Jeff Sarwer
Jeff Sarwer (born May 14, 1978 in Kingston , Ontario ) is a Canadian - Finnish chess player .
Sarwer's attack-focused game has often been compared to Bobby Fischer's game . A tournament game against Joshua Waitzkin that ended in a draw was the inspiration for the climax in Searching for Bobby Fischer .
Sarwer won the youth world title for under 10-year-olds in 1986 as a participant for Canada in Puerto Rico .
Early career
Born in Kingston , Ontario to a Finnish mother and Canadian father, he learned the rules of chess at the age of four from his six-year-old sister Julia. He started playing at the Manhattan Chess Club at the age of six , whose manager Bruce Pandolfini was so enthusiastic about their game that he granted Sarwer and his sister a lifetime membership.
Since the age of seven, Sarwer played every year on Canada Day in so-called simultaneous chess against 40 players simultaneously in Parliament Hill in Ottawa . He also performed in Washington Square Park in New York City , where he played rapid chess .
Media appearances
When Sarwer was seven years old, Grandmaster Edmar Mednis noticed the enthusiasm that the seven-year-old had for the game. He invited him to analyze the world championship game between Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpow for the station PBS . Sarwer and his sister (who also won the world championship title for girls under 10) also commented on the rematch in 1987. After that, the two children gained media attention and appeared on various talk shows. A documentary was also shot about the two of them.
Magazines like GQ and Sports Illustrated published articles about Sarwer and his family, often focusing on the family's strange lifestyle. His safety and chess career were also critically reported in connection with his father.
Vanity fair article
Jeff's father forbade him to continue his chess career when it became foreseeable that he could not completely control his son's career. He moved out of New York with his family and ran into problems with the Children's Aid Society of Ontario. An article John Colapinto wrote for Vanity Fair Magazine describes the child abuse suffered by Jeff and Julia. As a result, the siblings were taken away from their father by the CAS and placed under their protection.
Jeff and Julia fled from the CAS back to their father and hid together from the authorities in order not to be taken away again. From then on, the Sarwer family lived anonymously in various countries.
The King's Game - A master is born
In 1993 the film The King's Game - A Master is Born was released, in which Jeff Sarwer is played by the character "Jonathan Poe". In the final game of the film, Poe declines an offer to draw and in the end loses. In reality, Sarwer had declined Josh Waitzkin's offer to draw, but the game ended in a draw a few moves later. According to the rules for tournament evaluations , it was decided that Waitzkin would be awarded first place, as he had to play against more demanding opponents in the course of the tournament. However, the two became co-champions for the US Primary School area. When the tournament was played, Sarwer was seven years old and Waitzkin was nine years old.
Reappear
In September 2007 Sarwer reappeared on the chess scene. Apparently without having trained beforehand, he took part in a 30-minute semi-rapid chess tournament at Marienburg Castle in Poland . He finished third with 7/9 points in a group of 86 players, four of whom were grandmasters.
Since he had no active chess ranking, he was given a provisional Elo rating of 2250.
In January 2010, Sarwer gave an interview to Chess Life Online , in which he reported in detail about his experience of the tournament and his current life in Europe.
In August 2010, the Sunday Times Magazine published an article on Sarwer in which he talked about his father's methods, his chess career and his public reappearance. Sarwer stated that if he made chess his priority again, he would do so to become a grandmaster.
In the summer of 2015, Sarwer took part on the VI. Shakkinet tournament in Finland. He finished the tournament with 5/9 points, which was enough for an IM norm.
Sarwer has held the title of FIDE Master since 2015 . His highest rating was 2344 in July 2015.
poker
Sarwer has been playing on the European Poker Tour since December 2008 . He has made it to the finals twice and has earned around 500,000 euros so far . In February 2010, Bluff Europe magazine wrote an article about Sarwer and his new career as a poker player.
Radio interview
Sarwer was the subject of The Interview , broadcast by BBC World . In the broadcast of December 19, 2010, he reported on his life, childhood memories and the relationship with his father. He talked about both successful years in the US real estate market when he was just in his early 20s and his successes as a poker player in Europe in his early 30s.
Web links
- Jeff Sarwer at the World Chess Federation FIDE (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ User Profile: Jeff Sarwer. Retrieved December 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Puoliksi suomalainen Jeff Sarwer - shakkia ja pokeria. Retrieved December 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Dipl.Ing. Heinz Herzog - chess-results.com: Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - VI ShakkiNet GM. Retrieved December 4, 2018 .
- ↑ The Many Pages by Jeff Sarwer. In: JohnnyBet.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018 .
- ^ The next big thing: Jeff Sarwer by Stephen Bartley. Retrieved December 4, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sarwer, Jeff |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian-Finnish chess player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 14, 1978 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston , Ontario |