Can intelligent person suck at chess, forever?

Don't you boys have anything better to do with your time than quibble?

Egotist vs egoist huh... well at least I learned a new word.  I think even if I'd seen it in print that I woudln't have noticed the different spelling... and certainly the context wouldn't have tipped me off.

Well I repeat my point that whilst confidence is important in chess ( GlickoRD acknowledges that ) you are not going to talk yourselves into being world-leaders at it :)

wafflemaster:

True. Most people don't know such things. Back in the 1950ies, I read a ton of chess books and other books...improving one's vocabulary was supposed to help achieve success in life. 

Nowadays? Shrug. No one gives a bleep how good your vocabulary is.

Hey netzach...I've been to the main Orkney Island. It was a great visit.

netzach wrote:

ChessSponge wrote:

e4nf3 wrote:

netzach:

I'm pleased to see that you used the correct word: egoists. Most people in the USA say: egotists. And, they don't have a clue as to the difference. Well done!

Actually with his sentence either word would have worked.

Egotist - arrogant boastful person

Egoist - self-centered or selfish person

Considering everytime I hear a person use egotist they are refering to someone who talks themselves up, I'd say most Americans I've heard use the word use it correctly.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/egotist?s=t&ld=1031

Americans can talk themselves up all they wish & I fully realise the value of self-confidence & attitude. 

Still remains however that you all basically suck at chess compared to the smaller EU countries where it has been part of their lives for generations. Needing to recognise  therefore that you have lot's to learn still about the game. Apparently this is not happening via the methods ( books/videos etc ) championed on here.

Why is that so ?

Compared to that chess powerhouse known as Scotland?

Actually, Hikaru Nakamura is a great player as are many other Americans, though they're not at the elite level and many now living in America came from other countries

More than 50 years ago. I was 15 and poor. Got my chess books from the public library. Didn't care who the author was. Just read every thing that I could get my hands on. Wish I could be more helpful.

BTW...studying the openings was very popular back then. Now with computers, doing tactics is. I'll tell you, it was far more tedious.

The library that I frequented as a kid has been closed for many years.

That may be the bad news. But, the good news is that we have the internet, DVD's, eBooks and other tools that I never had "back in the day".

Not sure where the anger is from in that post, but maybe watch the medal scoring in the olympics coming up and you will find the answer?

I figure that remark should derail the thread even more.

Yes it has all changed efn. Regrettably many of the youngsters here prefer to blow their mouths off in these forums instead of looking at a chessbaord accurately yet ebbuliousness leads them all to believe thay are the new BF :)

Is Chess in the Olympics ? I didn't realise that ??

Who is competing for the US ?

Should be noted that Soviet players, back in the days when they dominated world chess, were supported by the state (I.e. paid to be chess players, given nice apartments, etc.) Not the case in America back then, nor do I think it is today. But the $ players can earn now wasn't what it was pre-1970s. We have Bobby Fischer to thank for the money chess players can earn today by winning elite tournaments

It's not hard to churn out great chess players when they're paid a good salary to play chess and nothing else

& how did you thank him ? He wasn't even an American citizen when he died yet you still feed off his glory as world-champion ? ( over 40yrs ago )

So on one hand you proclaim his rebel-stance as advancing pay & conditions for chess-professionals ( true ! )

Yet for political-reasons you treat him like crap & disenfranchise him from his country because of a similar stance that didn't suit the US at the time ?

Let me re-phrase your post in hopes that it will be easier for you to see why I'm having trouble responding to it in a sensible way:

American players are on average worse than some small EU country's players, on average.  Therefore all American players do not recognize that they have a lot to learn about the game.

Furthermore, Americans are unable to overcome this deficiency despite chess.com, an internationally accessible chess site with many training materials.

Playing blitz or bullet games will only show others what u already know. You will not learn anything from it. I strongly advice you to play long games, and do a little reading.

I learned chess mostly from reading the daily newspaper ad, and playing out the whole games from both sides. I could spend an hour on this kinda game, and I did it almost everyday for at least a year or two before I stepped it down a bit. Although I didnt understand everything when I read it, some of it was commented to help me understand, and I often spent long time on understand one move (wich wasnt even bothered commentating on), before sometimes just giving it up and continiuing.

Today I almost just play blitz / bullet, and I've realized I'll probably never be better because of this (and Im not really very good, either).

netzach wrote:

chesspooljuly13 wrote:

Should be noted that Soviet players, back in the days when they dominated world chess, were supported by the state (I.e. paid to be chess players, given nice apartments, etc.) Not the case in America back then, nor do I think it is today. But the $ players can earn now wasn't what it was pre-1970s. We have Bobby Fischer to thank for the money chess players can earn today by winning elite tournaments

& how did you thank him ? He wasn't even an American citizen when he died yet you still feed off his glory as world-champion ? ( over 40yrs ago )

He was an American citizen when he won the championship and raised the amounts of money chess players could win in elite tournaments. The fact he was a citizen of Iceland for the last few years of his life hardly seems relevant. His accomplishments in chess - on and off the board- took place while he was an American

You're attributing the actions of the US government to the feelings of the country as a whole? Incorrect way to look at things

No one's feeding off his glory. Since you took the opportunity to impugn America for not having great chess players, I was simply pointing out that we had one of the best - and someone who raised the amounts of money elite chess players could win in tournaments. Before Fischer, the cash prize for winning the WCC was $1,000

You are a democracy & you elect who governs you.

There has been plenty of controversy over sportsmen playing against political embargoes.

Cricket in SA during apartheid comes to mind. But those who did were not denied their passports or UK citizenship as a result of those actions ?

I fail to see how any american can condone your goverment's treatment of him (BF) especially as he was ill. The whole thing is a disgrace.

Bobby Fisher hated the US. Everybody knows that.