Jason Cao

[Jack Maguire]

FM Jason Cao, our U10 WYCC Champion in 2010, is having a remarkable tournament over the first 4 rounds. His 3/4 puts him in a 6-way tie for 3rd, along with the top 3 boards on the Canadian Olympic team, Kovalyov, Hansen, and Sambuev. His R4 win against GM Luis Manuel Perez Rodriguez gives Jason a 2551 TPR and certainly a shot at a possible GM norm (:

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Jason Cao

Well I think he certainly has the talent for it. It's just a matter of how much he wants it versus how much he might prefer a reasonably normal life.

[Caesar Posylek]

Re: Jason Cao

That's the way to go, Jason! Go for it!!

[Dan Scoones]

Re: Jason Cao

Well I think he certainly has the talent for it. It's just a matter of how much he wants it versus how much he might prefer a reasonably normal life.

I have a feeling he's going to get the GM title without having to think about it too much. In fact I think it will probably just fall into his lap.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Jason Cao

I have a feeling he's going to get the GM title without having to think about it too much. In fact I think it will probably just fall into his lap.

Especially if he continues to play moves like 17.Ke3 as he did tonight against GM John Fedorowicz (:

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Jason Cao

Jason remains on the top 4 boards tonight so his game will again be carried live. He'll have White against Canada's own GM Eric Hansen. Two other Canadians will also be on the top 4 boards. GM Anton Kovalyov will have Black on board one against the top seed, GM Sergey Tiviakov. And Razvan Preotu, just one year older than Jason (15 and 14 respectively), has worked his way up to board 4. Lots of Canadian content tonight (:

[Ken Kurkowski]

Re: Jason Cao

What do you believe constitutes a 'normal' life? Do the people now competing for Canada at the Commonwealth Games, some of whom are in their thirties (target shooter Susan Nattrass is over SIXTY :) ) not have a normal life- and if they don't, is that such a bad thing? We need more chess players like Eric Hansen who are willing to use their talents and follow their dreams, at least for a few years.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Jason Cao

What do you believe constitutes a 'normal' life? Do the people now competing for Canada at the Commonwealth Games, some of whom are in their thirties (target shooter Susan Nattrass is over SIXTY :) ) not have a normal life- and if they don't, is that such a bad thing? We need more chess players like Eric Hansen who are willing to use their talents and follow their dreams, at least for a few years.

Touche, Ken (:

The following article has nothing to do with chess per se unless one considers chess their 'work' but is, imho, an excellent read.

http://www.thebaffler.com/salvos/world-processor

[Tony Li]

Re: Jason Cao

Based on what are you saying this?

I think that, as adults, we have the responsibility to create reasonable expectations for the youngsters around us. Obviously, Jason is very talented. But the next step is IM.

I also think that the "I could this too if I worked harder" not only takes credit away from people who have done it, it also encourages a sense of entitlement for potential rather than actual accomplishment. There are many lifetime IMs and there is a reason for it- GM is really really hard even for those who have the talent.

Good luck with getting to IM, Jason!

Well I think he certainly has the talent for it. It's just a matter of how much he wants it versus how much he might prefer a reasonably normal life.

[Paul Leblanc]

Re: Jason Cao

Jason deserves to be at 4.5 out of 5. He overlooked a tactic in the first round against an IM in a clearly superior position.
Hansen will be a tough opponent for him, however.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Jason Cao

He overlooked a tactic

LOL That's the reason he is just 3.5. Good luck to him in other games.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

quoting The Baffler!

Touche, Ken (:

The following article has nothing to do with chess per se unless one considers chess their 'work' but is, imho, an excellent read.

http://www.thebaffler.com/salvos/world-processor

The Baffler has just made their entire archives available online.

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Jason Cao

What do you believe constitutes a 'normal' life? Do the people now competing for Canada at the Commonwealth Games, some of whom are in their thirties (target shooter Susan Nattrass is over SIXTY :) ) not have a normal life- and if they don't, is that such a bad thing? We need more chess players like Eric Hansen who are willing to use their talents and follow their dreams, at least for a few years.

By "normal" I just mean a life that is not consumed only or mostly by chess. I'm not saying that this "normal" life is good or bad. If Jason wants to live a live consumed by chess that's fine by me as long as it's fine by him. If he doesn't, that's fine by me too, though really of course whether he lives a life that is "fine by me" is not his concern, or at least I certainly hope it isn't.

[Paul Bonham]

Re: Jason Cao

Touche, Ken (:

The following article has nothing to do with chess per se unless one considers chess their 'work' but is, imho, an excellent read.

http://www.thebaffler.com/salvos/world-processor

A perfect example of a Canadian who left chess behind to pursue a 'normal' life is Mark Bluvshtein. He travelled the European chess circuit for a time, then decided despite his youth and great chess talents that working for a financial company was more rewarding for him.

Is Bluvshtein among those working under the roofs of metropolitan skyscrapers "filled with pallid young faces, wondering about their quickest way down"? I emphatically doubt it. I emphatically doubt the overgeneralization. Just another writer pretending he is very clever.

Rather, I think Bluvshtein likely knew that if he chose a career as a touring GM, he would be sitting at a chess board with pallid older face, wondering about his quickest way out of the tournament hall, and whether he has been playing too many 'GM draws'.

The glorification of a pro chess career is part and parcel of the cult of organized chess. No way to stop that, it's what any cult would do. Join the elders! Receive adulation!

But young players like Jason Cao would be well advised at some point before deciding on a career path to seek out the stories of those who, like Bluvshtein, had that chance and walked away from it. There are other rewarding avenues for the advanced mind to explore besides the arid, almost featureless deserts of elite-level standard chess, where the best you can hope for is to match a machine, and where every "Creative" (with a capital C, just like the Baffler article says) thing you do is merely an echo of many who came before you.

[Rene Preotu]

Re: Jason Cao

A perfect example of a Canadian who left chess behind to pursue a 'normal' life is Mark Bluvshtein. He travelled the European chess circuit for a time, then decided despite his youth and great chess talents that working for a financial company was more rewarding for him.

Is Bluvshtein among those working under the roofs of metropolitan skyscrapers "filled with pallid young faces, wondering about their quickest way down"? I emphatically doubt it. I emphatically doubt the overgeneralization. Just another writer pretending he is very clever.

Rather, I think Bluvshtein likely knew that if he chose a career as a touring GM, he would be sitting at a chess board with pallid older face, wondering about his quickest way out of the tournament hall, and whether he has been playing too many 'GM draws'.

The glorification of a pro chess career is part and parcel of the cult of organized chess. No way to stop that, it's what any cult would do. Join the elders! Receive adulation!

But young players like Jason Cao would be well advised at some point before deciding on a career path to seek out the stories of those who, like Bluvshtein, had that chance and walked away from it. There are other rewarding avenues for the advanced mind to explore besides the arid, almost featureless deserts of elite-level standard chess, where the best you can hope for is to match a machine, and where every "Creative" (with a capital C, just like the Baffler article says) thing you do is merely an echo of many who came before you.

From a 2010 post:

Paul,

I love your posts lately; they are full of wisdom and great insight and they clearly elucidate which posters are worth listening too and which to ignore. Keep them coming; and just ignore all the petty people that are not smart enough to recognize your brilliance.