The Chess Lounge

Streamer, coach and chess master SimplyDevina aka Women Fide Master Devina Devagharan steps into The Chess Lounge this week for a leisurely chat about her career. Summer and Elaynah discuss the intricacies of her unique tournaments, growing up as a dedicated chess student, coaching styles, learning judo, make up & self care tips, mental health and much more! Don't miss Devina talk about her podcast, Honest Vibes Only, where she is open about the family struggles she experienced. 

The streaming duo Ben & Karen come into The Chess Lounge with two big intentions: roasting the chess world and getting canceled. Ok, that's just the bonus. Ben Finegold is a Grandmaster with a depth of wisdom and a dry humor with his wife Karen brings a fun balance to their streams. In this episode we talk about a wide range of topics from Ben & Karen's early chess life, playing poker and the crossover between the games, what it was like in the 80s, Hans Niemann, Kramnik going crazy, different play styles, how to get bad at chess and more. 

The chess world has been shaken up by a big lawsuit that was recently filed by WGM Jennifer Shahade against US Chess. Shahade blew the whistle in early 2023 on a top Grandmaster that was abusing women and girls and helped to push him out of US Chess. Elaynah & Dylan briefly introduce the lawsuit and present an interview that Dylan did in August of 2023 with Shahade. She talks about her life, growing up in a chess family, winning the US Women's Championship, becoming an author, her books and much more! 

This week in The Chess Lounge, Dr. Cassidy R Sugimoto introduces her book, Equity for Women in Science and discusses how these lessons can apply to the chess world. She relates the shocking information that many disciplines in sciences have not reached gender parity which means that we are still far away from equity for women in science. Elaynah and Dylan look for lessons on how to apply this important work to the gender imbalance in the chess world. This fascinating conversation has many lessons to learn from history, funding, institutional changes needed, whether women's titles are useful, and many more topics.

A special midweek bonus Chess Lounge episode brings you a side event of the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament in Toronto, CAN. Summer showed her film King Chess followed by talk with streamer Nemo (WGM Qiyu Zhou), former Women's World Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and 5x World Champion Viswanathan Anand. They raised funds for the Sickkids Hospital in Toronto. Topics discussed were what got Kosteniuk and Vishy into chess, modern chess and engines, the rise of Indian chess, Women's Candidates, chess 960, the elo gap between men and women, and many other topics! 

This week in the Lounge, Elaynah and Summer talk to a podcasting legend, National Master Ben Johnson from the Perpetual Chess Podcast! They talk about his show, creating 450 episodes, chess tactics, getting good, growing in New Jersey with the Shahades, networking in New York City, rock climbing, skateboarding, poker and more. Sit back, relax and see what it takes to be a top content creator in the chess world!

Episode Rating: ALL AGES (The Chess Lounge is for 13+ so parental discretion is advised)

The Chess Sharkz step into the lounge for an absolutely RAUCOUS episode that explores the comedic and serious of the chess world. The Chess Sharkz are a twitch streaming duo comprised of GM Kayden Troff and reality star Tony Padron. Topics discussed are the differences between EU & American tournaments, Kayden & Tony's Background, One big Secret Kayden has, Tony's experience of being Mexican in Utah, the formation of the ChessSharkz, The Charlotte Chess Center, and much more! 

Episode Rating: ALL AGES (The Chess Lounge is for 13+ so parental discretion is advised)