14 Facts About Joshua Waitzkin

Joshua Waitzkin was born on December 4,1976 and is an American former chess player, martial arts world champion, and author.

At age seven, Joshua Waitzkin began studying the game with his first formal teacher Bruce Pandolfini.

In 1999, Joshua Waitzkin enrolled at Columbia University, where he studied philosophy.

At ten years old, Joshua Waitzkin played a notable game featuring a sacrifice of his queen and rook in exchange for a checkmate six moves later.

Joshua Waitzkin has not played in a US Chess Federation tournament since 1999, and his last FIDE tournament was before 2000.

Joshua Waitzkin has stated in an interview his reasoning for leaving chess:.

The script for Paramount Pictures' 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer was based on a 1988 book by Joshua Waitzkin's father, Fred Joshua Waitzkin: Searching for Bobby Fischer: The Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess.

Joshua Waitzkin makes a cameo in the film, in a scene in the last quarter of the movie where his father is watching a young Josh play Vinnie from a bench.

Joshua Waitzkin is the author of two books: Attacking Chess: Aggressive Strategies, Inside Moves from the US Junior Chess Champion and The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance, an autobiographical discussion of the learning process and performance psychology drawn from Joshua Waitzkin's experiences in both chess and the martial arts.

Joshua Waitzkin is the spokesperson for the Chessmaster video game series, and is featured in the game giving advice and game analysis.

Joshua Waitzkin has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.

Joshua Waitzkin holds several US national medals and a 2004 world champion title in the competitive sport of tai chi pushing hands.

Joshua Waitzkin is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under world champion and Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenomenon Marcelo Garcia.

Joshua Waitzkin mentioned that he broke his back while sparring during a Jiu Jitsu training session.