Josh Waitzkin

So if we were like half the distance we are from one another, and we're just sitting for six hours with like a three-foot chessboard, three feet between us, studying this thing, our minds become connected. We often will share the same illusion. You might see something, and then I see it when you see it. If we have the same – we might have the same blind spot. We might have the same insight.

So if we were like half the distance we are from one another, and we're just sitting for six hours with like a three-foot chessboard, three feet between us, studying this thing, our minds become connected. We often will share the same illusion. You might see something, and then I see it when you see it. If we have the same – we might have the same blind spot. We might have the same insight.

The connectedness of minds is fascinating, and it's through chess. It's directly – like energetic, it's through eye contact, it's through body language, it's by seeing micro expressions, it's everything. So you're always reading the opponent. And as you get really good, you learn like what your tells are, what your opponent's tells are.

The connectedness of minds is fascinating, and it's through chess. It's directly – like energetic, it's through eye contact, it's through body language, it's by seeing micro expressions, it's everything. So you're always reading the opponent. And as you get really good, you learn like what your tells are, what your opponent's tells are.

The connectedness of minds is fascinating, and it's through chess. It's directly – like energetic, it's through eye contact, it's through body language, it's by seeing micro expressions, it's everything. So you're always reading the opponent. And as you get really good, you learn like what your tells are, what your opponent's tells are.

Then you also learn, like I often would have tells on purpose and I'd have predictable tells that I would let people lean on for a long time until I didn't let them lean on it anymore. It's like in the martial arts where you, you know, you, you, you, you give someone comfort in a lean, right? And you give them a rep of something. They can lean on it. They can lean here.

Then you also learn, like I often would have tells on purpose and I'd have predictable tells that I would let people lean on for a long time until I didn't let them lean on it anymore. It's like in the martial arts where you, you know, you, you, you, you give someone comfort in a lean, right? And you give them a rep of something. They can lean on it. They can lean here.

Then you also learn, like I often would have tells on purpose and I'd have predictable tells that I would let people lean on for a long time until I didn't let them lean on it anymore. It's like in the martial arts where you, you know, you, you, you, you give someone comfort in a lean, right? And you give them a rep of something. They can lean on it. They can lean here.

Then they can lean here very comfortably five or six or eight or 10 times in a row until they can't. Then they're on the floor, right? So you're, this is happening in chess. It's happening in all of these things. And one-on-one competition is a relentless truth teller. If you have a weakness, it will be exposed. If your opponent has a weakness, you will expose it.

Then they can lean here very comfortably five or six or eight or 10 times in a row until they can't. Then they're on the floor, right? So you're, this is happening in chess. It's happening in all of these things. And one-on-one competition is a relentless truth teller. If you have a weakness, it will be exposed. If your opponent has a weakness, you will expose it.

Then they can lean here very comfortably five or six or eight or 10 times in a row until they can't. Then they're on the floor, right? So you're, this is happening in chess. It's happening in all of these things. And one-on-one competition is a relentless truth teller. If you have a weakness, it will be exposed. If your opponent has a weakness, you will expose it.

If you go into a chess game and you've got a huge opening repertoire that's extremely complex, but there's like one little place that I just hope he doesn't go there, he always goes there. It's so bonkers. You can't hope your opponent's not going to see it. You can't make the second best move because maybe he'll blunder and I'll win. That never works if you're playing as real competition.

If you go into a chess game and you've got a huge opening repertoire that's extremely complex, but there's like one little place that I just hope he doesn't go there, he always goes there. It's so bonkers. You can't hope your opponent's not going to see it. You can't make the second best move because maybe he'll blunder and I'll win. That never works if you're playing as real competition.

If you go into a chess game and you've got a huge opening repertoire that's extremely complex, but there's like one little place that I just hope he doesn't go there, he always goes there. It's so bonkers. You can't hope your opponent's not going to see it. You can't make the second best move because maybe he'll blunder and I'll win. That never works if you're playing as real competition.

And so you need to understand your mind. You need to understand your opponent's mind. You need to understand your opponent's understanding of your mind, right?

And so you need to understand your mind. You need to understand your opponent's mind. You need to understand your opponent's understanding of your mind, right?

And so you need to understand your mind. You need to understand your opponent's mind. You need to understand your opponent's understanding of your mind, right?

Right away. When I was, I mean, just to keep in mind, my first teachers were hustlers, were chess hustlers from Washington Square. So they would mess with my mind all the time. And then they would teach me what they were doing. And they would do it again at a higher level, right? So you're distracting, they're distracting, they're setting traps, they're using Jedi mind tricks of every sort.

Right away. When I was, I mean, just to keep in mind, my first teachers were hustlers, were chess hustlers from Washington Square. So they would mess with my mind all the time. And then they would teach me what they were doing. And they would do it again at a higher level, right? So you're distracting, they're distracting, they're setting traps, they're using Jedi mind tricks of every sort.

Right away. When I was, I mean, just to keep in mind, my first teachers were hustlers, were chess hustlers from Washington Square. So they would mess with my mind all the time. And then they would teach me what they were doing. And they would do it again at a higher level, right? So you're distracting, they're distracting, they're setting traps, they're using Jedi mind tricks of every sort.