Joshua Waitzkin

Joshua Waitzkin (born December 4, 1976) is an American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As
a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S.
Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. He is the
only person to have won the National Primary, Elementary, Junior High School, High School, U.S. Cadet, and
U.S. Junior Closed chess championships in his career.
The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his
early life.

ter of the movie where his father is watching a young Josh

play a character Vinnie from a bench. The real Josh can
be seen in a black sweatshirt playing chess right next to
the movie character Josh.

2 JW Foundation
Waitzkin announced the formation of The JW Foundation on April 8, 2008:

Early life

The JW Foundation is dedicated to helping teachers, parents, and educational institutions nurture the unique potential of children and young adults. Our mission is to help
students discover a creative, resilient passion
for learning while embracing and overcoming
challenges.

Waitzkin was born in New York City and has a Jewish background. He began playing the game at the age
of six, having discovered it while wandering through
Washington Square Park in New York City. It was there,
while playing blitz chess with the hustlers, that he was
discovered by Bruce Pandolni, a chess author and
teacher, who later took Waitzkin under his wing for a
number of years. During his years as a student at The
Dalton School in New York City he led the school to win
seven national team championships between the third and
ninth grades in addition to his eight individual titles.

The organization recently launched a new initiative and

website, The Art of Learning Project. The site features
resources for educators interested in developing a more
engaged understanding of the learning process.

The rst master he ever defeated was Edward Frumkin,

in a game featuring a remarkable sacrice of Waitzkins
queen and rook in exchange for a checkmate six moves
later. Waitzkin was only ten years old at the time.[1]

3 Author
Joshua Waitzkin is the author of two books: Attacking
Chess: Aggressive Strategies, Inside Moves from the U.S.
Junior Chess Champion (1995) and The Art of Learning:
An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance (2008). He is
also the spokesperson for the Chessmaster video game series, and is featured in the game giving advice and game
analysis.

At age 11, he and fellow prodigy K. K. Karanja were the

only two children to draw with World Champion Garry
Kasparov in an exhibition game where Kasparov played
simultaneously against 59 youngsters. Two years later, he
earned the title of National Master, and at age 16 became
an International Master.

Waitzkin has not played in a US Chess Federation tour- In The Art of Learning, Waitzkin recounts the story of
nament since 1999[2] and his last FIDE tournament was his years as a chess competitor from his own perspecbefore 2000.[3]
tive. He describes how movie fame challenged his concentration on the game, how he took up Tai Chi as a form
of relaxation, and then discovered that the same learning
1.1 Movie portrayal
techniques he employed in chess enabled him to advance
rapidly in martial arts as well. He subsequently studied
Nevertheless, Waitzkin remains a well-known and popeastern philosophies and the psychology of learning.
ular chess gure, largely owing to Paramount Pictures'
1993 movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, directed by
Steven Zaillian and produced by William Horberg. The
script for this lm was based on a 1988 book by Joshuas 4 Martial Arts
father, Fred Waitzkin: Searching for Bobby Fischer: The
Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess. Wait- As a young adult, Waitzkins focus shifted to the marzkin makes a cameo in the lm, in a scene in the last quar- tial art T'ai chi ch'uan. He holds several US national
1

medals and a 2004 world champion title in the competitive sport of Tai Chi Push Hands (pushing hands).[4]
Waitzkin also became a championship coach, leading
Grandmaster William C. C. Chen's US Push Hands Team
to several titles at the Tai Chi World Cup in Taiwan, guiding teammates Jan Lucanus and Jan C. Childress to their
world titles.[5] Waitzkin is also a black belt in Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu under world champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
phenomenon Marcelo Garcia.[6][7] Waitzkin is the cofounder of MGInAction.com and The Marcelo Garcia
Academy, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school located in New
York City.

Josh Waitzkin, Attacking Chess: Aggressive Strategies and Inside Moves from the U.S. Junior Chess
Champion (1995), Fireside, ISBN 978-0-68480250-3
Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: A Journey in
the Pursuit of Excellence (2007), Free Press, ISBN
978-0-7432-7745-7

8 External links
Joshua Waitzkin player prole and games at
Chessgames.com

Personal

Waitzkin is active in the ght against Duchenne Muscular

Dystrophy. Although he does not have it himself, a close
friend of his, Jonathan Wade, suers from the medical
condition.
On April 23, 2010, Waitzkin married Desiree Cifre,[8] a
screenwriter and former contestant on The Amazing Race.

Chess Champion Oers Success Strategies for

Life audio interview by NPR on May 14, 2007
about the book The Art of Learning
The Art of Learning Project
Interviews with Josh Waitzkin
JW Foundation
Edward Winter, Searching for Bobby Fischer
(Joshua Waitzkin)

References

MGInAction
[1] Waitzkins game against Frumkin
[2] USCF membership info. Main.uschess.org. Retrieved
2011-12-04.
[3] Waitzkin FIDE card.
2011-12-04.

Ratings.de.com.

Retrieved

[4] Josh Waitzkins The Art of Learning. Chess and Martial Arts. Shows Waitzkins championship round at Chung
Hwa Tai Chi World Cup 2004. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
[5] Jan Lucanus vs. Chen Chi-Cheng Fixed Step Push Hands
Championship Match ICMAC Orlando, FL 2005. Josh
Waitzkin coaches Jan Lucanus victory over Tai Chi World
Champ. World Push Hands. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
[6] Josh Waitzkin Interview | On the Mat | Worlds Largest
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi and No Gi Belt Database. On the
Mat. January 25, 2008. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
[7] Josh Waitzkin interview Another neijia blog. Neijia.wordpress.com. May 2, 2008. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
[8] Wedding Under the Cherry Blossoms at the Brooklyn
Botanical Garden. cranesongphotography.com. Retrieved 2012-08-12.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Further reading
Fred Waitzkin, Searching for Bobby Fischer: The
Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess
(1988), Random House hardcover: ISBN 0-39454455-2, Penguin paperback: ISBN 978-0-14023038-3

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Joshua Waitzkin Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Waitzkin?oldid=672890474 Contributors: Camembert, Frecklefoot, RedWolf, TalkHard~enwiki, Meelar, Blainster, Jondel, Bradeos Graphon, ChessPlayer, Gnossie, R. end, Sonjaaa, Andreas Kaufmann, Squash,
D6, CanisRufus, Causa sui, Duk, SidP, Amorymeltzer, Rjwilmsi, Quale, Bubba73, NetSerfer, Quicksilvre, Krakatoa, Tony1, Seigneur101,
Josh3580, DT29, SmackBot, D C McJonathan, Jedikaiti, Dwanyewest, Muratnemutlu~enwiki, Bluebot, Brittle heaven, OrphanBot, Engwar, Astroview120mm, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Errorx666, Syrcatbot, Ryulong, Robbie Cook, Courcelles, Przemek Jahr, Optimist on the
run, The Legend of Miyamoto, Richhoncho, Chitomcgee, Leftysrevenge, Rafax, Restecp, Magioladitis, Math2000, Thephred, Scottalter,
Incub624, Joshua.krafchin, Duckingham, Jmcw37, FrankEldonDixon, VolkovBot, TallNapoleon, Voorlandt, Steven J. Anderson, Diggnity,
Madman, Ddavoust, Colin marks, JohnnyMrNinja, All Hallows Wraith, Jaime Urquijo~enwiki, Phogg2, Alexbot, Sentriclecub, MystBot, Addbot, Karlinhos, LaaknorBot, Corey1505, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Greg Holden 08, AnomieBOT, Shotcallerballerballer, MrsHudson,
Tad Lincoln, DegenFarang, Enco1984, DefaultsortBot, Anibar E, I Do Care, Full-date unlinking bot, RohanOrhanHaron, Slippydoodle,
RjwilmsiBot, WikitanvirBot, Blahbean, Awsomeperson12, Ihardlythinkso, ClueBot NG, Frietjes, Ryan Vesey, Valchel, Helpful Pixie Bot,
InferKNOX, MusikAnimal, Mrdanielsmith, Hmainsbot1, VIAFbot, Kershawdraw, Johnsagent, Philodemos, KasparBot, Tptmanpeter and
Anonymous: 56

9.2

Images

File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain

Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

9.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0