Josh Waitzkin

Yeah, sure. Well, thank you, man. It's an honor. I appreciate what you said. Yeah, so I started playing chess. I grew up in New York City, downtown Manhattan. I started playing chess when I was six years old. And I discovered chess walking through Washington Square Park with my mom. And I remember watching a day or two and then at one point I broke away from her.

Yeah, sure. Well, thank you, man. It's an honor. I appreciate what you said. Yeah, so I started playing chess. I grew up in New York City, downtown Manhattan. I started playing chess when I was six years old. And I discovered chess walking through Washington Square Park with my mom. And I remember watching a day or two and then at one point I broke away from her.

I was going to play on monkey bars and I ran over and I asked an old man if I could play. And he said yes and my mom was surprised and we started playing. I played my first game of chess. And I remember the very distinct feeling of... it was as if I was just discovering or rediscovering a lost memory. It wasn't like I was learning something new.

I was going to play on monkey bars and I ran over and I asked an old man if I could play. And he said yes and my mom was surprised and we started playing. I played my first game of chess. And I remember the very distinct feeling of... it was as if I was just discovering or rediscovering a lost memory. It wasn't like I was learning something new.

I was going to play on monkey bars and I ran over and I asked an old man if I could play. And he said yes and my mom was surprised and we started playing. I played my first game of chess. And I remember the very distinct feeling of... it was as if I was just discovering or rediscovering a lost memory. It wasn't like I was learning something new.

It was like I was wiping away the dust or the cobwebs between something, between me and something I had known very deeply at one point. Very strange feeling for a six year old boy. And then I just fell in love with the game. I got really intensely into it. My first teachers were the hustlers in Washington Square.

It was like I was wiping away the dust or the cobwebs between something, between me and something I had known very deeply at one point. Very strange feeling for a six year old boy. And then I just fell in love with the game. I got really intensely into it. My first teachers were the hustlers in Washington Square.

It was like I was wiping away the dust or the cobwebs between something, between me and something I had known very deeply at one point. Very strange feeling for a six year old boy. And then I just fell in love with the game. I got really intensely into it. My first teachers were the hustlers in Washington Square.

So it was just like a raucous crowd of guys who took me under their wings, started teaching me the tactical street side of the game. And I was just unhindered as a learner, which is interesting from my perspective now as a dad because my little boy, Charlie, is taking on surfing with that same kind of freedom, just that liberated, uncomplicated, out-of-his-own-way kind of vibe.

So it was just like a raucous crowd of guys who took me under their wings, started teaching me the tactical street side of the game. And I was just unhindered as a learner, which is interesting from my perspective now as a dad because my little boy, Charlie, is taking on surfing with that same kind of freedom, just that liberated, uncomplicated, out-of-his-own-way kind of vibe.

So it was just like a raucous crowd of guys who took me under their wings, started teaching me the tactical street side of the game. And I was just unhindered as a learner, which is interesting from my perspective now as a dad because my little boy, Charlie, is taking on surfing with that same kind of freedom, just that liberated, uncomplicated, out-of-his-own-way kind of vibe.

Yeah, and then by the time I was seven, I started competing, and then I was a top-rated player for my age in the country for most of the years from age 7 to 23, my whole chess career. So it was a very strange...

Yeah, and then by the time I was seven, I started competing, and then I was a top-rated player for my age in the country for most of the years from age 7 to 23, my whole chess career. So it was a very strange...

Yeah, and then by the time I was seven, I started competing, and then I was a top-rated player for my age in the country for most of the years from age 7 to 23, my whole chess career. So it was a very strange...

upbringing in some ways, which has led to some quirky elements in my psychology, which was that I was living in a pressure cooker of competition from age six on, and my whole childhood was spent as the target.

upbringing in some ways, which has led to some quirky elements in my psychology, which was that I was living in a pressure cooker of competition from age six on, and my whole childhood was spent as the target.

upbringing in some ways, which has led to some quirky elements in my psychology, which was that I was living in a pressure cooker of competition from age six on, and my whole childhood was spent as the target.

And so, like, if you're competing in national championships, you know, I would compete in youth national and world championships, and then otherwise I'd be competing against adults, everything else. But then you're the target, so any mistake you make – and kids make mistakes all the time, we all do –

And so, like, if you're competing in national championships, you know, I would compete in youth national and world championships, and then otherwise I'd be competing against adults, everything else. But then you're the target, so any mistake you make – and kids make mistakes all the time, we all do –

And so, like, if you're competing in national championships, you know, I would compete in youth national and world championships, and then otherwise I'd be competing against adults, everything else. But then you're the target, so any mistake you make – and kids make mistakes all the time, we all do –