Premier Chess: Conquer the Game; Master Your Life

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 143, I converse with Jason Deluca, President of Columbia Club of New Jersey and CEO and Founder at Argonaut Media, an innovative advertising agency specializing in the creation, implementation and management of marketing campaigns.

We speak about college fundraising, the new American Dream Mall, chess PR, chess as a vehicle in advertising, Rex Sinquefield's work in Saint Louis, the Columbia University cigar club, chess community and most importantly, the upcoming 1st All Ivy Chess Invitational. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 142,  I converse with Senior Master Jerald Times and Mike Papapavlou, Founder of Guitar Guide Guru.   In the last few months, University of Texas at Dallas declared Jerald Times "Chess Educator of the  Year" and  Guitar World has declared Mike Papapavlou "Guitar Teacher of the Year". 

The three of us speak about the rise of city of inner-city education programs, the elevation of academics through extracurriculars, delayed gratification, measurements of success, school programs, a tribute to Charu Robinson, the growth of talent, benefits of awards, rhythm, melody and harmony in chess and music and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 141, I converse with Inna Agrest, who is an IT Project Manager at Grenke Bank in Germany. She is also a member of the Swedish National Team, for which she has competed in 6 Olympiads. She recently was the captain of the 1st place team in the 1st FIDE World Corporate Championships. 

We speak about the importance of Women's tournaments, applications of chess in IT, her upbringing with a Grandmaster father and Women's International Master mother, her Belarussian background, chess sponsorship, her recent championship experience and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 140, I converse with Alisa Melekhina, who  is a FIDE Master and is currently a corporate litigator practicing in New York City. She has consistently ranked among the top ten female chess players in the country and has been a perennial member of the national team. Alisa won a gold medal representing the United States in the World Team Championships held in Ningbo, China in 2009.

We speak about the relationship of chess and dance, the development of a chess player, ways to inspire more women chess players, transferrable skills from chess to law, work-life balance,  the New York Corporate Chess League, team-building through chess, her book "Reality Check", collegiate chess, the upcoming All-Ivy Invitational and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 139, I converse with Jacob Fortuna, a chess streamer. He is also a systems analyst at Auto-Owners Insurance, where he creates desktop applications with SQL server back ends using WPF and Visual Studio to automate actuarial solutions. 

We chat about the applications of chess in software engineering, the value of Twitch, the global chess community, Chess PR and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

Hanon Russell is the founder of Russell Enterprises, which has been publishing fine chess books for over three decades. With comprehensive international distribution, REI books are offered by both local book sellers and major book chains worldwide.

We speak about his former legal career and the applications of chess in litigation,  the influence of Bobby Fischer, a revealing of Former US Chess Federation president Ed Edmonson, the elements of a publishable book, tips for new authors and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

Peter Geeraerts is the Managing Director-CoChess at Play Magnus, a fast growing scale-up focused on chess, and is listed on the Merkur Market. CoChess is a start-up subsidiary of Play Magnus, providing an electronic marketplace to connect chess coaches with students.

Peter hails from Ghent, Belgium and is a Customer and sales oriented executive/CEO with proven track record in change management, turnarounds and growth. He has advised several startups and previously did enterprise sales for major corporations like Alcatel-Lucent. 

We speak about  the restaurants in Belgium, business applications in chess, the development of CoChess and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

 Misha Rubin provides transformational career programs which are designed for people to discover careers that bring a sense of meaning, fulfillment, and abundance. He spent over 20 years in corporate America; in his last position as a partner at Ernst & Young, he guided hundreds of careers. Find more about his services here. 

We speak about leaving Corporate America, his signature Career Leap program, impact of chess on careers and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 135, I converse with Linda Brenner, the Founder of Talent Growth Advisors. She spent the early part of her career in a variety of operations and talent management roles.  She worked in a variety of positions at The Gap, Pepsi and Home Depot. Learn more about her company, which leads finance, talent acquisition and talent management at Fortune 500 companies, including Home Depot, Coca-Cola and Revlon, here.

We speak about the art of finding one's passion, learning from the past, major types of HR projects, corporate recruitment, employee retention, the relationship of chess and HR and more. 

Send us Fan Mail