Daily Speculations The Web Site of Victor Niederhoffer & Laurel Kenner Dedicated to the scientific method, free markets, deflating ballyhoo, creating value, and laughter;  a forum for us to use our meager abilities to make the world of specinvestments a better place.

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8/27/04:

Grandmaster Nigel Davies: 5 Questions to Ask Your Chess Teacher:

1) What have been the results of your students before and after you've taught them?
2) What was your best rating?
3) Are you still an active player?
4) Do you understand more about chess than your rating indicates?
5) Do you have a teaching methodology that works for all students?

Answers to look for:
1) Students to have shown a definite improvement, and not just because they were young and brilliant. Look for 50 year old improvers.
2) You want someone who was SERIOUSLY competitive and won tournaments, not just an also ran with fantasies.
3) Your teacher should be playing actively and still learning.
4) Be really wary of anyone who claims their understanding is better than their results. This usually means that they're not only bad but deluded too.
5) Watch out for fixed methodologies. Someone who thinks that one hat fits all is likely to be dogmatic. If you also had a 'yes' answer to question 4, run like the wind and keep your hand on your wallet.

Now to the world of trading and investment and what you read on the inside cover of those hard back books. Most of them detail exploits in the financial media such as columns/books written, working for a brokerage etc. The books that have been written by actual traders with demonstrable records are few and far between.

So with regard to the recent quote from a certain Mr. P, I should point out that this guy is a well known and successful writer whose trading has been a joke on some UK bulletin boards. Following his advice will be a bit like having an Irving Chernev or Bruce Pandolfini play a game of chess for your life. Fatal.