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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
It is great that Jackie has been successful in attracting the publicity for her quest for the WGM title. (She has just earned her WFM according to the article.)
It would have been helpful, however, if the Grope and Flail had taken the time to mention that another young Canadian, Eric Hansen, had actually earned the Grandmaster title at the Olympiad.:D -
Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
Speaking of the Globe and Mail, they mentioned in their paper in july that the chess column might return after Labour day. I didn't see it in the GTA's edition of the Saturday "focus" section this week, and didn't see the bridge column either in Today's 'arts' pages either. Looks more like crossword, sudoku and kenken puzzles on that page nowadays. Thanks to Jonathan Berry for all these decades of sharing weekly chess stories in Canada (along with other puzzles appearing in the other news pages, such as Lyman's daily (except Sunday) and Day's weekly puzzle and game summary).Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
In chess, young 'prodigies' make better press than adults (or even older teens).
The article quoted also states that professional chess is 'not an option' in Canada. Well, if you insist on a socially acceptable, high paying career in Medicine, Law, Engineering, or Economics, that's true. But if everybody thought that way, we wouldn't have any Canadian painters, sculptors, poets, novelists, singer-songwriters, rock musicians, actors, or full-time star athletes (in sports other than the big money ones like hockey). It's interesting that several of the top chess players from the 'boomer' generation maintained (and in some cases maintain!) a strong relationship with the game, not the case with more recent generations...Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
Interestingly enough there was a teen actor who went on to be a medical doctor. Opportunities for actors in Canada are fairly limited. Usually an actor willl get one kick at the can and that's about it. So you can become a medical doctor or you can become an actor and then play a doctor in a soap for 20 years if you are lucky :D:DOriginally posted by Ken Kurkowski View PostComment
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Re : Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
I wouldn't compare chess players to artists or athletes. At least, the best Canadian artists have a very good living, while Canadian best chess players don't earn much by playing and have to teach to have a decent income... A good student is paid much more to study than what could ever hope a Canadian grandmaster... Unfortunately, it isn't very surprising if many GMs decided to get another job. Some chess players earn a considerable amount of money, but they have at least a 2700 FIDE rating.Originally posted by Ken Kurkowski View PostComment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
Um, top people in athletics are sponsored by Sports Canada and can make a living at it for the few years they are at the top.Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
What about all those 'weaker' GMs in the 2500-2700 range that regularly play in the big open Swisses (Gibraltar, LaCapelle, Moscow). Are they full-time chess pros, or do they have regular jobs that still allow them to play a lot of chess in their spare time? I have a feeling a strong Canadian player COULD make it as a chess pro, if they are willing to adopt a somewhat peripatetic, bohemian lifestyle. Like for example the late U.S. GM Alex Wojtkiewicz who earned a (modest, I suspect) living on the U.S. weekend swiss circuit. I can understand not everyone might want such an existence.Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
Mr. Kevin Spraggett is a chess professional.Originally posted by Ken Kurkowski View PostComment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
Ah, but the difference is, many non-painters will buy paintings, many non-sculptors will buy sculptures, many non-poets will buy books of poetry, many non-novelists will buy novels, many non-musicians will buy music, etc.Originally posted by Ken Kurkowski View Post
However, non-chessplayers will NOT pay money to watch chess (barring the occassional friend / relative of a chessplayer). There is simply no value to them in chess, and even less in watching chess.
This will never change with standard chess. You have to turn someone into a chessplayer in order to get them to want to pay to play or watch chess.
The only people who can be turned into chessplayers are kids, or adults who have somehow never been exposed to chess and have the "chess bug" in them. However, the ability to have the chess bug seems to diminish rapidly with age. With kids, its almost universal. But sooner or later, organized chess will weed out the lesser kids, making the game less and less fun for them until they leave it altogether. Even the stronger kids, as they reach university age, continue to be weeded out by the sheer time and memorization demands of continuing to avoid the dreaded plateau. There are some rare people that can even endure the plateau and still enjoy the aesthetic beauty of chess enough to avoid other more worthy pursuits.Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
"Endure" the plateau? Do people really see it this way?Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
I most certainly do not! And neither do many others - why else do you see older adults whose ratings have steadily fallen still showing up at tournaments and having a good time? And as for chess being 'unwatchable', tell me this, what is so compelling about watching a bunch of scruffy-looking (mostly) characters staring at playing cards while annoyingly rattling poker chips in their hands? I may never live to see this, but I'm still hoping to one day tune in 'International Chess Tour', or 'World Series of Chess', or 'Celebrity Chess' (perhaps hosted by Susan Polgar) on one of the sports channels.
What really annoys me is that many members of the Canadian chess community not only accept our game's low profile here, they actually OBJECT to the game 'going mainstream' like poker or UFC have. Sad.Comment
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Re: Jackie Peng article in Globe and Mail
To clarify, "enduring the plateau" was supposed to mean that many players endure the fact that their rating has plateaued and will never get significantly better and still play chess every chance they get BECAUSE they love to play chess and to socialize with other chess players. Sorry for the misunderstanding.Originally posted by Ken Kurkowski View Post
Ken, the only possibility you would ever see your standard chess on sports channels would be if some multimillionaire threw major money away on producing it because s/he loved chess so much. The financial losses would be huge. Serious chess players make up such a miniscule niche market, it's barely a drop in the ocean.
It is my complete belief that a FORM of chess can be taken mainstream and can appeal to the non-playing public. Next year will be the year one form of chess takes hold online, and the following year (2014) will be the year you might start seeing it on sports channels.
Standard disclaimer: None of this is guaranteed and the world may still end on December 21st 2012.Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.Comment
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