Recently, we asked our members to submit their questions to Hikaru. Here are the results!
Greg Delaney – Menasha Wisconsin - US Chess has lost many promising young players in the last 25 years because they knew they couldn't make a living as chess professionals. What are your thoughts and feelings about this as it relates to you and your future?
Answer: There is a wide variety of reasons as far as why US chess seems to lose most of its promising players, however, it ultimately comes down to whether people can make a living or not. Over the years, I have known many players who have had a deep love for the game, but everyone wants to be able to live comfortably and chess simply does not afford it. Now, due to my current rating levels, I am making a respectable living so I cannot complain, but for most GMs it is all about traveling all the time and not making very much money. This is a tough lifestyle which not many people are suited to.
Ivan Wijetunge - I noticed you stopped blogging after your loss in Montreal. What was the main reason for this?
Answer: There are several reasons I stopped blogging after my loss in Montreal. It actually has very little to do with the actual tournament as much as I was simply busy both that evening as well as during the off day when I saw old Montreal. As 1 day turns into 2, you slowly get behind and forget to ever catch up.
Robert Anderson - Hikaru, in all your travels associated with your chess career or which city of the world has provided the most pleasant stay for you?
Answer: Having traveled throughout the world there are many countries which I have thoroughly enjoyed for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, it depends whether I view it from the social aspect/culture shock or from my pure tournament results. If I had to pick a place though, it would definitely be Bolivia just because the culture is so open and accepting.
Francis Haro -1.what motivates you in playing passionately blitz and bullet online?
Answer: I’m afraid that this question really is not as relevant as it once was. During my younger days I played blitz and bullet in order to further my general understanding as well as tactical abilities. Nowadays though, I rarely take blitz or bullet very seriously as there is not much to prove online anymore.
2. Are you devoting your life to professional chess? What fall back career are you considering when chess are not doin right anymore for you?
Answer: Currently I do consider myself a professional player. Whether I remain as one or not, only the future will tell. If I were to quit chess, I would probably take some courses in finance and get a job somewhere in the finance industry.
3. Do you have any idea why Japan does not produce many strong chess masters? Do you have any idea of why their chess program and why not appealing to masses? You are a product of American chess right?
Answer: Well, first of all, there is a Japanese variant of chess called Shogi. To put it simply, there is just a much broader appeal in general as famous players such as Moriuchi and Habu are widely known throughout the country. As far as what sort of chess system I am a product of, there is no doubt that my style and understanding of the game was developed throughout the American system of swiss tournaments. There are both advantages and disadvantages, so I really cannot complain with where I’ve gotten to.
4.Is there money in chess?
Answer: If there wasn’t money in chess, I doubt I would be playing it professionally!
5.How do you imagine youre self playing chess at the age of 50?
Answer: Well, much like several other top players, I do not intend to play chess, at least not professionally past the age of 40. If I am still playing competitive chess at the age of 50, something will have gone quite wrong.
Wolff Morrow - After breaking 2700 Elo rating, what are your long term goals in chess? What would you like to do after retiring from chess?
Answer: I am just going to try and become World Champion at chess. I may or may not succeed, but either way its more about the journey to me than the end result. If I can make a sustainable living and have a family by the time I retire, that would be more than enough for me. As far as retirement goes, I have not yet thought about that.
Howard Goldowsky - 1. How serious is Hikaru about living in Canada? Would he play for the Canadian Olympiad team over the U.S. team?
Answer: An interesting question and one which I’m sure many people would like to know the answer to. Currently, I am playing for the US still despite spending a lot of time in Vancouver, B.C. I think that the answer to this question depends upon several major factors. First of all, who becomes president in the US. Second, whether the current recession will be nearing an end anytime soon, and last, whether or not any of my romance out here lasts. Only the future can tell what will happen. Having said this, I would like to see some improvement in the CFC before I seriously consider changing federation at the very least.
2. What does Hikaru plan to do with his time if he doesn't become a pro chess player? Does he make enough money trading stocks and doing finance to sustain a living?
Answer: I am currently a chess player, so this question is relatively moot.
3. Besides openings, does Hikaru train in any other aspects of the game? Which ones?
Answer: Besides studying openings, I also study some endgames. However, during my downtime, I am currently studying Seirawan Chess instead!
Steven R. Barnes - The one thing I don't understand is why you are not invited to more closed tournaments? I enjoy seeing what you come up with in games that most just give up the draw. I thought that this would make you very attractive to Super GM tournament organizers who seem to be striving to eliminate draws, and I would like to see your fighting spirit in some of these tournaments.
Answer: This is yet another question where there is no easy or clear cut answer, but I do appreciate the question. The first major issue which I have always had to deal with is playing in the US. There are quite a few organizers who are biased and simply believe Europeans are better. The other main reason is that they do not want to have to cover airfare from the US either. There are other secondary reasons such as disliking people or just choosing amongst an elite set of people. Hopefully as I continue to improve I will be afforded these opportunities though.
Justin Kristoff - I would like to know what you did (if you can remember) to get from a 1700 rating to a Master Level? I have been stuck at 1700 for over 10 years.
Answer: I guess mainly for me it was just a matter of playing a lot of tournament games. In particular when I went from 1800-2200 between nine and ten, I played every g30 I could at the Marshall. In fact, I had the 2nd highest amount of games during that year, trailing only Jay Bonin.
Kidthump - I am a beginner and would like to know, what is more important positioning or tactics?
Answer: Just play chess and study tactics.
Richard Reich – How can you train to improve blitz play?
Answer: I don’t think one should be trying to improve their blitz play! Whenever I play blitz it is to improve my tactical vision for longer games. If you are trying to improve your quick chess as opposed to slow chess, I would recommend studying tactics.
Isaac Zhang – How long do you train each day?
Answer: My training schedule varies, but I would say that I look at chess for about 1-2 hours every day.
Polokid818 – Do you think chess should be an official game (mental sport) in the Olympics?
Answer: I absolutely do not agree that chess should be an official game in the Olympics. First of all, when one looks at the current breakdown of games in the Olympics they are all physical based. Were the IOC to allow chess into the games it would pose a whole new set of problems as they’d be hard pressed to prevent other games such as bridge, go, backgammon, etc. All in all, it would be nice, but I think there would be too many logistical problems. As is, there are already the Mind Olympics for such games.
Miranda – How old were you when you started playing chess?
Answer: I first started playing chess when I was 7 ½ years old. This is usually not considered a prime age for starting as most of the current top players started at a younger age.
Giovanni Ferro Luzzi - Can Hikaru please tell me what of he thinks of the Caro-Kann? Would he play it as black? Why or why not?
(I've seen some chess forum posts in France where it was described as an opening for "sissies". I wasn't even aware that openings could be more or less masculine :-))
Answer: The Caro-Kann is a standard opening which some people like and others don’t. If you like playing positional chess, I would recommend it. Otherwise, you should just pick something else.
Miki Yasouka - Where is the best tournament location for a first place celebratory dinner out?
Answer: I have had plenty of celebratory dinners due to the many tournaments I have won, so I would probably have to say that Spain easily ranks above any of the other places.
Michael G Kramer - Ive seen you occasionally play the Danvers opening (1.e4 e5 2. qh5) on the Internet Chess Club. How did you come to try this debut and what is your assessment of it and success with it?
What is your take on the doomsayers vis a vis the predicted utter meltdown of the US economy (and world economy I suppose). I hear this from various gold bugs and suppose you have a more practical grasp of the situation.
Answer: I answered this question quite a few years back actually, but I will attempt to do so again. The way I came to play 2.Qh5 was through my friend Jason Doss who happens to be a former student of Indiana chess legend, Bernie Parham. Parham developed the Qh5 system and I felt that the variation against Sasikiran would be a very good surprise and the variation doesn’t outright lose either! Good enough for me!
My current take on the economy is wait and see. I think that regardless of your personal political views, it is quite clear that the current administration has done far too little far too late. Hopefully the situation can change, but I think a lot depends on whether the current bailout plan is a success.