What happened to Josh Waitzkin?

I'm glad someone said rubric. Clot and rubric make a great thread. 

I remember him saying somewhere the book and movie fame was too early for him and he couldn't handle it well. In any case, I bought Chessmaster Grandmaster for my 6-year old son last year. He took Josh's lessons and played against the computer daily for  2 months and he went from barely knowing how to play to the best player in our Sunday school chess club. Josh is his hero. It would be great for my son to meet him, or to get a signed book, or to play simul with him if he still does that stuff.

I love Josh's work with chessmaster, it was my first influence into chess, and it helped develop a passion thowards chess.

With that said, as a player he wasn't anything special, and to compare him to Carlsen is just an insult to Carlsen, his biggest achivement is reaching IM and winning some U14 Championship in USA. Every year some kid wins that, and every year there are doussins of new IM's, that doesn't make you a prodigy.

you cant blame Josh for what his father whanted him to be, and what he now is.

I respect him for following his real passions and not someone's elses.

Remember in the US kids have much more free will (whether thats a good or bad thing) and there is many things that can distract them.

Thats the one side, on the other side.....

In the old soviet you were forced into whatever career the suited the government. Becoming a world class sportsman was your ticket out of poverty.

My opinion on the Polgars is that they become world class as kids (unlike josh) and that made a huge difference - so it was easier for them to continue with chess. Remember that they probably also had better coaches - even a road worker in eastern europe knows more about chess than Pandolfinfin. Judit and Susan sticked to chess while their sister become more interested in art....nothing wrong with that...and i believe they also follwoed their own passions. Judit could by no means reached what she did if it wasnt a passion.

(I remember when in the searching for bobby fischer movie Josh reached a rating of 1500 when aged 10 or something. hahaha. in eastern europe a roadworker's child is already a master by then)

I have many chess books and I can pick any of them up and I still learn something. Maybe I had not read, skipped or have forgotten that part, so it is like its brand new again.

There is my new book post 0 by Fireside Chess Library written by Josh Waitzkin. Who is Josh? Remember the movie, "Searching for Bobby Fischer?"

I also read his other book is a martial arts book about his journey to becoming World Champion after he moved away from chess. "The Art of Learning"

Afte he won the World title in that throw genre, Josh and Garcia opened a dogo in NYC and started teaching.. .

I believe Josh has some kind of intuitive genius through which he approached chess and through which he now approaches martial arts.From a point on he seems to approach the game of chess as a fight where audaciousness is more important than technique.He has also suggested that his chess style lies between that of Fischer and Kasparov,still not being that strong at all.

Are we allowed to use that word here?!

Great news!

What are you talking about? Jeff Sarwer was the evil bad boy in Searching for Bobby Fischer. He was Josh's arch enemy. He was so mean! 

@forrie

Remember that they probably also had better coaches - even a road worker in eastern europe knows more about chess than Pandolfinfin.

Seriously?? I guess every road worker is an IM and wins chess educator of the year like he just did. (I'm assuming you mean pandolfini )

http://www.chesscafe.com/skittles/skittles.htm

Which brings us to the next question: whatever happened to the Sarwers? Where do failed/burnt out chess players go after the hope of making the big bucks in chess from Under Armour garment endorsement and dating fabulous blonds is fleeting? Are there other Waitzkins, Sarwers (obviously there are), who go on to a succesful career without ever playing chess again?

Jeff Sarwer is a professional gambler nowadays I believe. 

There is surprisingly much written about him on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sarwer

 And they make a great centerpiece:

 In all fairness, he was rated higher than that. At the age of eight his rating was 1595. At eleven his rating was around 2000. He got to the master level at 13. IM at 16.

So here you have the question of natural talent and/or nurturing. The Polgar sisters are excellent example, because their father made a point to raise geniuses with home schooling. Waitzkin was left to daddy to manage and Pandolfini to train. Could he achieve more if his daddy was Papa Polgar? Or, do we all get to a level eventually that matches our maximum capabilities (independently from the coaching) and then...move on to other things?

I doubt it. Pandolfini was an execelent chess coach. They had the money to afford any coach they wanted. Even Waitzkin's mother is a chess coach.

 This was interesting read, thanks. What a nice guy Sarwer is.

It sounds like Sarwer could make GM if he studied a bit.

But would Waitzkin do?