Page 38 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

win right off the bat. Playing against thes e ki ds was like walking thr ough a
minefield, but I was good enough on my feet to nav igat e most of the da nge r. I

often came out of the openings in a little bi t of troubl e, but the n I took
control. As our games progressed, my oppo nen ts moved away from the ir area of
comfort while I grew stronger and more con t. They wanted to win before
the battle began, but I loved the struggl e that was the heart of chess. In bo th

the short term and the long term, thes e kids were crippl ed by the ho rizon
imposed on them by their teachers.
The problem in the chess world is that many coaches work in schools with
an ever-replenishing annual supply of talent ed young childr en. The se ki ds are

like raw material in a factory. Each year, the teachers are expect ed to pr ovide
results because having a nationally ranked ches s team is prestigi ous for the
school. So the coaches create a legi on of ent ity-theo rizing, tactically gi fted
young chess players who are armed to the teeth with a brut al ope ni ng

repertoire. It doesn’t matter if these ki ds will hit a crisis in sevent h gr ade ,
because all that counts for the coach are the pr imary and element ary scho ol
divisions and there are always more first-gr aders coming up the pipe . Clearly,
parents bear an enormous responsibi lity in nav igat ing thes e issues and cho osing

the right teacher for their child.
I have used chess to illustrate this ent ity/incr emental dy nam ic, but the issue
is fundamental to the pursuit of excellence in all fields. If a young ba ske tba ll
player is taught that winning is the onl y thi ng that winner s do, the n he will

crumble when he misses his first bi g sho t. If a gymnas t or bal let da nc er is
taught that her self-worth is entirely wrapped up in a perfectly ski nny bo dy
that is always ready for performance, then how can she han dl e inj ur ies or life
after an inevitably short career? If a bus ines sper son cultivates a pe rfectioni st

self-image, t hen how can she learn f rom her mistakes?
When I reflect back on my chess career, I remember the losses, and the
lessons learned from defeat. I remember losing that fi st Nationa l
Championship to David Arnett. I remember being crushed by my archrival in a

sudden-death playoff of the U.S. Juni or (Under 21) Cham pi ons hi p a year be fore
I won the tournament outright. Then ther e was the final round of the Unde r 18
World Chess Championship in Szeged , Hungar y. I was on board one compe ting
against the Russian for the world title—inch es from a life’s dream, I was

offered a draw, a chance to share the gl ory. All I had to do was shak e ha nds , but
I declined, pushed for a win, and lost—s uch agony ! Thes e moments in my life