Premier Chess: Conquer the Game; Master Your Life

Send us Fan Mail

In Podcast Episode 253, I have the pleasure of conversing with National Expert Steve Hrop, Executive Coach. Steve has his Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology from The University of Akron. For many years, he has trained executives at Fortune 500 companies, including Prudential Financial, ADP and Asbury Automative Group, and smaller companies.

He wrote the book Defending Under Pressure: Managing Emotions at the Chess Board, in which he uses critical moments from his own tournament games (most of them against players rated above 2200) to describe the difficulties of thinking straight when the enemy is at the gates, and then outlines methods and techniques to clear your head, evaluate the position, and find your way to the best move.

We speak about the influence of the 1972 Fischer- Spassky match, discipline, the reasons he has never played an online game, the danger of addiction in chess, teambuilding, emotional self management, prophylactic thinking, consistency against lower rated players, peak performance and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 252, I have the pleaure of conversing with National Expert Pranav Shankar and his father Shankar Iyer, Client Partner at Citigroup. I met Pranav last month when he spoke on an Autism Awareness Month panel at the Marshall Chess Club.  I was inspired by his perserverance, becoming a strong expert and likely future master, despite his challenges growing up with autism.

We speak about book recommendations, philosophy of ratings, positional understanding, logic vs. emotion, confidence, chess therapy for autism, over the board chess, lessons from our 75th Podcast Guest Grandmaster Alex Lenderman and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Podcast Episode 251 , I have the pleasure of convsersing with Aiden Rayner, Founder of Don't Move Until You See it, who hails from Melbourne, Australia. 

Don't Move Until You See It is a revolutionary new way to train chess, used by players from beginner up to master level! The core of Don't Move is "Training visualization FIRST makes everything else in Chess 100x easier to learn." Learn more about the tool in this blog post.  Get a complimentary 5-day visualization course here.

We speak about the art of learning, PogChamps, The Queen's Gambit, blindfold chess, whys, teamwork, his love for our 230th Podcast Episode with Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, World Blitz Champion and Seventh-Highest Rated Player in History, seconds and more. 
 

Send us Fan Mail

In our milestone 250th Episode, I have the pleasure of conversing with GM Vinay Bhat, VP, Data at Fuzzy Pet Health. Before completing a Graduate Certificate in Data Mining and Applications, Statistics at Stanford University and starting a career in data science, he was a prodigy. At 10 years and 176 days old, Bhat became the youngest national master at the time. At the age of 15 years and 10 months, Bhat became an International Master, at the time the youngest ever in U.S. history. In 2008, the same year he became a Samford Fellow, he made grandmaster.

We speak about chess growth vs. career, confidence, imrpovement tips, gambits, opening repertoire, draw offers, philosophy of ratings, problem solving in chess and data science, coaching Grandmaster Sam Shankland,  advice from Grandmaster Bill Lombardy, his new book How I Became a Grandmaster and more. Check out book on Foward Chess here. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 249, I have the pleasure of conversing with Gary Ryan, who teaches chess, does copywriting, acts as a chaplain, etc. He has a Masters of Divinity in Pratical Theology from Wesley Biblical Seminary, a Masters of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies from University of Mississippi and a Master of Theology from Harvard Divinity School.

We speak about insights on Passover and Easter, The Holy Grail, masters at the Chess Forum, guidance from the late Grandmaster Bill Lombardy, working with Fabiano Caruana as a kindergartener, book recommendations, game analysis, the full stack approach to chess improvement, the lack of PR for the upcoming Nepomniachtchi- Ding World Championship match and more.
 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 248, I have the pleasure of conversing with Jon Edwards, the 32nd World Correspondence Chess Champion. Jon started playing correspondence chess via the International Correspondence Chess Federation in 1995, and became an ICCF Grandmaster in 2022. In over-the-board play, he is a National Expert.

Outside of the chess board, Jon has an exentsive background in academia and Information Technology.  He has an AB in History from Princeton University and a PhD in African Economic History from Michigan State University. He worked for many years, assisting in the management of a $25M budget and a staff of 260 as the Coordinator of Institutional Communication and Outreach at Princeton University. He also served as the Mayor of Hopewell Township, NJ in 2002.

We speak about a comparison of correspondence chess and over-the board play, inspiration for more women to play chess, the Niemann-Carlsen drama, solving chess, opening preparation, reverse engineering and more. 

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 247, I have the pleasure of conversing with Sarathi Ray, President of the Marshall Chess Club and Counsel at Lewis & Munday, P.C. Sarathi has a BA in Sociology from the University of Connecticut and a JD from University of Miami School of Law.

By day, Sarathi serves as bond counsel and underwriters' counsel in a variety of public finance transactions.

He also serves as the President of the world famous Marshall Chess Club, which Frank Marshall founded in 1915. The club on West 10th street in Greenwich Village hosts lots of competitive tournaments for players of all skill levels, lectures, social events and more.

We speak about tax exempt bonds, the intersection of chess and litigation, the UCONN Chess club,  kids versus adults in chess, chess therapy for autism, inspiration for women to play chess, improvement tips and more.  

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 246, I converse with Fabio Botarelli, Founder & President Of Chessability NYC. I have known Fabio most of my life as we were both members of Woman International Master Shernaz Kennedy's Churchill School chess team. He has always been a great friend, teammate and amiable competitor.

Chessability NYC specialises in special education schools, including The Parkside School, the Windward School and Aaron School.

We speak about chess versus checkers, overcoming learning disabilities, impulse control, handling defeat, teamwork, the art of learning, improvement tips, puzzles, opening repertoire, confidence, influence of the Queen's Gambit, encouragement to go out and play and more.

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 245, I have the pleasure of conversing with Amanda Rae Hambrick Ashcraft, Founder of Raising Imagination, which examines cultural, political, and social issues through the lenses of imagination to generate ideas, conversations, and actions that span ideological differences to inspire activism, empathy, and progressive change in our children, communities, and the world at large. She also serves as the Consulting Community Minister at Middle Church in the East Village.

We speak about  Women's History Month, rallies, the value of chess, gender norms, racial questions, inspiration from the Queen's Gambit, Women's empowerment, and more.  

Send us Fan Mail

In Episode 244, I have the pleasure of conversing with National Expert Amir Moazami, Founder of Rookly, a platform for online lessons. Amir started playing chess with Gregory Cesar at the Horace Mann School in Kindergarten. He has a BA from Cornell University.

We speak about competitive chess, tips for improvement, school programs, national championships and more.