@1
"Other games/sports don't permit this" ++ Gymnastics e.g. Simone Biles
Should minors be allowed to compete for the World Chess Championship?
Sort:
Apr 24, 2024
0
#3
He will be 18 when the championship occurs.
Nonetheless, it does not matter. When the best player in the world is a junior, then the junior shall be crowned world champion.
Apr 24, 2024
0
#4
Yes minors should be allowed. Sports have age requirements due to the athletic skill that corresponds with age. This is not always so with chess. It’s up to the parents to decide if their kid can handle a top chess competition. More rules just keep the game from gaining more popularity.
I wasn't aware of an age restriction to compete in golf. Someone should tell 15 year old Miles Russell about that. Last weekend he finished in the top 25 at the Korn Ferry tour event in Texas.
If the talent is there, what difference does age make?
Apr 24, 2024
0
#7
>Someone should tell 15 year old Miles Russell about that. <
The PGA tour has an 18-year old requirement for membership. Korn Ferry is a part of a developmental tour for the PGA tour proper.
> Sports have age requirements due to the athletic skill that corresponds with age<
The American Pool Assn requires 18 years to join - billiards is not an athletic skill, it's a game, like chess. The American Contract Bridge League, which has 165,000 members, requires age 20 or older to join its adult leagues. The World Series of Poker, the premiere championship in that game, requires age 21.
Apr 24, 2024
0
#8
I'm not opposed to Gukesh's age, especially since he will be 18 by the time he meets Ding at the board. I'm just wondering if there should be some limit. Do we want a ten-year old competing for the title? And then dealing with the subsequent fame, publicity, and endless attention that comes with it? Is it even appropriate to put a child in that situation, regardless of their skill?
I would suggest 16 as the age limit to compete in FIDE championship-cycle. Or else you get into the situation that gymnastics had to deal with- the age of competitors was once quite low, and you had 13 year olds competing for gold - and it was continuing to shrink. Finally in the 1990s they raised it to age 16, not just to protect children physically, but socially and emotionally.
It's a board game. Why would it not be appropriate for under18s?
If you're a Gm and will make a career in chess, you'll need to handle that attention, pressure anyways.
PS. Gukesh isn't a child anymore. He's gonna be 18 soon
They don't even need to set an age limit, the truth is that I find it almost impossible for a 12 year old child to have the physical and mental resistance of an adult to qualify for the candidate tournament.
I think that from the age of 15 you can develop great physical and mental resistance to match the high level among the best, but even so it would be extremely difficult to win the candidate tournament at that age. If someone at 15 manages to win the candidate tournament, he is definitely a mutant and if he is a mutant he doesn't have the problems of such a young person, so it would be fine.
themaskedbishop wrote:
>Someone should tell 15 year old Miles Russell about that. <
The PGA tour has an 18-year old requirement for membership. Korn Ferry is a part of a developmental tour for the PGA tour proper.
> Sports have age requirements due to the athletic skill that corresponds with age<
The American Pool Assn requires 18 years to join - billiards is not an athletic skill, it's a game, like chess. The American Contract Bridge League, which has 165,000 members, requires age 20 or older to join its adult leagues. The World Series of Poker, the premiere championship in that game, requires age 21.
The PGA does require a minimum age of 18 to join. But there is no minimum age to play in a PGA tour event. It's strictly merit based (with the exception of certain exemptions like sponsors).
At age 15 I doubt Miles Russel is looking to join the PGA tour anytime soon. But if he has the chance and qualifies, I'll bet he will play in as many PGA tour events as possible. I don't see the point in setting a minimum age requirement of any chess tournament, including the world championship. Anyone young enough to not be able to handle the stress and responsibilities of a world championship is also not old enough and good enough to win. So it's a self correcting "problem".
Apr 24, 2024
0
#13
A 17 year old ran a 9.93 100m recently and qualified to compete for the US in the Olympics. How foolish would it be to say he should not be allowed to compete because he's under 18?
themaskedbishop wrote:
Gukesh is 17 - he's not an adult. A child is now competing to be crowned as the best chess player in the world, and they will be the face of the game moving forward if they win. Other games/sports don't permit this - boxing, golf, tennis, billiards, etc - although the Olympics has no age requirement, and FIDE often seems to take their cues from the IOC.
The question - should FIDE continue to allow minors to compete in the championship cycle? Gukesh is almost an adult so it's not much of sticking point in this case, but what happens if the next contender is 12 years old? Is that good for organized chess? Is that good for the child?
If a minor is able to earn money from playing chess professionally, they should have the opportunity to be able to compete for the World Championship.
Gukesh is in the top 15 when it comes to FIDE Rated players in the world. He worked hard as a minor to get to this point and had no issues handling the physical or mental demands of this pursuit.
If a player is able to get to the point where they can compete to become the best in the world, they should have the opportunity to do so without being held back.
If you set an age limit to be able to participate in the Candidates, you take away valuable development opportunities that come with participating in that tournament. I do not see how that would be good for organized chess.
The OP is going for the rare achievement "more downvotes than replies". And failing.
However strong he is, he doesn't have the mental or emotional maturity yet to compete in a world championship match. Having the technical skills is one thing but can he handle the pressure off the board? That remains to be seen.
themaskedbishop wrote:
I'm not opposed to Gukesh's age, especially since he will be 18 by the time he meets Ding at the board. I'm just wondering if there should be some limit. Do we want a ten-year old competing for the title? And then dealing with the subsequent fame, publicity, and endless attention that comes with it? Is it even appropriate to put a child in that situation, regardless of their skill?
If there's a 10 year old that can beat Super GMs I'd definitely want to see that. I don't see how it could hurt him (or her) but that's up to the parents.
I think if it's about mental strength like chess or golf I think there should be less restrictions it just makes sense but something like wrestling they prob should have age restictions(they could always compete at highschool anyway) I don't see how that's an issue
themaskedbishop wrote:
I would suggest 16 as the age limit to compete in FIDE championship-cycle. Or else you get into the situation that gymnastics had to deal with- the age of competitors was once quite low, and you had 13 year olds competing for gold - and it was continuing to shrink. Finally in the 1990s they raised it to age 16, not just to protect children physically, but socially and emotionally.
Should the parents decide or FIDE? Are you saying Gukesh's parents didn't consider his well being?
While we're just asking questions ...
Edit: you're right about gymnastics
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_requirements_in_gymnastics#Reasons_for_age_restrictions
Gukesh is 17 - he's not an adult. A child is now competing to be crowned as the best chess player in the world, and they will be the face of the game moving forward if they win. Other games/sports don't permit this - boxing, golf, tennis, billiards, etc - although the Olympics has no age requirement, and FIDE often seems to take their cues from the IOC.
The question - should FIDE continue to allow minors to compete in the championship cycle? Gukesh is almost an adult so it's not much of sticking point in this case, but what happens if the next contender is 12 years old? Is that good for organized chess? Is that good for the child?