Page 75 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

CHAPTER 9

BEGINNER’S MIND

I first picked up On the Road while finishing my preparation for the World

Under 18 Chess Championship in Szeged , Hungar y, in the sum mer of 1994.
Jack Kerouac’s vision was like electricity in my veins. His abi lity to dr aw she er
joy from the most mundane exper iences open ed up the world to me. I felt
oppressed by the pressures of my career, but then I’d watch a leaf falling or rain

pelting the Hudson River, and I’d be in ecstasies about the raw be aut y. I was
on re with a fresh passion for life when I traveled t o Hungar y.
Over the course of the two-week tour nam ent, I pl ayed ins pi red che ss.
Entering the final round I was tied for fi st pl ace with the Rus sian cha mpi on,

Peter Svidler. He was an immensely powerful player and is now one of the top
Grandmasters in the world, but going into the gam e I was very con nt . He
must have felt that, because Svidler offered me a dr aw after just half an ho ur of
play. All I had to do was shake hands to shar e the world title—it was unc lear

who would win on tie-breaks. Shak e han ds ! But in my inimitable leave-it-on-
the-field style that has won and lost me many a battle, I declined , pus he d for a
win, an d ended up losing an absolut e heartbr eaker.
That night I took off across Eastern Eur ope to visit my gi rlfriend in a resort

village in Slovenia. She was the women’s chess champi on of her count ry, and
was about to compete in a major tour nam ent. A ruck sack on my ba ck, On the
Road in my lap, I took trains and buses and rando m car rides , di ggi ng it all
with a wired energy. I ended up in a little town called Ptuj , and will ne ver

forget the sight of Kiti walking toward me on a long dirt road, wearing a red
sundress that moved with the breeze and seemed out of char acter, too soft. As
she came closer, her head tilted to the side; in her beaut y was somethi ng severe,
distant, an d a chill came over me.