It may or may not make you attractive to prospective hedge-fund employers, you see. For instance, Boaz Weinstein, the former Deutsche Banke wunderkind turned fund manager, was a chess master in his youth, and looks kindly on others who are good at the game. He actually got his first internship at Goldman Sachs when he ran into the head of corporate bond trading, whom he’d played on the chess circuit. Weinstein was ranked more highly; the guy gave him a job anyway.
Peter Thiel of Clarium Capital and Douglas Hirsch of Seneca, among others, are also chess enthusiasts. Weinstein, at least, thinks that it helps him with his trading. In the nineties, Bankers Trust even had a whole program to hire chess and bridge players as traders. But the New York Times is cautious.
Oh. Well, bridge is a big thing for retirees, too.
