Genius Yi Wei reveals himself to the world

I don't know about "we", but the OP drew some hasty generalizations from a certain reticence on Wei Yi's part. The game itself is ample evidence of skill, including knowledgeable preparation.

You say he's a full time chess player? Lucky! No school for him!

I hope you are wrong  I want to believe "Terminator" movies are pure fiction.

Trouble speaking English?

Shirov was his first victim, Who's next?

It's a strategy pretending not to know English.

The kid has IQ above average, how can't he know English? Languages are easier to learn when one is a kid.

Who's the next victim?

My conclusions:

1. He was cheating.

2. He was lying.

3. Fixed.

4. EXTREME preparation.

5. Talent.

It's a fantastic achievement, whether he gets training or not. It will be very exciting to see his games in the future.

Superior chess play doesnt equate with superior IQ or overall intelligence it is a very specialized skill to play chess well.  Yes there is some carryover to intelligence but the degree this is useful entails cultural factors and many other variables.  Perhaps this player plays xiangqi(chinese chess) which is much much harder than international chess.  The Russians arent an overall intelligent people, look at their society, liquor consumption, language, etc, and you will find that the reason they excel at chess is largely cultural which supports chess style thinking.  If anyone has read some of the "grandmasters" biographies/autobiographies the true "intelligence" will come out.  Is is any wonder that Fischer called Kasparov a piece of garbage?  Read Kasparov's book and decide.  

Fischer called everybody a piece of garbage.

Oh I'm sure he definitely gets the best training. They said coaches from many countries are hired for him.

Next round: Tomorrow, Game 1 of Mamedyarov (2770) match. 9am eastern U.S. time, 3 pm in Norway. Mame is no joke, well, most of them aren't except for a few people invited just to make the whole world feel all accepted & part of. After all there were over 500 point rating differences between some of the players. I guess that's expected with players from all over the globe. But anyway, now there are 32 left & they're all deserving or they wouldn't have won their 1st 2 matches. We'll see how the young Mr Yi does. He doesn't seem to have shown any problems from pressure so far.

Susan asked about that & he says he doesn't play that game & only learned normal chess. He started playing only this type when he was 6. Now he's a full time player, no school, just chess.

Agreed.  It's a highly specialized type of intelligence.

At any rate, people can have formidable intelligence in a given arena, and still be idiots in another.

The Russians arent an overall intelligent people, look at their society, liquor consumption, language, etc, and you will find that the reason they excel at chess is largely cultural which supports chess style thinking.

The dysfunction (drinking, etc.) in Russian society is not prima facie evidence of lack of intelligence, but instead relates to factors of history and above all *temperament*.

The Soviet Union produced more violin virtuosos than other societies -- because they heavily funded classical music training.  It's not about intelligence: it's about priorities.

  If anyone has read some of the "grandmasters" biographies/autobiographies the true "intelligence" will come out.  Is is any wonder that Fischer called Kasparov a piece of garbage?  Read Kasparov's book and decide.  

Let's make it happen!

No, that was what one could expect from Fischer.

I can see your reasons. I have encountered people (age below 30) with different intelligence.

I have met a 10 year girl who were gifted in painting, yet couldn't do the sum more than 10 and less than 20.

I have met a 6 year boy who was highly intelligent in math and physics, yet couldn't write properly.

But both of them have no problems learning English.

But I have strong belief that this kid can speak and write English fluently, yet was told to shut up and pretend didn't know and never learn about chess basics.

He is not an idiot whose IQ is below average. And I think he can learn English faster than most kids.

How could you tell ?

Oh snap!

Sorry, he couldn't write 4 and 7 properly. His scores on math and physics were 10/10.

Well, Wei Yi drew today against Mamedyarov with the black pieces in game 1 of their match. 3 super GM's in the first 3 rounds. He has white tomorrow, everyone will see.

Let's make it happen!

Many child prodigies burn out because they cannot take pressure of the high expectations. After some time under constant pressure to perform, they no longer enjoy chess or music or whatever they are good at. It is amazing that Carlsen survived all the media attention to be as normal as he is (I.e. mentally well balanced) yet continue to perform at a high level.

zacarunius wrote:

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.