This monthly podcast, hosted by Chess Life and Chess Life Online Editor John Hartmann, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #22: Jamaal Abdul-Alim
The January edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month we talk to Jamaal Abdul-Alim about his cover story on WGM Jennifer Yu. Don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s cover story will be about the possibility of bringing back adjournments to tournament chess. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #21: Al Lawrence
The December 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month we talk to Al Lawrence (our first four-time guest!) about his cover story on the 80th anniversary of US Chess. Don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s cover story will be about our U.S. Women's Champion Jennifer Yu, and our guest will be the article's author, Jamal Abdul-Alim. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #20: GM Joel Benjamin
The November 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month we talk to GM Joel Benjamin about his remembrance of GM Pal Benko, who died in August 2019 at the age of 91. We discuss his personal memories of Pal and go into more detail about the Benko Gambit. Don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s cover story will be about our 80th Anniversary of US Chess. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #19: IM Kostya Kavutskiy
The October 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month we talk to IM Kostya Kavutskiy about his cover story on IM Christopher Yoo, America's latest, youngest, IM. IM Kavutskiy is a professional chess author, journalist, coach, commentator, and player. He's written a number of articles for CLO, Chess Life, and other chess publications. He currently resides in Mountain View, CA, and his plans are to pursue the GM title while working actively as a coach. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s Chess Life cover story will be our remembrance of GM Pal Benko. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #18: GM Joel Benjamin
The September 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month we talk to GM Joel Benjamin about senior chess: Both his cover story on the U.S. Senior Championship and his companion piece on the World Senior Team where the U.S. players successfully defended their gold medal. Make sure to listen to Joel's quick impression of all of his fellow U.S. Senior competitors! When we hit Benjamin with the following trivia question, does he get the answer right? "You were the first person to do this in Chess Life; what was it?" And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s Chess Life cover story will be the story of Christopher Yoo, our youngest international master and we’ll be talking to IM Kostya Kavutskiy. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #17: Bruce Pandolfini
The August 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month, we talk to Bruce Pandolfini about the August Chess Life 2019 spring nationals cover story. Pandolfini, who has been a Chess Life columnist for over 40 years, describes this year's event, reminisces about past events, and talks about the many books he has authored. During the podcast, Pandolfini mentions a puzzle he uses: How many knights can be placed on a chessboard in such a way that none attack the other? ANSWER SPOILER ALERT: The answer is 32, since as long as all the knights are placed on all of the dark squares or all of the light squares, no other knight will be attacked by a knight. When a knight moves, it always moves to an opposite-color square. “The Skittles Room” is our monthly segment in which we talk to people doing something interesting or of note within US Chess. This month we talk to Chief Editor Tim Just about the release of the US Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess, 7th Edition. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s Chess Life cover story will be the U.S. Senior Championship and we’ll be talking to GM Joel Benjamin. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #16: GM Sam Shankland
The July 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month, we talk to GM Sam Shankland about the July Chess Life 2019 U.S. Championship cover story. The defending champ penned a personal perspective of the event from Saint Louis. “The Skittles Room” is our monthly segment in which we talk to people doing something interesting or of note within US Chess. This month we talk to Pete Karagianis, the Assistant Director of Events for US Chess and the host of our Chess Underground podcast which drops on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Pete and I discuss the upcoming U.S. Open which will be held in Orlando, Florida this August 3-11. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s Chess Life cover story will be the spring scholastic national championships and we’ll be talking to the legendary Bruce Pandolfini. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #15: Steve Doyle
The June 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month, we talk to Steve Doyle about the June Chess Life cover story on the USAT East by Al Lawrence. Doyle has been the long-time organizer of the most popular event on the US Chess calendar outside of our scholastic national championships. Doyle was the youngest ever president of US Chess in the 1980s and has recently retired from Aetna, now serving as the Mayor of Island Heights, New Jersey. “The Skittles Room” is our monthly segment in which we talk to people doing something interesting or of note within US Chess. This month we talk to Ken Ballou, the chair of the US Chess Elections Committee, about our current Executive Board election. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month's Chess Life cover story will be the U.S. Championship and we'll be talking to GM Sam Shankland. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. Make sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Cover Stories with Chess Life #14: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan
The May 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes of each month’s Chess Life cover story. This month, we talk to WGM Tatev Abrahamyan about the her May Chess Life cover story on the inaugural Cairns Cup at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Tatev is also famous in the chess world for her love of penguins, so we surprise her with a penguin trivia quiz! Will she get 50% of the questions right to win a $50 gift certificate to US Chess Federation Sales for one of our loyal listeners? As the May issue is a special Women's issue, we also spend a lot of time talking about women in chess both nationally and internationally. “The Skittles Room” is our monthly segment in which we talk to people doing something interesting or of note within US Chess. This month we talk to our Creative Director Frankie Butler about the special work she did for this issue as well as the Women's Program logo she designed. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month Chess Life cover story will be the USAT East and we'll be talking to Steve Doyle. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #13: GM Robert Hess
The April 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Luc This month, we talk to GM Robert Hess, our "In the Arena" columnist and the author of this month's cover story about Hikaru Nakamura's Grand Chess Tour triumph. Hess is also a popular online commentator and Twitch streamer. “The Skittles Room” is our monthly segment in which we talk to people doing something interesting or of note within US Chess. Natasha Roberts, our Creative Content Coordinator at US Chess, talks about the changes she has implemented in Chess Life Kids magazine. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month Chess Life will be releasing a special issued devoted to Women's Chess. Send in your questions now about this topic or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy. as, goes in depth and behind the scenes for each month’s cover story.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #12: Al Lawrence
The March 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes for each month’s cover story. This month, we talk to Al Lawrence, our first three-time guest. Al wrote our profile of the new--and first--Dean of Scholastic Chess, Dewain Barber. New this month: "The Skittles Room," in which we talk to people doing something interesting or of note within US Chess. (Missing “Checking in with Jen”? Listen to our new Women's Program Director's podcast "Ladies Knight"!) For this initial segment, Lucas talks to our new Digital Editor, and our "Books and Beyond" Chess Life columnist, John Hartmann. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month we will be covering GM Hikaru Nakamura's win at the London segment of the Grand Chess Tour, written by GM Robert Hess. Send in your questions now for GM Hess or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #11: IM Eric Rosen
The February 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes for each month’s cover story. This month, we talk to IM Eric Rosen, who not only took the cover photo that graces our February issue and the inside article photos, but who also did a Twitter takeover for US Chess from the London championship venue. Extra features include “Checking in with Jen” in which our Senior Digital Editor Jennifer Shahade discusses what is new and upcoming on CLO at uschess.org/clo as well as our social media networks, including YouTube, where you can find the video of Timur Gareyev “chess-diving.” This month, Jennifer discusses the U.S. Amateur Team events and a brand new elite women’s event on the U.S. calendar: the Cairns Cup at the Saint Louis Chess Club, which will be the strongest women’s event in US Chess history. We also discuss Jen’s brand new podcast Ladies Knight, which drops on the third Tuesday of every month. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month we have a profile of Dewain Barber, the Dean of Scholastic Chess, written by Al Lawrence. Send in your questions now for Al Lawrence or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #10: GM Maurice Ashley
The January 2019 edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now available! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes with the author of each month’s cover story. This month, we talk to GM Maurice Ashley about his feature on the 2018 Olympiad which covers the Open Team's Silver Medal and the Women Team's strong efforts. US Chess Hall of Fame member Ashley is well known from his duties as on-air analyst for the Saint Louis Chess Club's "Today in Chess" broadcast, his organization of the Millionaire Chess Opens, and his recent appearance on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." During our monthly feature, “Checking in with Jen,” Senior Digital Editor Jennifer Shahade discusses what is new and upcoming on CLO. This month, Jennifer discusses the recent Sports Illustrated article about women in chess and her brand new, soon to be revealed, podcast "Ladies Knight" which will be focused on women in the chess world. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month we will be discussing the Magnus Carlsen/Fabiano Caruana World Championship match, so send in your questions about this or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #9: Jen Vallens
The December edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes with the author of each month’s cover story. This month, we talk to Jennifer Vallens, who wrote our cover story about the challenges of chess parenting. Jennifer founded OFF da ROOK Entertainment in 2013 and runs scholastic tournaments in Southern California. Jennifer serves on the Board of the Southern California Chess Federation, the Karpov International Chess School, and Chess Journalists of America. She is the author of several published articles in New In Chess and Chess Life magazines, as well as articles in ChessBase. She manages worldwide events, publicity and promotion for GM Timur Gareyev. She has a background in marketing and enjoys creating opportunities to unite the chess community. When she is not working in chess, she teaches Yoga and runs Mental Health support groups for those in Treatment and Recovery. She resides in Westlake Village, California with her husband, two sons, and dog. Extra features include “Checking in with Jen” in which our Senior Digital Editor Jennifer Shahade discusses what is new and upcoming on CLO at uschess.org/clo as well as our social media networks, including YouTube, where you can find the video of Timur Gareyev "chess-diving." This month, Jennifer recaps the World Chess Championship and the upcoming National K-12 Grade Championships. Dan and Jennifer also talk about the new job opening at US Chess for a Digital Editor. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month we cover the Silver medal winning US Olympiad team with GM Maurice Ashley, so send in your questions for him or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.
Cover Stories with Chess Life #8: Al Lawrence
The November edition of “Cover Stories with Chess Life” is now live! This monthly podcast, hosted by Senior Director of Strategic Communication Daniel Lucas, goes in depth and behind the scenes with the author of each month’s cover story. This month, we talk to Al Lawrence who wrote our cover story about the 119th U.S. Open, won by GM Timur Gareyev. Extra features include “Checking in with Jen” in which our Senior Digital Editor Jennifer Shahade discusses what is new and upcoming on CLO at uschess.org/clo as well as our social media networks, including YouTube where you can watch the video accompanying our cover story. This month, Jennifer talked about our rebrand from US Chess News back to CLO, as well as her thoughts on the World Championship odds. And don’t miss your chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to USCFSales.com! Send in your question to podcast@uschess.org, and if your question is selected as the Best Question, you will win the gift certificate. Next month’s subject will be a guide to the different types of chess parents so send in your questions now for December cover story author Jennifer Vallens, or anything about Chess Life that strikes your fancy.