks coming up to them every tournament wasting their time.

If you are a pro chess player and at a tournament, you are at work. You are expected to behave yourself properly while at work. Just because you are a great chess player doesn't give you carte blanche to be a jerk to everyone, its bad for the game. Anyone who is doing more harm than good for the game of chess should be banned until they learn how to conduct themselves properly. Just my opinion.

Unless you are in the service industry, you are not required to be particularly sociable and outgoing while at work. I'm in IT, and while I try to be polite and professional at work, I do not act like "everybody's pal".

... so the question becomes: are chess GMs in the service industry?

I think not. Just my opinion.

GM should beat Houdini 4 / chess engines infront of everyone in live broadcast ! otherwise their should not be any responsibility on them ;) they are playing chess by rules thats enough! 

I apologize if I was one of the ones who sounded upset. I didn't mean to. I usually sound abrupt when I post from work because I have so little time for non-work stuff. I'm also a somewhat asocial, private person and I hate when people think they have a right to any of my time. I realize it is different out in the real world.

Eye for an eye leaves the world full of blind people... just sayin'...