Tom Klem wrote:

"Mike Murray" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 13:47:05 -0800, "Tom Klem"
wrote:

I'm sure if he were here to tell it, Yamamoto would agree. (... began his
study of economics at Harvard in 1916, and led the attack on Pearl Harbor
in
1941)

Harvard grad? And he ended up just hanging around. Tsk, Tsk.


Actually, he got a belly full of lead near Bougainville on April 18, 1943.
He didn't have much hang time after the two 'Betty's' and three Zekes were
shot down. Maybe a minute or two, if he wasn't already dismembered by the
.50 cal armaments or the 20 mm cannon, deployed on the P-38's of the jungle
Air Force.

I believe that when the Japanese eventually reached the crash site and
found the plane, they discovered he had died in the crash, and not from
wounds.

Best Regards,

Bruce

"Bruce Draney" wrote in message
...
Tom Klem wrote:

"Mike Murray" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 13:47:05 -0800, "Tom Klem"
wrote:

I'm sure if he were here to tell it, Yamamoto would agree. (... began
his
study of economics at Harvard in 1916, and led the attack on Pearl
Harbor
in
1941)

Harvard grad? And he ended up just hanging around. Tsk, Tsk.


Actually, he got a belly full of lead near Bougainville on April 18,
1943.
He didn't have much hang time after the two 'Betty's' and three Zekes
were
shot down. Maybe a minute or two, if he wasn't already dismembered by
the
.50 cal armaments or the 20 mm cannon, deployed on the P-38's of the
jungle
Air Force.

I believe that when the Japanese eventually reached the crash site and
found the plane, they discovered he had died in the crash, and not from
wounds.

Best Regards,

Bruce

I have heard that version of events, though I tend to think it more
revisionist history.

The after action reports note that both Betty's were strafed before going
down.

I really don't know, having not been there, and peering through the murky
glass of politically corrected history.

Regards,
Tom Klem

I believe that when the Japanese eventually reached the crash site and found
the plane, they discovered he had died in the crash, and not from wounds.
(Bruce Draney)
==============
I vaguely recall reading otherwise... strapped in his seat riddled with
bullets. But I wouldn't insist.

RSHaas

RSHaas

If computers have raised the level of play why, over the past 20 years, has
the US fallen to oblivion in the world chess arena and the Russians remained
on top?

Because 20 years ago, the powers that be in the chess world decided to fund
lessons for any kids who were rated ((100 times their age) plus 700). The
theory was that the bigger head start we gave them, the more likely they'd be
to compete for the world title.

While this was going on, I decided around the age of 19 to study chess
literally every waking minute I had. Within two years, I was a rated expert,
and I was improving rapidly, training 70+ hours a week, yet consistently heard
that I was "too old" to possibly make it. I finally quit when I was 24,
primarily due to lack of any support. I didn't care about that so much, but to
see so much money wasted on the youth movement was pathetic. As anyone should
have seen coming, when the kiddies grew up they took their 2400-2500 ratings
with them out of chess, along with the money that had been invested in them.

I was not the only player in his early 20s who had this complaint. I had met
three others in the four years I played who studied just as hard, but who found
they just weren't taken seriously because of their age, even if they were
making rapid progress.

The money should have been given to those who had made a commitment to study
chess full time, even if they were closer to 30 than to 13. All we have to
show for the money we did spend are a lot of very nice, well-adjusted,
well-rounded young adults who have 2500 ratings and who do very little with
them.

"Our schools and teachers are third-rate, and that's reflected in our
graduates." (adp)
==============
The top 100 US graduatle schools are as good or better than the rest of
the
world's top 100.
European and Asian students jump at the opportunity to get an advanced
degree in the USA.

Yet those students who get REJECTED from the Indian Institute Of Technology
(IIT) wind up with full scholarships at their "safety schools," namely our
best.

You can't judge overseas education by the IITs, which recruit the best of
the best of the best in a country of 1 billion-plus. Education is also in
decline at most European and British universities, if recent graduates I've
spoken with are any indication.

The IITs are to most top-tier US colleges what MIT is to the Massachusetts
Institute for Sal****er Cooking at Clambakesville. I believe new US CEOs are
now more likely to be IIT grads than Ivy League grads.

Angelo

"LeModernCaveman" wrote in message
...
"Our schools and teachers are third-rate, and that's reflected in our
graduates." (adp)
==============
The top 100 US graduatle schools are as good or better than the rest
of
the
world's top 100.
European and Asian students jump at the opportunity to get an
advanced
degree in the USA.

Yet those students who get REJECTED from the Indian Institute Of
Technology
(IIT) wind up with full scholarships at their "safety schools," namely our
best.

" All we have to show for the money we did spend are a lot of very nice,
well-adjusted,
well-rounded young adults who have 2500 ratings and who do very little with
them."
(l'modern)
===============
Those are the ones with nice, well paying jobs outside of chess. They
discovered early enough that there is nothing for them in professional chess...
other than an occasional prize in a weekend tournament.

RSHaas

Tom, I think there were about 100 GMs in the world back then. Probably
double that number of IMs. As Kasparov says it's difficult, even futile, to
compare inter-generational strength OTB. However, for his day Fischer at age
14-15 played opponents of much higher caliber than Nakamura plays today.
Fischer played in very, very few swisses or regional tournaments. I can
think of the NY State Championship, for example, but he stayed clear of the
US Open and weekend tournaments.

Of course Kasparov would have us believe that a GM of Nakamura's strength
"knows a lot more" than anyone from that era. The implication (I never read
that K has said this) is that Nakamura would whoop Fischer or Tal in their
prime. It would take the persuasive talents of Bruce Draney and Kevin
Bachler combined to convince me of that. It's hard to imagine someone who
beat Larsen 6-0 would lose a match to Hikaru.

Angelo

"Tom Klem" wrote in message
news:_ArLb.61378$BQ5.50037@fed1read03...
Fischer had a lot less competition. In fact, isn't it really true that the
gentlemen mentioned below are pretty much all that was in the GM category
for him to play at the tournaments 'back in the day'?

The world is literally crawling with GMs now, compared to that time
period.

Tom Klem



"Angelo DePalma" wrote in message
...


Nakamura, at age 16, is barely a third-tier GM. In the DePalma system
first
tier is about 2700, then 2625, then 2550, then below that are guys
who
get invited to the Greater St. Alphonzo's Open in Mauritania. At 14
Fischer
was playing Tal, Byrne, Petrosian, Botvinnik, Reshevsky. Yikes

It would be great if Hikaru joined the second tier or first tier by age
20,
but 2700 status seems highly unlikely for a guy who plays mostly other
third-tier GMs, equivalent IMs, and the likes of me in World Open side
games.

Christiansen was #17 in the world at his peak and has beaten Karpov. I
think
Browne was around #25 and Seirawan somewhere around there. But that was
long
ago.

Angelo


"Tom Klem" wrote in message
news:4fkLb.61150$BQ5.1511@fed1read03...

"RSHaas" wrote in message
...
"Our last home grown world-class GMs were Larry Christiansen, Walter
Browne,
and Yasser Seirawan. That was back in the freaking '70s, before you
were
born!
All are well past their prime. (adp)
==============
The '70's would be pre-scholastic chess era. Nowadays the USA
leads
the
world in players rated 500 and below.

RSHaas

What about Hikaru Nakamura?

Tom Klem

I believe that when the Japanese eventually reached the crash site and found
the plane, they discovered he had died in the crash, and not from wounds.
(Bruce Draney)
==============
I vaguely recall reading otherwise... strapped in his seat riddled with
bullets. But I wouldn't insist.

RSHaas

RSHaas

It was bad sushi. As far as I know this could be true. Or perhaps he died in
the crash with Leko.




Tony D.

" All we have to show for the money we did spend are a lot of very nice,
well-adjusted,
well-rounded young adults who have 2500 ratings and who do very little with
them."
(l'modern)
===============
Those are the ones with nice, well paying jobs outside of chess.

Bully for them!

How does this justify the TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS spent on their lessons
each year?