Two-time US Women’s Chess Champion Jennifer Shahade hosts the official podcast of US Chess Women, where she interviews female chess champions and leaders.
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Luciana Morales LK046
Sep 27, 2022
Show notes
Jennifer welcomes Women’s International Master Luciana Morales to Ladies Knight. Luciana is a three-time Continental Champion, the first Peruvian woman to qualify for the Women’s World Champs and an Olympian captain and player.
Now hailing from Brownsville, Texas, Luciana works for chessable, where she was recently promoted to Classroom Manager. She goes by “Mom’s Gambit” on social media, where she explores balancing her passion for chess for her new role as a mother.
Jennifer and Luciana talk about her origin story in chess, and what it was like to be the first girl to win the absolute section in the Lima city Youth Championships. She also compares her college experience in Texas vs. Peru and the new chessable course she is working on about the games of the first five Women’s World Champions.
Luciana is a passionate advocate for empowering youth and bringing more girls and women into the game. Bringing this vision to life has taken her all over the World from Mexico to Spain to the US Chess Girls Club in Memphis, TN.
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Tatia Skhirtladze LK045
Aug 19, 2022
Show notes
Jennifer welcomes Tatia Skhirtladze to Ladies Knight. Skhirtladze is the director and producer of “Glory to the Queen”, a documentary film exploring the outstanding success of Georgian women in chess, focused on four legends of the game: Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Nana Ioselaini and Nana Alexandria.
Jennifer and Tatia speak about highlights from her film, Tatia’s own first encounter with Chiburdanidze, and the impact of the Queen’s Gambit.
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tatia now teaches video art at the University of Appiled Arts in Vienna. She will be in the USA in September, and we’ll update this article with any confirmed appearances, which now include a lecture at Harvard University.
You can purchase and watch the movie on numerous venues, including Apple, amazon and vimeo.
Ladies Knight Q&A with Jen Shahade LK044
Jul 22, 2022
Show notes
In a special episode of Ladies Knight, Jennifer Shahade takes on listener questions, ranging from a member of her girls chess club who struggles with closing winning positions, to previous guest Laura Smith on how Jennifer would approach a return to professional chess. She also answers a question from podcaster Daniel Lona who asks about some of her favorite interactions inspired by CHESS QUEENS, and a number of questions that emerged from her social media channels.
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Yosha Iglesias LK043
Jun 22, 2022
Show notes
Jennifer is joined by Yosha Iglesias, a multi-talented chess professional: a FIDE Master, composer, coach and YouTuber. She also works for chess24, and is among the top ten female players in France, (ranked #9 in June 2022).
Jennifer and Yosha speak about how the Eureka moment of solving a chess problem can be similar to a Eureka moment in life—and how this manifested for Yosha in finding her gender identity.
They also discuss Yosha’s own chess compositions, including this surprisingly difficult mate in one:
On her blog, Iglesias writes about why it’s important for chess organizations to have trans inclusive policies. (See US Chess’s policy here.) A deep thinker about gender, theory and the game, Yosha points out that, “If men and women have equal abilities for the game of chess, the so-called female category is justified by the numerous additional difficulties and discriminations that the players underdog because of their gender. And believe me, trans players are no more spared than other players.”
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Jessica Era Martin LK042
May 18, 2022
Show notes
Jennifer interviews author, chess coach as well as a longtime friend of Jen’s, Jessica Era Martin, to Ladies Knight. Jessica is the founder of Over the ChessBoard, a coaching organization dedicated to bringing chess everyone. A published poet and frequent contributor to chesskid, she’s also the author of several books, including two 2022 titles, Chess Strategy for Beginners (out now!) and Chess Openings for Beginners (June).
Jennifer and Jessica discuss the origin of her middle name ERA, the importance of inclusion in chess books, and favorite openings. They also touch on how to bring and keep more girls into the game, and the importance of creating a safe and welcoming environment for girls, women and the LGTBQ+ community.
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade on the Road, ft. CHESS QUEENS LK041
Apr 19, 2022
Show notes
In this special episode of Ladies Knight, host Jennifer Shahade invites you to join her on the road, starting with her Chess Queens book launch in London, where she visited a girls school called Sarah Bonnell, a women’s group called the “Trouble Club”, and our friends at the London Chess & Bridge Shop. She moves on to an historic simultaneous match conducted by the top female player of all time, Judit Polgar, where Jennifer was captain of the girls club. Then Jennifer takes us down to Memphis for the High School National Championships, where she hosted the US Chess girls club, along with a bevy of inspiring guests. She concludes the episode with a visit to the World Chess Hall of Fame, where she and her husband Daniel Meirom, showed two of their feminist chess art pieces in the current show, Mind, Art and Experience, which celebrates the tenth anniversary of the HOF’s move from Miami to Saint Louis.
PHOTO COURTESY LONDON CHESS & BRIDGE SHOPSARAH BONNELL SCHOOLPHOTO BY CAROLINE KING FOR USCHESSJEN AT THE TROUBLE CLUBSARAH BONNELL SCHOOLPHOTO BY CAROLINE KING FOR USCHESSJEN AT THE WORLD CHESS HOFPHOTO COURTESY LONDON CHESS & BRIDGE SHOP
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Anastasiya Rakhmangulova LK040
Mar 23, 2022
Show notes
Jennifer welcomes Women’s International Master and former Ukrainian Champion Anastasiya Rakhmangulova to Ladies Knight. Jennifer first heard about Anastasia, who goes by “Nastia”, in the 2020 Isolated Queens tournament, an online event that Jen hosted with Alexandra Botez at the start of the pandemic. Almost two years later, Nastia began to update her Instagram followers on the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 24th. This began with a harrowing week long stay in a Kyiv bomb shelter and then her subsequent escape to the Czech Republic. Ever since, Anastasia has been connecting and fundraising urgentlyand incessantly to help friends, family and members of service in Ukraine.
Jen and Nastia also touch on lighter topics, such as her favorite chessplayers, books, and future chess goals.
Jennifer Shahade is the Director of US Chess Women and the author of Chess Queens, now availableand in stock at US Chess Sales.
Photo by Lennart Ootes
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Martha Fierro LK039
Feb 16, 2022
Show notes
Jennifer Shahade welcomes a chess champion, friend and leader to Ladies Knight: Martha Fierro of Ecuador. Martha is a woman with many titles: she’s a FIDE Vice President, an International Master, a Women’s Grandmaster, International Organizer and a two-time Olympic medalist. She’s also one of Jennifer’s earliest inspirations: Jennifer first met Martha at a small tournament in Washington DC. Jennifer was not yet a championship player, and was in one of the reserve sections: Martha, who was already a master player, still went out of her way to mentor Jennifer.
Martha is one of the most respected sportspeople in her country, and was once elected as sportsperson of the year for her many victories in Pan-American Championships, as well as her international successes. The founder and head trainer of the Martha Fierro International Chess Academy, her new initiative, the “Ajedrez En Tu Barrio” program, brings chess to children in underserved neighborhoods in Ecuador.
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Ella Papanek LK038
Jan 19, 2022
Show notes
US Chess expert and quant sports trader Ella Papanek joins Jennifer Shahade on Ladies Knight for a fascinating discussion. A recent graduate of Harvard University, Ella works at the Susquehana International Group (SIG), a global quantitative trading firm in the Philly area. Her interests span from chess to poker to sports, and of course- statistics, her major at Harvard.
Jen and Ella’s wide-ranging discussion touches on rating distribution and gender, evaluating chess positions from a human perspective, and the Philadelphia Sixers.
Ladies Knight with Jen Shahade ft. Rusudan Goletiani LK037
Dec 22, 2021
Show notes
Jennifer welcomes International Master Rusudan Goletiani to Ladies Knight. Goletiani is a three-time World Youth Champion, a two-time Olympic medalist and a former US Women’s Champion- she took Jennifer’s title in 2005! Rusudan recently gave a riveting presentation in the girls club at the K-12 Nationals in Orlando, Florida, about the struggles she encountered on the way to her successful life and career. In 1992, Rusa fled her region of Georgia, Abkhazia, due to war. She explains the dramatic story to Jennifer in the podcast, revealing the most terrifying moments of her life during her escape, as well as the most relieving.
Rusa and Jen also discuss the legendary Georgian champions that inspired her as a youngster, including Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Nana Ioseliani and Nana Alexandria. All four were featured in the documentary “Glory to the Queen.” They wrap up with a discussion on the importance of confidence and girls and chess. Beyond her chess accomplishments, Rusudan is a mom of three, a Columbia University business grad, and currently works in finance.
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