Premier Chess: Conquer the Game; Master Your Life

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 208, I converse with M. Quentin Williams, Founder and CEO at Dedication to Community (D2C) , the national nonprofit he established in 2012. D2C delivers skills-building workshops and ongoing forums to improve understanding and build relationships in communities through healing, reconciliation and unity. D2C experts work with government agencies and the private sector on...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 207, I converse with FIDE Master Todd Andrews, Executive Director at The Nashville Chess Center . At the age 16, Todd became a National Master and member of the United States Olympic Youth team. At the age of 18, Todd became a FIDE Master and was invited to participate in the United States Junior Championship. Todd is a 10-time Tennessee State Champion and 10-time Nashv...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 206,  I converse with Episode 206 with Nicole Hamilton, Dean of Faculty at Wardlaw+ Hartridge, one of our clients . Formerly, she was Associate Head of School at Franklin School , which opened in the fall of 2022 in Jersey City.  Nicole Hamilton has two decades of exceptional teaching, technology, and leadership experience to Franklin. She also served as Head of the Mat...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 205, I converse with Jackie Botelho, Founder of ABCVIP ,  a well-known Hospitality and Event Agency, which is the concierge for 6000+ rooms across ten hotels in Manhattan and helps countless travelers and corporate clients have once-in-a-lifetime VIP experiences.  We speak about dollars vs dreams, productivity during COVID-19, events post COVID-19, interactive activitie...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 204, I converse with Rachel Herman, Executive Director of Paws NY . She has worked in the nonprofit sector for 15 years, and prior to transitioning to PAWS NY full-time in January 2012, she worked in Development at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). During her time at PAWS NY,  Rachel has been named “New Yorker of the Week” by NY1, “H...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 203, I converse with Grandmaster Mackenzie Molner, a long-term friend and colleague and the Founder of Grandmaster Mac .  Molner won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions as a sophomore in 2004. He completed his final grandmaster norm in 2013, tying for first in the U.S. Open Chess Championship , held near Madison, Wisconsin that year. He co-founded the Montcla...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 202, I converse with Grandmaster James Plaskett, Former British Chess Champion , a strong player, author and  Who Wants to be a Millioniare? winner , live from the 2022 National After-School Association Convention  in Las Vegas. He recently published a new book Bread and The Circus about his experience playing on the show. We speak about his development as a chess playe...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 201, I converse with Davina Chebin, CEO of Divine Healing by D , Certified Reiki Master, Medical Intuitive & Spiritual Coach, and CMO at Almaz Investments. Davina has her BA in English Literature from Pace University . We speak about the real estate hustle , time management , the importance of self-care , delegation, an introduction to reiki , mindfulness ' eff...

Send us Fan Mail In our Milestone 200th Episode, I have the honor and privilege of conversing with the " Chess Gladiator " FIDE Master Asa Hoffmann. He is known as "the sparring partner of champions, with a peak regular rating of 2471. He was portrayed in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer by actor Austin Pendleton .  He recently published his autobiography The Last Gamesman: My...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 199, I converse with National Expert Chris Johnson , Founder of Project Pawn , Instructor at Success Academy and Real Estate Broker at Coldwell Banker Realty . Project Pawn LLC is an organization that uses chess as a tool to sharpen minds. He has taught chess since 2000 and has taught hundreds of kids. He does sales and rentals in Manhattan and the Bronx. We speak up th...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 198, I converse with FIDE Master Carsten Hansen , Columnist at Chess Life Magazine ,  Seafreight Route Development Manager, UK & Ireland at Kuehne + Nagel , Columnist/Book Reviewer at American Chess Magazine. Learn more about his 37 books and career here . We speak about curiosity as a motivation, brainstorming for boooks, a preview of his upcoming Norwegian Rat boo...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 197, I have the pleasure of conversing with Grandmaster Joel Benjamin and Expert Harold Scott, authors of Winning the World Open . Joel Benjamin won the US Championship three times and happens to be the player with the most World Open first places: six! He is a very successful author of books on chess. His Liquidation on the Chess Board won the Best Book Award of the Ch...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 196, I converse with David Lazarus, Chess Coach at Millburn Short Hills School District , live from the United States Amateur Team East in Parsippany. Prior to teaching chess, David worked as a programmer at Toys R Us , Union County College and elsewhere.  We speak about annual fun at the Amatuer Team East, his friendship with our 180th podcast guest Dr. Richard Lewis ,...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 195, I converse with National Master Dan Heisman , who is an award-winning chess author and  full-time chess instructor in Wynnewood PA. He is also a FIDE Candidate Master. We discuss teaching chess to 1000+ students globally, virtually, his tutelage of Howard Stern , transferable skills from chess to engineering, studying with International Master Donald Byrne , chess...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 194, I converse with Dmitri Shneider, Chief  Financial Officer at Play Magnus Group , which is a leader in the chess industry  and a publicly traded company. PMG is the  parent company of Chessable, chess24, New In Chess, iChess, AimChess, Everyman Chess, CoChess, and the Play Magnus suite of apps. It is also the organizer of the widely followed  Meltwater Champions Che...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 193, I converse with Chloe Godin, Licensed Real Estate Broker with The Agency . Chloe maintains dual Swiss-U.S. citizenship and has extensive experience living in the UK, Belgium and France. This unique international sensibility combined with a deep knowledge of local real estate makes Chloe a valuable resource for foreign investors in addition to local buyers and selle...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 192, I converse with National Master Josh Sinanan, President of the Washington Chess Federation .  He is on the board of other chess nonprofits, including Chess Mates Foundation , Northwest Chess Foundation , and Chess Enrichment Association , and  teaches after-school chess classes in about 10 different Seattle-area schools. We speak about the Seattle chess scene, moti...

Send us Fan Mail In Podcast Episode 191, I have the pleasure and honor of conversing with Grandmaster Pascal Charbonneau, CFA . He is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Vazirani Asset Management, LLC , a hedge fund focused on special situations and event driven trading. He is also the founder of GM Pascal Advisory, which offers separately managed accounts to qualified investors. He is also a Chess Gran...

Send us Fan Mail In Podcast Episode 190, I converse with Candidate Master Brian Karen , who is ranked within the top 3% of tournament chess players by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and Federation Internationale Des Échecs (FIDE). Brian has had to demonstrate exceptional instincts at motivating, relating to, and teaching children chess in order to succeed as a chess coach. Brian has bee...

Send us Fan Mail In Podcast Episode 189,  have the privilege of conversing with Candidate Master Danilo Cuellar , who teaches a lot of our virtual programs and in-person classes in Rockland County and New Jersey.  He has been has been playing chess and teaching in Rockland County, Westchester and New Jersey for 20+ years. Danilo tied for 1st in the 1997 New York State Open Class "B" divi...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 188, I converse with Andrej Milic, Esq United States Immigration Attorney at Santana Rodriguez Law P.A . He represents foreign clients in affirmative petitions with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”), as well as provides direct representation at interviews and in deportation proceedings before the U.S. Immigration Courts. His firm handles Family-based...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 187, I converse with Joe Apfelbaum,  CEO & Founder of Ajax Union A B2B Digital Marketing Agency .  The agency's team of experts help B2B businesses with SEM, SEO, Social Media, Email Marketing, Conversion Optimization, Marketing Automation, Business Blogging, Marketing Funnel Development, Design and Development and more. We speak about the importance of strateg...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 186, I converse with Rabbi Mendy Brukirer, Director of Outreach at Olami Manhattan . Olami Manhattan, formerly known as Meor Manhattan, has been building and cultivating a vibrant community of Jewish young professionals that is changing Jewish life in the heart of New York City, and is moving the needle for the future of the Jewish people. Growing up in the New York are...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 185, I converse with David Shriner-Cahn, Host of Smashing the Plateau and Founder of the Smashing the Plateau Community. He hosts two podcasts to help you build your consulting business following a late career job loss, so that you can do what you love and get paid what you're worth: • Smashing the Plateau -- growing your consulting business • Going Solo -- launchi...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 184, I converse with Dr. Nava Silton , a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Marymount Manhattan College . Nava has written over three dozen peer-reviewed journal articles, over twenty chapters, book reviews and encyclopedia entries, and has edited six full textbooks, in addition to the comic series "Real Abilities". She produced the chi...