This week’s return guest is 2 time US Women’s Champion and award-winning author, podcaster and commentator Jennifer Shahade. Jennifer has recently released the excellent and inspiring new tactics book, Play Like a Champion. Play Like a Champion is a collection of biographical sketches of top woman players, featuring memorable tactics for a wide range of chess experience levels. In our conversation, we discuss Jen’s writing and puzzle selection process, new chess vocabulary, Jen’s advice for starting chess clubs, and her decision to leave US Chess. We also discuss Jen’s next projects and her plans for 2024. As always, timestamps of topics discussed are below.
03:00- We discuss Jen’s recent event at the Marshall Chess Club.
04:30- Patreon mailbag question- Jen’s advice for starting a Women’s meetup/chess club.
07:30- Why does Jen think there might be a “confidence gap” between how women and men assess their own chess skills?
Mentioned: Elizabeth Spiegel, Shawn Martinez
14:30- What led to Jen’s confidence level shifting in chess as a teenager?
15;00- How did Jen decide on the wide range of difficulty within her puzzles?
Mentioned: The Botez Sisters, Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, IM Sara Khadem
25:00- New chess strategy terminology? What is a “zap”? What does it mean to “think sideways”
29:00- How is Jen’s next book progressing?
31:30- Jen discusses her collaboration with IM Jeremy Silman, who was her publisher for the book Chess Bitch.
Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Anna Hahn, Irina Krush, Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions
38:00- Will Jen be blogging more frequently?
Mentioned: Jen’s substack
40:00- Jen discusses her decision to leave US Chess in the wake of the Alejandro Ramirez allegations.
Mentioned: How Alejandro Ramirez Allegations Against a US Chess Grandmaster went Unaddressed for Years,French female players Open Letter, Carol Meyer stepping down as US Chess Executive Director
48:00- Jen on her 2024 events and plans:
Chesskid National Festival, Russell Makofsky’s Impact Coaching Network, FM Mike Klein, FM James Canty, GM Daniel Naroditsky, IM Daniel Rensch, ASAP Philly
53:00- How to enter to win a copy of Play Like a Champion signed by Jennifer Shahade
SIGNED BOOK IS US ONLY, outside the US, you can still enter to win a free Forward Chess Digital Copy of Jen’s book. (there are two prizes in total)
Entries will be closed on January 16 and winners will be announced via shortly thereafter
55:00- Thanks, as always to Jen for joining me. Be sure to check out her book and to subscribe to her blog.
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EP 351- Steffen Nielsen: The author and award-winning endgame study composer on what makes a good chess puzzle, and whether endgame studies are good for your chess calculation.
EP.350- CM Can Kabadayi: A self-taught Candidate Master and Cognitive Scientist on Calculation, The Chess Aging Curve and his Favorite Chess Books
EP 349- Dr. Anique de Bruin: Deliberate Practice and the Science of Chess Learning
Book Recap #33- Think Like a Super GM and Strategic Chess Exercises: 2 Great Books for Intermediate Level and Up (with Dr. Michael Franco)
EP 348- ALTO Tournament Report- Two Participants on What they learned and Experienced at an Adult Only Weekend Tournament in Charlotte
EP 347- GM Gregory Kaidanov on The Return of Hans Niemann, FIDE World Cup Reflections & The Differences Between Adult and Youth Chess Students
EP 346- NM Todd Bryant Shares his Data on the Most Accomplished Adult Improvers in recent US Chess History, plus Discusses his Own Approach to Chess Enjoyment & Improvement
EP 345- WFM Maaike Keetman on The Best Open Tournaments in Europe, The Chess Steps Method & Chessable's Create Your Own Course Contest
EP 344- GM Melik Khachiyan on How Staying Active OTB and Emphasizing Physical Fitness helped him Finally win his First National Title!
Bonus Pod- FIDE World Cup Update- Magnus and Fabiano on a Collision Course? Featuring CM Vjekoslav Nemec and IM Michael Rahal reporting from the tournament in Baku.
EP 343- Rating Deflation Roundtable- Statistician Jeff Sonas and Data Scientist FM Nate Solon discuss FIDE’s Proposed Changes to their Rating System, Plus Historical Chess Nuggets from Jeff’s Grea
EP 342- GM Simen Agdestein: The Norwegian Chess Legend on Coaching Young Magnus, Life as a Pro Footballer, and What he Learned from Career-Altering Injuries
Book Recap #32- GM Rowson's Chess for Zebras a classic book that tackles the challenges of adult improvement, and the differences between playing White and Black (with guest co-host, Professor David
EP 341-Double Episode! GM Levon Aronian on The Global Chess League, How to Better Promote Chess, and Reflections on his Bumpy Ride to the Chess Elite + Global Chess League Chairperson Jagdish Mitra on
Bonus Pod- Jen Shahade joins for a FIDE Women's World Championship Wrap Up
EP 340- FIDE World Cup Preview with Mr. Dodgy- The Best Tournament of the Chess Year starts Sunday! Magnus looks for his first World Cup Win, and Hikaru, Fabiano, and a host of Challengers hope to Ear
EP 339- WGM Anna Zatonskih: The Four-Time US Women’s Champion Shares the Story Behind Earning Her First GM Norm at age 44!
Bonus Pod- The FIDE Women's World Championship is at the Halfway Point: American Chess Olympian WGM Begim Tokhirjonova joins to discuss it
EP 338- Dr. Daniel Simons and Dr. Christopher Chabris- Two Award Winning co-authors and Professors on Growth Mindset, Cheating in Chess, Chess Improvement & Much more!
EP 337- NM Nate Shuman- A Scholastic Champion on How Mindfulness Practices Helped Him & Can Help All Competitive Chess Players
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