Josh Waitzkin (person)

Josh Waitzkin (b. December 1976, New York City) is a chess prodigy, best known through the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. Josh's father, Fred, penned this true story of Josh's discovery of chess and subsequent successes and struggles as one of the best young chess players in the U.S. The book was made into a movie by Paramount Studios and released in 1993.

A brief chronology of Waitzkin's chess milestones:

• Age 6: discovered by Bruce Pandolfini playing chess in Washington Square Park, New York City
• Age 10: defeats his first grandmaster, E. Frumkin (Waitzkin played white against the Sicilian Defense, ECO B41 with 4. ... Nf6)
• Age 11: drew a game with Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition
• Age 16: became an international master
• Age 18: wrote Attacking Chess

Waitzkin is/was a student at Columbia University studying oceanography and Eastern philosophy. Apparently his hobbies include basketball, fishing, and free-diving. Waitzkin has been the spokesman for the Chessmaster computer program since 1997, offering advanced lessons and annotation to classic games.