Premier Chess: Conquer the Game; Master Your Life

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 258, I converse with Life Master Eugene Salomon , Author of "Sweet Memories: Family, Friends, Chess, and Sugar” . Eugene is a 95 years-young, successful businessman, who has been playing chess for 80 years! He was born in Spain in 1928 and has been married to Bea, his Brooklyn angel, for sixty-two years. He was among the best chess players in Spain and Cuba in the...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 257, I have the pleasure and honor of conversing with Grandmaster Jesse Kraai, Co-Founder of ChessDojo . GM Kraai has been playing and teaching chess since before you were born. Playing in seven US championships helped him elevate his game to GM in 2007 . He won the Denker tournament of High School Champions in 1989 and 1990 and the Irwin tournament of Senior Champions...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 256, I converse with my long-term friend National Master Todd Bryant, Software Engineer at Chess.com , who I first met at the 2006 Eastern Open in Washington, DC . In addition to programming at Chess.com , Todd enjoys playing lots of speed chess , studying openings, continuously improving, staying in shape through CrossFit and spending time with Lisa Cunningham, his wif...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 255, I have the pleasure of conversing with Women Candidate Master Alexandra Prado , who has been playing chess since she was a little girl in Bolivia, and competed on their National Team. She now lives in France and travels around the world, making chess content while she goes! We speak about the chess scene in Bolivia, her move to France, home of our 230th Podcast Gra...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 254, I have the pleasure of conversing with my cousin Dr. Jake Rabinowitz, Founder of Smart Eats . Dr. Jake Rabinowitz has PhD in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University (2020). He is the founder of Smart Eats, which offers solutions built upon decades of developing and delivering nutrition-based therapies. It's team of doctors brings expertise in nutrition...

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 De...

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...

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 Ch...

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...

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 Pass...

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 an...

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 s...

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 Park...

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...

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. 

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 243, I have the honor of conversing with Grandmaster John Emms, World Senior Team Champion and Prolific Author . In addition to tying for first in the English Championship in 1997, John was the captain of 2002 English Oympiad team. He has written over 40 chess books. We speak about my book recommendations for his Attacking with 1.E4 and Survival Guide to Rook Endings ,...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 242, I converse with Lorraine Novack, the Regional Director of our partner DOROT Westchester.  DOROT has been a leading provider of social services to older adults for 45 years. To achieve its mission of alleviating social isolation among older adults, DOROT’s staff and trained volunteers ensure that 6,200+ older adults throughout Manhattan and Westchester are socially...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 241, I converse with International Master Yaacov Norowitz , who has taught chess for 20+ years. He learned chess from our Westchester Instructor and 180th Podcast Guest Dr. Richard Lewis and Grandmaster Roman Dzindzichashvili . He won first place in the 2003 Jerusalem Championship. In 2013, Yaacov achieved norms in the Philadelphia World Open, Bahamas Open and Reykjavik...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 240, I have the pleasure of conversing with Greg Giusti, President, Chessable & Train @ Chess.com.  I met Greg through Meetup CEO David Siegel , who I met at a JICNY networking event, hosted by our 79th Podcast Guest Jodi Samuels .  We speak about his experience playing on the Saint Francis Prep Chess Team , Meetup's partnership with Play Magnus Group , the ben...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 239, I converse with John Hartmann, Chess Life/Chess Life Online Editor . John became editor of Chess Life in February 2019 and has been writing for the magazine as a freelancer since 2013. Before working for US Chess, he brewed coffee for fun and profit, and taught philosophy at two universities as a PHD candidate. We speak about the My Best Move article I wrote for th...

Send us Fan Mail In Podcast Episode 238 with International Master Rusudan Goletiani, 2005 US Women's Champion and  Foreign Exchange Trader at BlackRock . Rusudan Goletiani is a Georgian-American chess player with the FIDE titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She is the 2005 U.S. Women's Champion. She is the Co-Founder of the Westchester Chess Academy . We speak about the...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 237, I converse with Michelle Nedelec, Founder of Awareness Strategies . She helps entrepreneurs fufill their dreams by strategizing  and systemizing revenue growth through  sales and marketing . She is also the Host of Business Ownership Podcast . We speak about top tips for new entrepreneurs, common mistakes , marketing technology, stages of business development , val...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 236, I converse with Robert Kern, Counsel at Masur . Robert Kern focuses his practice on corporate and commercial transactions. His practice includes: Startups, joint ventures, venture capital and private equity financing Mergers and acquisitions The formation, structuring and governance of business entities Outside general counsel services and commercial and contract m...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 235, I converse with Richard C. Schoenstein, Partner, Vice-Chair of Litigation and Co-Chair of Securities and Financial Services Litigation Group at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP . Drawing on 30 years’ experience navigating corporate and employment disputes, Rich has represented a wide range of clients — including sole proprietors, emerging companies, public corporati...

Send us Fan Mail For a Thanksgiving special, in Episode 234, I have the pleasure of conversing with my dear friend, mentor and marriage officiant Rabbi Levi Welton . Loyal listeners may remember his first apperance on Podcast in Episode 66 with Reverend Gregory Livingston .  Rabbi Welton is passionate about sharing the values of Torah with a global audience. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, h...