So, I finally got around to watching the movie 'Searching For Bobby Fischer'. I had to pause it out of disgust and annoyance twice because of the way Hollywood 'sensationalized' Chess throughout the movie. I don't really know what other word to use to describe it. At least, even this movie was better than the much more horrible 'Queen of Katwe'. I believe any chess player would be irritated by the latter- especially considering the fact that the protagonist is rated in the 1600s- the playing level of your average club player or street hustler.

Well, back to Josh Waitzkin. I have read in so many places, where people blame him for quitting chess and called him a sore loser. He never attained the title of Grandmaster (he was one step behind- an International Master). Despite that, and having not played competitive chess since he quit in 1999, he's still among the top 100 chess players in the United States.

People talk about him not having what it takes to be a Grandmaster. . .not having enough talent. . .blah blah blah. Anyone would easily assume the same. . .he became a beneficiary of government backed funding to improve his chess career, he had one of the 'best' teachers, (Dvoretsky) and should've gone on to be the 'New Bobby Fischer'. The only problem is, he didn't want to be Bobby Fischer.

Its understandable why anyone would think he was Bobby Fischer's heir. Bobby was the first American World Champion and rose to prominence in a somewhat similar fashion. Young and talented, with a profound love for the game. In a time when chess was dominated by the Russians, he was a source of American pride. And they were looking for that same person in Josh Waitzkin.

The movie, up to the point I watched (a few minutes to the end) was pretty accurate, though it focused more on Bobby's time with Pandolfini (understandable, history was still being written at the time and Josh was 16- he'd just become an International Master).

Here, I'd like to draw up an analogy. For anyone who listens to 90s RnB music, you should've heard about the trio of brothers, 3T. They were Michael Jackson's nephews. And funny, enough, that was a major reason why they quit. They couldn't go for any TV interview without being asked about their uncle. They were related to Michael, so of course they should be as great as Michael and probably even better than him. As they've stated before, it seemed to be less about their own career and more about their career, relative to Michael Jackson's. Here's some homework for you, go to the music video of their hit song, "I Need You" (featuring Michael Jackson) on YouTube and just look through the comments. I assume it would get tiring.

I'd also like to imagine how Neymar's career would've turned out if he had a movie made about him to be the next Messi while he was still playing in the Brazilian League. I'd like to imagine how it'd be for him, being a Hollywood superstar before he got a chance to create his own history. Only to struggle to find the same success after being placed in, say, an English club like Chelsea or Arsenal FC, who don't fit his playing style. Sure, he'd probably still play football because it earns him good money, but I bet he wouldn't be happy about it.

In the early 2000s there were people calling Justin Timberlake the 'Next King of Pop'. I believe you know how ridiculous you'd sound if you tried to make such a statement today.

There are tons and tons of examples I could give. Now you could argue that the pressure was only to motivate him, and if he was truly talented, he should've fought it out till he made it to the very top. Of course, he could do that, but another problem was his coach. There's a quote from Waitzkin's book, "The Art of Learning", and he didn't have very kind words for his teacher (Dvoretsky). I'd rather not include the 'graphic' description of the man here.

I know quite well that in chess, there's a level natural talent can take you, but beyond that, you need extensive study and dedication to get to the top. I had 'dreams' when I was younger and achieved a decent USCF rating of 1000 at age 7 but I never really put in the effort (especially since leaving the US) to take my game to the next level. I played for fun. That's what Josh seemed to do as well, althoigh he was far more talented (1500 at age 7, according to the movie).

The top 10 chess players in the world today are far stronger than the top 10 from, say, 50 years ago. They have a much wider database of games to study from, and new systems of approaching a game have been formulated. Although one typically becomes a Grandmaster after their rating hits 2500, nowadays, there seem to be a whole new category we could call 'Super GMs', who are rated above 2700. With rating inflation, ibwouldnt be surprised if a new title is introduced when some players start pushing 3000. I'm stressing on these to for anyone to understand how hard it is to play top level chess today.

Waitzkin's coach seemed to be focused on completely breaking down and rubbishing his style of play, and then moulding him into a player he was not. He always complained of Dvoretsky asking him "What would Karpov play?" whenever he was met with certain positions. Waitzkin did play wild, attacking chess, and his positional play was really weak. You can't get to the top like that. I think his coach would've done better to focus more on his positional weakness and figure out how to devise a system where he could play without losing his personality. Mikhail Tal played at the highest levels and was a great attacker. So was Capablanca. In more recent times, we have Hikaru Nakamura and Viswanathan Anand. Maybe there were some aspects of Josh's play as an IM that he had to let go of completely, but to me, it seems like his coach was trying to rid him of his identity and mold him into what everyone expected him to be. To just do whatever it took to make him a GM. I think you could compare this to Pele the footballer, being told to "Play like the Europeans" when he first started playing professional football. He quit as well, didn't he? It took a lot.of convincing and reassurance that he could play with his own style to return to football and go on to become one of the greatest ever.

A lot of top chess players are generally unpleasant people. Bobby Fischer himself included. In the movie, I was kind of repulsed by his coach trying to make Waitzkin, as a young child, exude that behaviour. There are a lot of players who are still generally fun to be around, based on accounts from their friends. Sergey Karjakin, who challenged Magnus Carlsen for the World Title in 2016 (but lost) seems to be one. And Karjakin is a great player- I believe he still holds the record for the youngest ever Grandmaster. There are accounts of Waitzkin's obnoxious, eccentric behaviour, by other chess players. He actually seemed to have become a very irritating person, an asshole. One who was fixated on proving his worth to everyone and couldn't even genuinely have fun. One who was so desperate for everyone to be impressed by his 'genius'. Its a great thing that he quit before he completely ran mad.

After quitting chess, his focus was moved to Martial Arts, more specifically Tai Chi. He was able to redefine himself, and he worked hard- and made it to the top. He became a black belt, and won the 2004 world champion title in the competitive sport of Taiji Push Hands (Taiji Tui Shou).

He is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

I think his achievement in fields, other than chess, prove that he was capable of being the best if he put his mind to it. To succeed in anything you need Talent + Hardwork + Passion (the most important). It seemed to me that he became less passionate about chess.

I could also add the fact that Josh's dad seemed to project his failures in life on his son, and took away the boy's childhood, all in a bid to make him one of the best.

In summary, I think undeserved, premature, Hollywood celebrity status, along horrible coaching, wchich led to a loss of passion for chess, made him quit. And contrary to popular opinion, I wholeheartedly agree with his decision.