Chess is an interesting proxy for intelligence. I've seen homeless people with no real training other then playing games become relatively strong players. And

Chess is an interesting proxy for intelligence. I've seen homeless people with no real training other then playing games become relatively strong players. And then there are prodigies. Most decent players realize they will never be prodigies. But then you look at the Polgar sisters, well I'll just quote wikipedia for Laszlo Polgar: He is interested in the proper method of rearing children, believing that "geniuses are made, not born". Before he had any children, he wrote a book entitled Bring Up Genius!, and sought a wife to help him carry out his experiment. He found one in Klara, a schoolteacher, who lived in a Hungarian-speaking enclave in Ukraine. He married her in the USSR and brought her to Hungary. He home-schooled their three daughters, primarily in chess, and all three went on to become strong players. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Polg%C3%A1r http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Polg%C3%A1r "Strong players" is an understatement for Judit's accomplishments which are well known.