It is sentences like this one that are ruining this web 'zine.

I enjoyed the sentence about "Man-dorks", and I'd be interested to hear exactly why the previous letter-writer found it objectionable.

As for Nakamura, I have this to say: Iceland, w/ a population roughly equivalent to that of Dayton, Ohio, was willing to take Bobby Fischer in. This, despite his paranoid problems in latter years, and all because they recognised a genius and appreciated that he should be honored. In the dollar-dominated moral economy of Amerika, a new, fresh chess genius is treated like a ticket-collector at the Roman Circus. No sponsorships, no recognition, no nothin'. So this kid, who could be bigger to chess theory than Bobby Fishcher was, may look to make a living playing poker. My native country sucks. It used to be worth something, but these days it's a big drag. I'm glad I live in New Zealand now.

"Don't call the 18-year-old boy king of chess -- defending his title this weekend -- a geek. He rules a new generation of champs raised on hip-hop and video games."

Does that mean that all the other chess players who came before this dude don't matter because they listened to hard rock or punk music?

Huh? being raised on hip-hop and video games means you can't be a geek? Hip hop and video games aren't cool, they are the epitome of geekiness.

I have to agree with Anonymous on this one. Videogames, especially, are geekiness personified.

I enjoyed the article. But this may be the first time I've ever read an article about a good chess player that did not provide the reader with the player's USCF (United States Chess Federation) ranking. For those who know a little about the game (and I am one who knows only a little), this ranking provides one with a sense of how strong the player is. Even a link to a site that would provide this would have been helpful.

Interesting article. Lots to learn from it. The younger generation, particularly those good at video games, seem to have an affinity for chess. Both my children regularly beat me at chess. Early exposure helps.

However, what troubles me is a seeming lack of practicality that I see in the younger generation. Something that our generation never lacked. We didn't need to be SHOWN everything to KNOW it.

Maybe I've simply forgotten what it is like to be a child.

I guess it's a sign that I'm a hopeless case that I was not offended at the suggestion that chess players are dorks or geeks, but by the fact that the author wrote that games are "limited to 40 moves or two hours." No, the players usually get two hours each for their first 40 moves, then they get more time for the rest of the game. There's no limit to the number of moves, and games can last up to six or seven hours (depending on the time controls at the particular tournament). It's long, hard work for such little reward for the pros.

Nothing against poker, which I enjoy, by the way--but chess is a much better game.

I found this article sophomoric.

cgside, I agree, it is excessively dismissive of Fischer, prejudging him as a paranoid yet completely glossing over the fact that the US, rather than honouring him as the world champion he was, played every trick in the book to try and hang him for "breaking sanctions".

Uh, breaking sanctions by playing... a chess match! Hardly worth rotting in Federal prison over. It seems Fischer's case can be summarised as "It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you." I hope he is as happy in his adoptive country as you are.

For those who are interested in the Rankings.

www.uschess.org - He rates 1st in the US.

www.FIDE.com - He ranks 65th in the World.

Watch how the public treats chess vs the "important things in life". Chess is one of the only sports that has no luck in the play. Everyone starts from the same position. Planning, experience, playing the opponent all are necessary.

I fought to keep a chess program going in our elementary school. School Politics, "important sports", the stigma of being a "Dork, Geek, Nerd" made it difficult and in the long term impossible to maintain an active chess club.

David's editorial comments echo the mainstream opinion of the unthinking, fad obsessed masses, (I'll put the knife in) that voted for Bush the second time around.

Sir,

In your article "I'm not Bobby Fishcer" about the young chess master Hikaru Nakamura, you incorrectly state, referring to the Lausanne Young Masters Tournament, that

"In this, and other chess tournaments, games are limited to either 40 moves or two hours of play."

This is factually incorrect. There exist NO chess tournaments where the games are limited to 40 moves.

Most chess tournaments allow 2 hours for the first 40 moves, with additional time added to each players clock on their 41st move. The confusion is understandable.

The specific tournament you referred to, the Lausanne Young Masters Tournament, had the following time control:

1 hour and 30 minutes for the first 40 moves, with 15 minutes added to each players clock on their 41st move. In addition, after each move of the game, 30 seconds was added to each players clock.

This information can be found on the official tournament site here: http://www.lausanneyoungmasters.com/indexeng.htm

Cheers,

Is anyone else, having read this article, now irresistibly humming all the main themes from "Chess"* at once?

*(the 1980's Tim Rice/ABBA musical about a fictionalized version of the Fischer/Spassky match, with the Hungarian Revolution and some adultery thrown in. Great show, though the cast recording relies way too much on synthesizers.)

While Nakamura is to be applauded for sticking with chess and becoming the US champion, I can't help but wonder how many of his peers dropped out of the game a few years ago when IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer beat the reigning world champion (Kasparov). It may have something to do with the game's perceived decline in popularity in the US (though it was certainly good publicity for chess at the time).

It used to be that in chess, like many other sports, the world champion would eventually get old and begin to slow down physically or mentally, thus opening the door for the next generation. This no longer applies to chess; in fact as time goes by the champion now doubles or triples in power with a simple CPU upgrade. It's no stretch of the imagination to suggest that the "Chess Brain" electronic chess boards you pick up for your kids at Toys "R" Us will have the power of a Deep Blue within a few years. What kid wants to play an electronic game where he/she has no chance to win?

-Adam in Philly