

Remarkable Trio of Young, African-American Chess Masters - OstiaAntica
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/crosswords/chess/chess-three-young-african-americans-earn-recognition-as-masters.html?_r=1&hp

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maxklein
I'm not surprised. I remember playing chess in Africa years ago and was amazed
at the speed that some people picked up the game and dominated everyone else,
including me, who at the time already had many years of chess experience. I
believe chess is something that, if your mind is wired the right way, you can
become really good at. But those people who were so good at the game back them
- well, they still play, but they don't compete because, well there are no
real tournaments, and the prize money is tiny compared to what other pursuits
would bring.

There is a lot of ability to play chess with many people all over the world,
irrespective of ethnicity, but there are just situations where people are born
into, where being focused on such a niche sport means you cannot be successful
in general.

It's the same problem that mathematicians face. When society is developed and
most things already exist, some people will choose such narrow activities, but
when it's a dog eat dog world, there is no time for that.

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flocial
It's a shame the article doesn't mention how they got interested in chess

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hackinthebochs
Indeed, there are many interesting aspects to this that should have been
discussed. How did they get so good? How long have they known each other? Has
their skill grown in unison? What type of environment led to this statistical
oddity of 3 Black kids from the same area to become such strong players?

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feralchimp
My three hopes for these kids are:

a) they manage not to become insufferable d-bags by the time they get to
university

b) their parents don't drive them completely insane

c) they still love chess when they're 30

I can only assume it's stressful to be a prodigy in _anything_ , and I could
imaging the chess scene being particularly pressure-rich.

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steve_b
I misread your comment. I thought you said "my three hopes for my kids...". I
thought: that sounds like a good strategy for any parents to have.

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drstrangevibes
this is really encouraging. The image of African people usually vastly
misrepresents their true potential. Great to see some positive news that casts
some true light on the immense talents of these gifted people.

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sunahsuh
...you write this like you don't expect any black people to be reading your
comment. _I'm_ offended by reading this, so I can't imagine how black readers
of HN that come across this feel.

Also, they're African-American. And no, that's not nitpicking or trying to be
PC; it's an important distinction.

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ytadesse
No, I disagree - and I'm black. He's right. The image portrayed of blacks (by
everyone - including many blacks that have "made it") is that we are artsy
folks who "do" music and play sports. As a result, people often don't
intuitively consider blacks when they think of professions and otherwise
intellectual activities.

In fact, the only reason most people are going to even click on this link is
because they are amazed to see "3 black guys playing chess" ... whoaaa! The
simple fact that people are surprised and curious to see "how they got
interested in chess" is proof enough that "The image of African people usually
vastly misrepresents their true potential".

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sunahsuh
I'm certainly not disagreeing with what you're saying or the core of what the
parent meant to say regarding images of blacks in the media.

What I'm reacting to is an "Othering" of blacks on HN implied by the comment.
A phrase like "these gifted people" implies that the audience he's speaking to
is assumed to not include "African [sic] people". It's a default whiteness
(and maleness, but that's a story for another day) that's rife in the tech
industry that reinforces the image that it's a white boy's club. Yes, the
industry is certainly predominantly white male, but when rhetoric and
attitudes _assume_ white maleness, the environment becomes unfriendly to
everyone else.

-Gay Asian-American woman tired of explaining things that should be taught in schools

