@ # 2, 3 etc: Sorry for not making a clear headline, i meant he didn't know much about chess theory, certain principles that are usually tought to us as fundamentals and "must-knows". Ofc. he is good at chess, that's obvious and not in question. What i'm wondering about is that one can play so strong without having learned all that theory. Also that's not because of his bad english, he was asked if he knew certain positions or patterns/rules before and denied that, claiming he found it during the play, on the board, not in his home preparation. That's the amazing thing about this little guy. I know people in my chess club that have studied chess for over 20 years, read hundreds of books, know every principle, every endgame technique (it's impressive how they can explain everything) yet have a FIDE rating below 2000. And here we have a little guy who beats one of the worlds leading GM without having learned that all. That's something i simply don't understand.
Genius Yi Wei reveals himself to the world
Wei Yi is the fourth youngest GM in history, and only the fourth to attain the title before his fourteenth birthday.
He admitted to having looked at Bologan -- Shirov 2005 prior to the game. Shirov won that game, but deviated today on move 14.
The claims of not knowing much chess are either the language difficulty--even the Chinese translator was having a difficult time understanding Lawrence Trent and Susan Polgar. Or, they are rooted in his unwillingness to reveal too much. Possibly both.
Shirov's 2005 win:
Wei's win today:
I am Chinese but now American citizen. China has four women's world champions and trust me, they'd kill for a men's world champion and this Wei Yi (BTW, Wei is family name) kid is their best hope right now. They had Bu Xiangzhi who had the youngest GM record to him but not the training and the number of GMs and GM coaches needed to mint a world champion. Wei Yi has a lot of resources behind him. Also, he made GM mabybe half a year ago, i.e., barely 2500, now his official is 2557. He is probably at least 2600+ strength and Wang Hao apparently said he was playing at 2700 level. He knows everything a good player is supposed to know.
Chess is a popular sport in China. It think more than 10% of China population play either Xiang Chi or Chess. That is about 100 million people. Xiang Chi is very popular among Chinese, though not everybody, who knows it, plays it.
Compare to soccer or basketball, parents would rather have their children play Xiang Chi.
Why? Because Xiang Chi or Chess is inexpensive. While soccer and basketball will spend the family fortune just to buy the outfit. Also Xiang Chi or Chess is seen as intellectual, where soccer or basketball less so.
I am Chinese but now American citizen. China has four women's world champions and trust me, they'd kill for a men's world champion and this Wei Yi (BTW, Wei is family name) kid is their best hope right now. They had Bu Xiangzhi who had the youngest GM record to him but not the training and the number of GMs and GM coaches needed to mint a world champion. Wei Yi has a lot of resources behind him. Also, he made GM mabybe half a year ago, i.e., barely 2500, now his official is 2557. He is probably at least 2600+ strength and Wang Hao apparently said he was playing at 2700 level. He knows everything a good player is supposed to know.
Someone who beat a practically 2700 player plays at a 2700 level? You don't say! Seriously though the kid has talent. Talent will get one to GM, but hard work will make them a champion.
Why? Because Xiang Chi or Chess is inexpensive. While soccer and basketball will spend the family fortune just to buy the outfit. Also Xiang Chi or Chess is seen as intellectual, where soccer or basketball less so.
Not necessarily; theoretically all one needs for ball sports is a ball and some space.
Plus from what I've heard the Chinese are actually very fond of futbol, and that their national team is terrible is a very tough thing to bear for the population. This has been my experience, anecdotally speaking.
(also on a pedantic note; xiang qi)
A player can be 2700+ strength, yet the rating is 2600. Vice versa.
A player can be 2600 strength, yet the rating is 2700+.
Chess is not about strength, but also some others like luck, time, money, enjoyment, family, friends, etc.
Why? Because Xiang Chi or Chess is inexpensive. While soccer and basketball will spend the family fortune just to buy the outfit. Also Xiang Chi or Chess is seen as intellectual, where soccer or basketball less so.
Not necessarily; theoretically all one needs for ball sports is a ball and some space.
Plus from what I've heard the Chinese are actually very fond of futbol, and that their national team is terrible is a very tough thing to bear for the population. This has been my experience, anecdotally speaking.
(also on a pedantic note; xiang qi)
Thanks for your note. They can be fond of football or soccer. But to have their kids play it, they are reluctant.
If the kid asks for a football outfit, then he is considered lucky if he/ she can still have dinner on that day
@Ziryab,
(Disclaimer: I'm a chess newbie.)
It sure looks to me like Wei was aware of that previous Shirov win, looking at those two games side by side like that.
(I'm a chess newbie so take that with however large a grain of salt you like.)
But even if Wei studied a bit of Shirov's game, I guess the point is, at 14, it's almost impossible for Wei to know as much "theory" as a lot of older players who are not nearly as good at chess as this young phenom.
http://ratings.fide.com/id.phtml?event=1503014
You can see here that Carlsen at the age of 14 had, more or less, the same rating as the young chinese.
So, ummm, yes, I guess it's safe to say that "he does not know much about chess". Next to that, strike a doobie.
@ # 2, 3 etc: Sorry for not making a clear headline, i meant he didn't know much about chess theory, certain principles that are usually tought to us as fundamentals and "must-knows". Ofc. he is good at chess, that's obvious and not in question. What i'm wondering about is that one can play so strong without having learned all that theory. Also that's not because of his bad english, he was asked if he knew certain positions or patterns/rules before and denied that, claiming he found it during the play, on the board, not in his home preparation. That's the amazing thing about this little guy. I know people in my chess club that have studied chess for over 20 years, read hundreds of books, know every principle, every endgame technique (it's impressive how they can explain everything) yet have a FIDE rating below 2000. And here we have a little guy who beats one of the worlds leading GM without having learned that all. That's something i simply don't understand.
I have been playing chess for a lot longer than 20 years, I have been reading books and watching videos and so forth for some time and my rating is low. Yet young children step forth out of nowhere and become grandmasters. Not just this kid but many others in the past and in the present day. How do they do it? I want to know!
Talent? Sounds like what you are describing is, roughly speaking, equivalent to talent.
It's not that these kids haven't worked at it. I admire the prodigious powers of focus, concentration, etc. In fact I think those of us who started late are probably too distracted, and maybe the grey matter is just a little bit less flexible than it was.
I'm not saying they don't work hard at it. But clearly they have some sort of gift.
$.02
If it's any consolation, child prodigies don't always wind up being the greatest of masters.
I mean, a lot of the great masters were child prodigies. But, most child prodigies do not wind up being the greatest. I've seen child prodigies in the music field who just sort of flame out, never achieve greatness.
If it's any consolation, child prodigies don't always wind up being the greatest of masters.
Nicholas Nip, Jordy Mont-Reynaud...
Age has nothing to do with it, rating does. Sure he will get better but he's rated 2557, that's all I said. You need a minimum 2500 rating to become an GM. Use your brain. If he was 2700 THEN he'd be a strong GM.
Not sure if this was already stated, but immediately after Shirov resigned and had a post-match interview, he stated that this "weak gm" was playing at a 2700 level.
fail topic : (
Without knowing much chess?! Here's a tiny bit of info: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/world-cup-future-super-star-emerging-a-future-world-champion
By the way, it was Wang Hao who made the comment about him playing at 2700. We'll have to see what level he is. 1 or 2 tournaments doesn't prove it. But as of this tournament, he's off to a great start.
I watched the interview twice. There was a language problem but I'm quite sure that when Susan asked about coaching & training he said (he kind of tried to answer but Wang Hao helped) that many from different countries were hired. So yeah, he gets coaching. He doesn't go to school anymore, he's a full time chess player.
He did not figure out cutting off the king over the board this game. That is something he taught himself before, and it is simple. I used that before I heard it from someone.