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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
EP 305- WIM Andreea Navrotescu- The Latest on the FIDE Women's World Championship Cycle + Her Life as a Chess Professional in France
EP 304- Neal Bruce- What We Can Learn from the Studying Classic Game Compilation Books
EP 303- Adult Improver Kyle Boddy- A Pioneer in Sports Analytics and Peak Performance on His Approach to Chess Improvement
EP 302- Chess Improvement Q & A with IM Andras Toth- One of YouTube's Best Chess Teachers
Bonus Pod- GM Hans Niemann is suing Magnus, Chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura! Law Professor David Franklin joins to Assess What Might Happen From Here
EP 301- Computer Science Professor and IM, Dr. Kenneth Regan on the Carlsen/Niemann controversy and the Current State of Cheating in OTB Chess
EP 300- Swedish Chess Legend, GM Ulf Andersson on his Encounters with Kasparov, Karpov and Fischer and How he Keeps up With Chess Today.
Bonus Pod- FM Nate Solon joins to Discuss Chess.Com's Report about the Carlsen/Niemann Controversy
EP 299- Chess Blogger and Trainer FM Dennis Monokroussos on Lessons from Tal and Petrosian, how 'Toiletgate' compared to the Current Chess Scandal, and the Importance of Playing with Different Styles
Book Recap #29- Discussing The Longest Game by GM Jan Timman a Great Book which Tells the Story of the Kasparov-Karpov matches
Bonus Pod- GM Jonathan Rowson and GM David Smerdon discuss the Carlsen/Niemann Saga
EP 298- Adult Improver Hans Henning on Why he Loves Studying Openings, and How Chess Helps Give Him Purpose
Bonus Pod- GM Alex Fishbein and IM Greg Shahade share their thoughts on the latest developments in the Carlsen/Niemann Sinquefield Cup Controversy
EP 297- IM Carissa Yip on her love for the King’s Indian Defense, Why Levon Aronian is her favorite player and the ups and downs of her first Chess Olympiad.
Bonus Pod- GM Jacob Aagaard joins for an update on the Sinquefield Cup Controversy
EP 296- Award Winning Author/Trainer, GM Jacob Aagaard on Endgame "Rules of Thumb", the Wave of Young Phenoms, and the World Championship Format
Bonus Pod- Chess World in Turmoil as Magnus Carlsen Suddenly withdraws from Sinquefield Cup Amid Speculation that GM Hans Niemann used Engine Assistance
Episode 295- GM Gregory Kaidanov- One of the US’ top players and trainers on Maintaining Motivation, Imparting Lessons to Students, and his Long Journey from the USSR to the US.
Bonus Pod- How to Chess Podcast- GM Johan Hellsten on How to Analyze Your Own Chess Games
EP 294- GM Fabiano Caruana on Engines, The Evolution of Chess, the Candidates Tournament, and the World Championship Cycle.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
That Don‘t Sound Right
Gun Talk
来都来了 | 听了再走
Adeptus Ridiculous
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast