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Waitzkin 
Photograph © 2004, courtesy of www.joshwaitzkin.com.  
Joshua Waitzkin
Number of games in database: 198
Years covered: 1985 to 1999
Current FIDE rating: 2464
Overall record: +60 -69 =68 (47.7%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      1 exhibition game, odds game, etc. is excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (49) 
    B90 B50 B47 B32 B87
 Sicilian Najdorf (11) 
    B90 B91 B92 B93
 Ruy Lopez (9) 
    C69 C60 C62 C90
 French Defense (9) 
    C01 C05 C10
 Pirc (6) 
    B07
 Giuoco Piano (6) 
    C50 C53
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (32) 
    B57 B30 B67 B23 B56
 Queen's Gambit Accepted (9) 
    D26 D20 D27 D28 D23
 Modern Benoni (7) 
    A57 A58 A67
 English, 1 c4 e5 (7) 
    A29 A20 A28
 Benko Gambit (6) 
    A57 A58
 Reti System (6) 
    A04 A05 A06
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Waitzkin vs E Frumkin, 1987 1-0
   Waitzkin vs A Friedman, 1993 1-0
   Waitzkin vs G Shure, 1992 1-0
   Zsofia Polgar vs Waitzkin, 1995 0-1
   J Sarwer vs Waitzkin, 1986 1/2-1/2
   Kasparov vs Waitzkin, 1988 1/2-1/2
   Kudrin vs Waitzkin, 1995 1/2-1/2
   Waitzkin vs Palatnik, 1998 1-0
   M Zlotnikov vs Waitzkin, 1998 0-1
   Waitzkin vs Kaidanov, 1995 1-0

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JOSHUA WAITZKIN
(born Dec-04-1976) United States of America

[what is this?]
IM Joshua Waitzkin was born December 4, 1976, in New York City, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. He learned chess by watching the people in Washington Square Park play at the age of six. At the age of 16 he became an international master.

Waitzkin is the subject of a major motion picture, Searching for Bobby Fischer, a movie based on the book Searching for Bobby Fischer: The Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess, by his father, Fred Waitzkin. This movie was directed by Steven Zaillian.


 page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 198  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Waitzkin vs J Sarwer 0-143 1985 US Primary ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
2. J Sarwer vs Waitzkin ½-½63 1986 US Primary ChampionshipE76 King's Indian, Four Pawns Attack
3. Waitzkin vs E Frumkin 1-031 1987 OpenB40 Sicilian
4. Waitzkin vs M Papa  ½-½52 1988 Continental Chess CongressC05 French, Tarrasch
5. Kasparov vs Waitzkin ½-½28 1988 New York SimA67 Benoni, Taimanov Variation
6. Waitzkin vs C Hertan  0-121 1989 Northeast CongressC42 Petrov Defense
7. Waitzkin vs B Kreiman  ½-½45 1991 USA-ch U18C26 Vienna
8. J Benjamin vs Waitzkin 1-038 1991 It (open)A57 Benko Gambit
9. Chabanon vs Waitzkin  ½-½34 1992 OakhamA57 Benko Gambit
10. Waitzkin vs S Jacobi  0-166 1992 US Am Team ChC10 French
11. D Edelman vs Waitzkin 1-068 1992 MCC/ACF Intl New YorkB56 Sicilian
12. Waitzkin vs S Cullip ½-½58 1992 OakhamB43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3
13. Waitzkin vs N Vulicevic 1-046 1992 Marshall CCB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
14. Waitzkin vs M Jirovsky 0-127 1992 OakhamB76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
15. Waitzkin vs M Gatlin 1-033 1992 US Am Team ChC26 Vienna
16. Waitzkin vs Kulaots  0-128 1992 Duisburg Wch U16mB24 Sicilian, Closed
17. Waitzkin vs N Vulicevic 1-044 1992 MCC/ACF Intl New YorkB07 Pirc
18. D Martinidesz vs Waitzkin  ½-½46 1992 OakhamB57 Sicilian
19. Taimanov vs Waitzkin 1-061 1992 Enhance-MarshallA04 Reti Opening
20. I Ibragimov vs Waitzkin  ½-½43 1992 MCC/ACF Intl New YorkA31 English, Symmetrical, Benoni Formation
21. Waitzkin vs M Piper 1-070 1992 OakhamC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation, 6.d4
22. Waitzkin vs Yermolinsky  0-147 1992 It (open)B67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7
23. Soltis vs Waitzkin  ½-½17 1992 MCC/ACF Intl New YorkB57 Sicilian
24. Waitzkin vs A Webster  0-154 1992 OakhamB06 Robatsch
25. Waitzkin vs J Benjamin  0-137 1992 05, MCC/ACF Intl New YorC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation, 6.d4
 page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 198  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Waitzkin wins | Waitzkin loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 18 OF 18 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Oct-25-08   HannibalSchlecter: Waitzkin goes into detail about why he gave up chess in "The Art of Learning." Essentially the fame thrown on him from the movie about his life "Searching For Bobby Fischer", let out a ripple effect of circumstances and pressures that separated him from the pure and intimate relationship he had with chess. Great book!
Oct-25-08   Poisonpawns: Is josh Naked at the chessboard in this pic? What does it mean? Now i see how he wins!He forces his opponents to play blindfold.
Oct-28-08   Silverstrike: I hope he will play chess again, however unlikely that possibility is.
Oct-28-08   HannibalSchlecter: <poisonpawns> Yes it's true, Josh is naked in that pic and that is precisely how he wins(the chess rules do not mention nudity to which he takes full advantage.) According to his coach, with clothes ON his rating hovers around 1400.
Oct-28-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  SetNoEscapeOn: <HannibalSchlecter: Waitzkin goes into detail about why he gave up chess in "The Art of Learning." Essentially the fame thrown on him from the movie about his life "Searching For Bobby Fischer", let out a ripple effect of circumstances and pressures that separated him from the pure and intimate relationship he had with chess. Great book!>

I have the book as well and second your opinion. Here is an interview where Josh discusses why he gave up chess:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...

Oct-28-08   Poisonpawns: I would leave chess also if i had to play every game naked
Oct-28-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  hedgeh0g: <tpstar> An excellent review, which pretty much sums up the film for me, too. On the whole, I found it rather bland as though it was torn between being a film aimed only at chess players and a film aimed at a more mainstream audience. The characters did seem a little exaggerated as you said: father hell-bent on winning, voice-of-reason mother and slightly creepy chess coach/swindler. And, while the child acting was good on the whole, the main character annoyed me for some reason.

Also, I liked the Fischer bits, but at times, it seemed like the film was riding on Fischer's name.

For me, the film is overrated.

Oct-28-08   Whitehat1963: <SetNoEscapeOn> Fascinating article. Thanks.
Nov-21-08   Silverstrike: <Poisonpawns> Haha!
Dec-08-08   jazzy: Josh said hes working on earning his GM title at the moment in the chessmaster: grandmaster edition cdrom
Dec-08-08   BETASIGMA: Actually the title of the film was changed to "Innocent moves" because Bobby Fischer made a howl of protests.It has without his permission.It was just a book before-- the career of Josh Waitzkin but Fred,the father, decided to put Fischer's name on the cover for sale purposes.
Dec-08-08   BETASIGMA: ...nevertheless the portrayal of Josh 's character was brilliant. In chess, attitude and character are important.
Dec-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  ketchuplover: They have chess-boxing. Why not chess TaiChi?
Dec-08-08   hackmate: What is chess boxing?
Dec-08-08   ChessNe1: i imagine it is something they do on chess boxing day.
Dec-23-08   deadlyking: nah. chess boxing is stupid in my opinion. it doesnt make sense, and the two dont go together. look it up on youtube, it is sooooo stupid. when they play chess, they play at a 1200 level. And they get paid. Anyways, it would be nice if joshua atleast played on occasion. "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was so inspiring.
Mar-11-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  blacksburg: this page should be renamed <The Gun Show> as long as that picture is up. :)
Apr-24-09   YoungEd: I'm reading his "Art of Learning" book right now and find it very interesting. He's a good writer! Although the book does indeed talk about effective (and ineffective) attempts at learning in general terms, I wonder if the book would appeal to someone who wasn't an enthusiast of either chess or martial arts. Since both interest me, the book works just fine for me! If you haven't looked at it yet, you might want to. Recommended.
Apr-24-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  timhortons: Obviously the tiltle of the movie use Bobby fischer name and they didn't gave him a dime of what they earn in the movie.

Now they call Bobby crazy if he rant against them.

First they violate him, then they wait for him to rant, then they call him crazy.

Apr-24-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Pesach: YoungEd: I just finished "Art of Learning" myself. I'm interested in chess and Eastern philosophy, so it had a unique appeal. What I find myself thinking about most is his concept of investment in loss. There's a lot of depth in that book!
Apr-24-09   Riverbeast: <First they violate him, then they wait for him to rant, then they call him crazy>

Well said, <timhortons>

As far as I'm concerned Fischer had a legitimate beef about not seeing a dime from this movie, as he did about not seeing a dime for the Russian edition of his book, AND the changed analysis in the Batsford edition of his book, AND the '61MG' scam.

Not that I blame Josh Waitzkin or his dad for this...Josh was always a nice guy and I'm happy for what he's achieved in life, and he did grow up admiring Fischer....But the movie studios had an obligation to pay Fischer for the use of his name in the title, no doubt about it

Sep-28-09   tentsewang: This guy is really amazing. He is non-violent and a martial artist at the same time. A person like him makes this world feel like heaven!
Sep-28-09   Riverbeast: There is nothing better than martial arts training to turn someone into a pacifist.

Anyone who thinks fighting is cool or fun should be forced to study martial arts, in my opinion...Especially the arts where receiving the technique is part of the training.

Once you feel the pain some of these techniques can cause, you will never want to get into a fight again!

The most advanced martial arts practitioners are taught to avoid fights at all costs, and to promote peace

Sep-28-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  JaneEyre: <Anyone who thinks fighting is cool or fun...>

I do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl5S...

Nov-04-09   Everett: I am happy to hear that Waitzkin has survived his upbringing, and succeeded in so many ways. Truly a remarkable human being. It does not change the fact that his claim of "mastering the art of learning" is one of the most hubristic statements I have ever read. Can CG have chosen a more silly picture for him here?
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