Podcast appearances and mentions of brooklyn castle

IM Alex Ostrovskiy is a former Scholastic National Champion, New York State Champion, and accomplished coach who has earned one GM norm, and reached a peak USCF rating of 2560. In addition to his coaching work, Alex is a regular commentator on GM Hikaru Nakamura's Twitch channel, and a tournament organizer who runs frequent invitational tournaments in New York City (where he has lived since the age of 5.) Alex and I discussed the following:  Alex's three main tenets of chess improvement- tactics, opening prep, and playing consistently  Lessons from a couple recent tournaments, and why Alex has scaled back his GM-title ambitions The origins of Alex's longtime friendship with Gotham Chess, and whether he is surprised by Levy's success.  This was a fun conversation with a lot of good advice. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  00:00- ChessDojo special offer! If you try out Chessdojo 4.0 you can get a 40% discount by using the code “Ben40” at checkout.  0:01- Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! If you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro And you can check out their new offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 02:00-  Alex joins the show!  Mentioned: Alex's Interview with Dylan Quercia-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIK2jjnpwcM&list=PLXZjuvMCiLW0Ae7nNr5dvJk80neTe4Jvz&index=1&t=1975s&pp=iAQB Also mentioned: GM Arjun Kalyan, Elizabeth Spiegel, Brooklyn Castle  0:08- Alex's students are known for deep opening prep- what is his approach as a coach? Mentioned: NM Matan Prilleltensky  13:00- How important are openings below the 2000 level?  16:00- Alex's report on two recent tournaments in Spain.  Mentioned: GM Andy Woodward  21:00- How do the logistics work of going to youth championships to coach students?  22:00- What is the origin of the Norm invitational tournaments that Alex helps run in NYC?  Mentioned: Keith Espinosa  More info at: https://nycchessnorms.com/ 24:00- Will Alex be able to convince the famous Chess YouTuber FM Donny Ariel to play in a norm invitational? Mentioned: EP 421 with FM Donny Ariel and GM Jan Gustasaffson Donny Ariel: The Road to Chess Grandmaster: https://www.youtube.com/@DonnyArielChess 30:00- Alex is longtime friends with IM Levy Rozman- what is his first memory of him?  36:00- What was it like to do training sessions with Kasparov as a kid?  37:00- Who were Alex's main rivals as one of the top US players for his age?  Mentioned: GM Darwin Yang, GM Daniel Naroditsky 40:30 -Did Alex study chess a lot as a kid or primarily learn by playing?  45:00- Has Alex worked with adult students?  48:00- Alex's training advice  54:00- How did Alex get started commentating on Hikaru's channel?  56:00- Alex's closing advice  Thanks to Alex for joining me, you can reach him via his website.  https://www.alexchess.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Watch Live - https://twitch.tv/chessdojo Join the Training Program - https://chessdojo.club Play Chess - https://go.chess.com/chessdojo Merch - https://www.chessdojo.club/shop The ChessDojo sensei GM Jesse Kraai and IM David Pruess sit down with WFM Elizabeth Speigel and talk about the state of scholastic chess in today's episode of Dojo Talks, the ChessDojo podcast. Want to support the channel? Patreon - https://patreon.com/chessdojo Donate - https://streamelements.com/chessdojo/tip Find all of our chess book & supplies recommendations (& more!) on our Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/chessdojo Shopping through our link is a great way to support the Dojo. We earn a small affiliate % but at no cost to you. Website: https://chessdojo.club Twitch: https://twitch.tv/chessdojo Discord: https://discord.gg/sUUh8HD Twitter: https://twitter.com/chessdojo Patreon: https://patreon.com/chessdojo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chessdojo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chessdojo Podcast: https://chessdojotalks.podbean.com TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@/chessdojoclips #chess #chessmaster  CHAPTERS 0:00 Scholastic Chess with WFM Elizabeth Spiegel 15:33 Pedagogical Goals 22:20 Chess as School Subject 26:10 Brooklyn Castle and Bringing Chess Into Schools 32:00 Chess and Deep Thinking 39:13 The Impact of Chess on Children 44:16 Do More Girls Play Chess Than Before? 46:46 Strongest Players from WFM Spiegel's Program

The Perpetual Chess Book Review series, Chess Books Recaptured is back, to discuss a new tactics primer that has been getting a lot of buzz, 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know by FM Frank Erwich. My guest co-host is Kevin Scull, the host of the Chess Journeys podcast, and a dedicated student of the game. Kevin wanted to discuss this book because he felt it filled a glaring void in the marketplace and that it helped his game a lot. Nonetheless, Kevin also had a few quibbles with the book, so he joined me to discuss the pros and cons of this book, which overall is quite a worthwhile addition to the libraries of intermediate players and chess trainers alike. Because this book is so visual by nature, we kept this conversation short, and also made a companion video showing a few positions. The link to that, as well as timestamps and topics mentioned are below.  Part 2 of this review, which looks at positions from the book, can be seen on The Perpetual Chess YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/vaQuEx2CBgQ Check out the archive of book review podcasts here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/recaptured And the Spotify Playlist here:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/33uvcg7rb09ETWIgeAUCIR?si=0c11cd72fba548fa 0:02- Why did we choose this book?  Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard, Elizabeth Spiegel, Brooklyn Castle  0:06- Our quibbles with the book.  0:10- The structure of the book Mentioned:  IM Kostya Kavutskiy's review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-Up1teylU 0:17:00-  Kevin's Chessable course https://www.chessable.com/chess-journeys-tactics-workbook-turning-knowledge-into-skill/course/268850/ Thanks to Kevin for helping out! Be sure to check out the Chess Journeys podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kNbZLQE6JvbAyfOlv7ZNY?si=2c3d57c5c70349aa If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Jon Ludvig Hammer is 3-time Norwegian Champion, popular commentator and highly-reviewed Chessable author. Most recently, GM Hammer has been broadcasting the World Championship for the YouTube channel of Magnus Carlsen's TakeTakeTake app. In our conversation, Jon Ludvig discussed the origins of the Taketaketake company, and of his relationship with it. He also discussed the challenges of announcing without an engine, and shared his opinions on the best ways to present chess. Jon Ludvig has done a lot of coaching of amateurs around Chess.com's Pogchamps, and also shares some chess improvement advice based on that experience, and tells the story of how it helped him shape an opening repertoire which he currently shares in his new Chessable course, Hammer's My First Opening Repertoire for Black. We also touched on cheating in chess, Chess960, and GM Hammer's 2025 plans. I always enjoy hearing GM Hammer's takes, and I think that you will as well. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  This episode was recorded on December 3, and does not discuss the current state of the FIDE World Championship. For updated coverage of the Ding-Gukesh match check out the bonus pods.  Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.In addition to GM Hammer's course, be sure to check out the free course by IM Andras Toth on the World Championship match. If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro 0:00- What is the origins of GM Hammer's collaboration with Magnus' new app, which is called TakeTakeTake Mentioned: Kaja Snare, WFM Dronning Maud, Sjakksnak Podcast with GM Hammer, the Magnus and Levy post-mortems we referenced are on the TakeTakeTake YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TakeTakeTakeApp 12:00- What are the chess broadcasts on TV like in Norway now that Magnus is semi-retired? 19:00- Why does Hammer think that chess is so much more popular as a spectator rather than participatory activity?  26:00- What frustrates GM Hammer about recent chess discourse? Mentioned: Chess in Slums, Brooklyn Castle, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi cheated as an experiment against Hans Niemann:  https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1gvwoc1/nepo_admits_to_using_stockfish_against_hans_in/   38:00- Does GM Hammer do any coaching?  44:00- Is classical chess too slow? How is it presented on Norway television broadcasts?  52:00- How did Hammer discover his own Black setup for his Chessable course, Hammer's My First Opening Repertoire for Black?  Mentioned: Mr. Savage, BenjyFishy  1:02:00- GM Hammer's upcoming plans and projects If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Shahade brings Senior Tournament Director and four-time All Girls Nationals Team champ Maya Myers to Ladies Knight. In 2022, Myers became the first African American woman to earn the International Arbiter title.  Maya and Jennifer discuss her role and reaction to Brooklyn Castle, the acclaimed documentary film about IS 318, which she attended with...

041 You may know her as one of the featured students from the 2012 documentary, Brooklyn Castle.  A superb film that covered a low-income, junior high school's talented chess team. One of the main students the film explored was the inspiring story of Rochelle Ballantyne.Ten years after its release, Rochelle is now a 3rd-year law student at New York University.She also recently re-committed to her goal of becoming the first American Black woman to earn the NM title.In this episode, we cover:Reflections on the impact Brooklyn Castle has had on her life.Why Rochelle chose to put more effort and time into earning the NM title.Her insights on being a black woman in a predominantly male, white chess community.The shifting importance and meaning of chasing the NM title in her life.Where to Watch Brooklyn Castle:YouTube Link for Brooklyn CastleAmazon DVD of Brooklyn Castle--------Want to join my exclusive community for adult chess improvers?Chess Improver Monthly offers:Group coaching & game review from titled players to help your chess.Submit guest questions & private episode discussions for The Chess Experience Podcast.Live video chats w/ me & fellow adult improvers to have fun & stay motivated.Much more!Check out all the membership benefits here.--------->> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com

♟This podcast is sponsored by Chessable.  Chessable uses science-backed learning and the concept of spaced repetition to ensure retention. Check out their courses today!♟For this Season 3 Premier, Neal spoke with IM Justus Williams. Justus is featured prominently in the 2012 chess documentary Brooklyn Castle, which chronicles the famous chess team from Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn, NY. At age 12, he was the youngest African American to achieve the NM title. Currently, Justus runs Black Squares Chess, which brings the game to kids in underserved communities. Some of the talking points from this episode include:Justus's quest for the GM titleBehind the scenes info from Brooklyn Castle  & the IS 318 experienceA technique to improve tournament results when facing critical positionsWhy Justus prefers chess study using physical books over computersHow playing in Washington Square Park helped his developmentIs it possible to get a good slice of pizza outside of NY?

On this week's episode of the Parley in All Blue Podcast, Mark sits down with Kali Holloway. Kali Holloway is a monthly columnist for both The Nation and The Daily Beast. Her writings have also appeared in The Guardian, Salon, TIME, Huffington Post, The National Memo and numerous other outlets. She co-curated the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art 2017 summer performance and film series “Theater of the Resist.” She is the former Director of the Make it Right Project, a national initiative dedicated to taking down Confederate monuments and telling the truth about history. She also was a Senior Writer and the Associate Editor of Media & Culture at progressive news site AlterNet. Before that, she was a producer on the short film DJ Mojo: Music is Life, a producer and the outreach director on the PBS documentary The New Public; Director of Outreach and Audience Engagement for the HBO documentary Southern Rites and the Emmy-nominated film Brooklyn Castle; and Outreach Consultant on the award-winning documentary The New Black; she is currently producing Sunset and the Mockingbird about jazz pianist Junior Mance. Highlights from the episode:Black activism40 Acres & A MuleUSDA Land LawsBlack Land OwnershipBlack Farmers Resources: How Thousands of Black Farmers Were Forced Off Their Land By: Kali HollowayConnect with Kali HollowayLinkedIn: @kali-hollowayConnect with Mark Dawson:Instagram: @iammarkdawsonLinkedIN: @mark-a-dawsonWebsite: www.bentonmuse.comTwitter: @Iammarkdawson

In Episode 166, I converse with FIDE Master Justus Williams, Founder of Black Squares, which offers a range of opportunities for St. Louis city youth aged 6-18 to engage with chess. through an after-school program, group lessons and play, and weekend tournaments. Justus originally hails from the Bronx, NY and has been highlighted for his chess skills in major outlets such as the New York Times, Brooklyn Castle, and TMZ.  Justus was also featured in a Cadillac commercial, which showcased prodigies from various fields. We speak about the New York City chess scene, his experience teaching in South Africa with David Macenulty and Jonathan Corbblah, a day in the life at IS 318,  studying with grandmasters at Webster University and elsewhere, the importance of playing lots of games, the importance of endgame study, ideas for time management,  working with inmates in prison, decision making on and off the board and more. 

In Episode 126, I have the pleasure of conversing with National Expert Elizabeth Spiegel, IS 318 Coach. IS 318 is an urban public school in Brooklyn, NY that has won more national championships than most schools in the country. They were featured in the award winning film "Brooklyn Castle". She is one of a few if not the only full-time chess teachers in the New York City Department of Education. We talk IS 318's culture, NYC's free tournaments, founding of the school's program, the benefits of chess programs in schools, assessment methods, the Chess-Steps Curriculum, the filming of "Brooklyn Castle", the aftermath of the film, best practices for the nationals and more.

Today the Agency revisits the 1979 BBC mini-series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, starring Alec Guinness. We discuss a fabulous 2012 documentary about students and teachers at a Brooklyn middle school - a school which consistently wins national chess championships. It's called Brooklyn Castle. Finally, we provide an overview of several series we've been watching, including Flight Attendant, The Ripper, Your Honor and Quarry. Please join us. We love to hear from you. email: theagency.podcast@gmail.com Want to send us letters and stuff? The Agency c/o Anthony Stagg, Emperor of Ephemera P.O. Box 89101 1859 South Ashland Avenue Chicago, Il. 60608 We'd like to send a big thank you to all our listeners, and a special thanks to our Patreon supporters. If you would like to help The Agency pay some bills, please visit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=24378373

Judith Helfand and Face2Face host David Peck talk about her new film Love and Stuff, Mothers, grief, defiance and resilience, living well and why we all need to do a stuff review.Watch the 10-minute version on the New York Times page here.And learn more about Judith and her work here.Synopsis:Seven months after helping her terminally ill mother die in home-hospice, filmmaker Judith Helfand becomes a “new old” single mother at 50. Overnight, she’s pushed to deal with her “stuff”: 63 boxes of her parents’ heirlooms overwhelming her office-turned-future-baby’s room, the weight her mother had begged her to lose, and the reality of being a half-century older than her daughter.Love & Stuff follows a set of universal, life-changing moments: death, birth, new life, the burden and blessing of your dead parent’s stuff, the insanity and exhilaration of being a new “old” single parent in your fifties and the possibility of transformation. Judith wirtes, “My parenting trajectory includes everything from the struggle to deal with all that additional baby “stuff”, to the hell of strapping baby Theo into a stroller while she’s wearing a snowsuit and I’m overweight and sweating in my winter coat, to the shame of not really being able to get down on the floor with the other parents and kids, to navigating “the terrible twos” while healing from gastric sleeve surgery, to facing the psyche-crushing threes to the thrill of losing 85 lbs and actually being able to sit at Theo’s little table in a little chair -- and get up.”About Judith:Judith Helfand is best known for her ability to take the dark worlds of chemical exposure, heedless corporate behavior and environmental injustice and make them personal, highly-charged and entertaining. Three of her films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with national broadcasts on PBS (POV), HBO and The Sundance Channel. Her films include The Uprising of ‘34, the Sundance award winning and 2X Emmy nominated Blue Vinyl, its Peabody Award-winning prequel A Healthy Baby Girl, and Everything’s Cool. A committed field-builder and educator, Helfand co-founded Working Films in 1999, and Chicken & Egg Pictures in 2005. As part of her work at Chicken & Egg Pictures, where Helfand was Creative Director for almost a decade, she was a Producer on the Oscar-nominated, Dupont winning short, The Barber of Birmingham, and Executive Producer for the award-winning films Brooklyn Castle, Semper Fi: Always Faithful, Private Violence and Hot Girls Wanted.In 2007 Judith received a United States Artist Fellowship, one of 50 awarded annually to “America’s finest living artists.” In 2016 she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is currently in post-production on Cooked, a feature documentary about extreme heat, the politics of disaster and survival by zip code. Image Copyright and Credit: Judith Helfand.F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rochelle Ballantyne is best-known in the chess world as one of the star scholastic chess players featured in the excellent 2012 documentary, Brooklyn Castle, which chronicles the lives of the students and teachers  at the scholastic chess powerhouse school, IS 318 in Brooklyn, New York. In the years since that movie, Rochelle has continued to pile up impressive achievements. She earned a BA from Stanford University, a Masters of Education degree from Columbia University, and has been accepted into the New York University Law School for the fall. Rochelle also had many scholastic chess successes, she attained a peak US Chess rating of 2127, and she actively promotes chess as an educational tool. Last, but most importantly, Rochelle has long been a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform and the Black Lives Matter movement.   She shares her perspective on this movement, both as it pertains to the chess world, and to the world at large. Please enjoy our wide-ranging conversation. Timestamps and relevant links can be found below.    We catch up on what Rochelle has been doing since she was featured in Brooklyn Castle.  Mentioned:  Elizabeth Spiegel on Perpetual Chess December 10, 2019 ,  Brooklyn Castle’s Website Lists Where You Can Watch The Movie, here: https://brooklyncastle.com/#watch1l’  Read Melinda Mathews’ 2018 Interview with Rochelle here: https://new.uschess.org/news/qa-rochelle-ballantyne-representation-important   7:00- What is the update on Rochelle’s Chess Playing?  Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade, US Chess School   12:00- From her viewpoint as a woman and an African American chess player, what were Rochelle’s interactions like in the chess world?  Mentioned: FM Justus Williams, NM James Black, FM Joshua Colas, Stanford University,    23:45- A Patreon supporter of the podcast writes in to ask Rochelle how tournament players can help be supportive African American chess players. Mentioned: Alexandra Botez shares a personal experience about sexual harassment in the chess world:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6W8EgX9Uc0      29:00- The latest and greatest from Chessable is an updated and expanded comprehensive checkmate pattern course by CraftyRaf- check it out here:  https://www.chessable.com/the-checkmate-patterns-manual/course/17841/   30:00- What is Rochelle’s opinion of how race relations have been handled by the US Chess Federation and other entities?  Mentioned: Read the US CHess statement on Black Lives Matter here:  https://www.chessable.com/the-checkmate-patterns-manual/course/17841/ Chess GIrls DC,  Chess.com’s Peter Doggers interview series, On Racism, can be read here:  https://www.chess.com/article/view/on-racism-nm-daniel-jones https://www.chess.com/article/view/on-racism-gm-pontus-carlsson https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-racism-watu-kobese Bill Goichberg    38:00- Rochelle answers a few more listener-questions relating to education policy, both inside and outside of the chess world.  Mentioned: IS 318 Vice Principal John Galvin, GM Maurice Ashley, Queen City Classic Chess Tournament     47:00- Has Rochelle been attending any of the Black Lives Matter protests?  Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade’s Twitter and Facebook,     54:00- Does the fact that White moves first in chess have racist undertones in Rochelle’s opinion?  Mentioned: Jen Shahade, Alexandra Botez    1:00- Thanks to Rochelle, for sharing her perspective with us. Here is a list from Rochelle of Black Lives Matter causes and organizations that could use some support: https://linktr.ee/cdr3?fbclid=IwAR1URl1PP7wBQNIF2Tt1DvYdSz_XodqZBXqJR0Vle0TGLTzdCO8jY-0n-WQ

IM Levy Rozman is a 24 year-old, New York-based chess streamer, Chess.com announcer and instructor. Levy has quickly found an audience online due to his ability to explain chess in a humorous and accessible way. In our conversation, we talk about the origins of Levy’s announcing career, his chess ambitions, and about the fast-changing world of Twitch chess streaming in 2020.  Please read on for lots more details, and timestamps. Embedded hyperlinks can be found on the podcast website here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/6/2/episode-180-im-levy-rozman 0:00- We dive right into a discussion of the ways that chess coverage on Twitch has been making news recently. This includes the continued ascension of GM Hikaru Nakamura’s popular Twitch channel Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Chessbae94, Alexandra Botez, GM Daniel Naroditsky    6:45- Levy traces the origins of his popular Twitch channel, Gotham Chess.  Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen, IM Alex Ostrovskiy, Alexis Parades, Brooklyn Castle, Baruch College,    15:00- Friend and Patreon supporter of the podcast, Chris Wainscott, asks Levy about whether he plans to pursue the Grandmaster title.  Mentioned: Chess.com’s  I am not a GM tournament    23:00- What are  Levy’s goals for his Twitch channel? What recommendations would he give to others thinking of getting into Twitch streaming?    28:00- The Magnus Touch by Magnus Carlsen is still on sale at Chessable.com. Get it here: https://www.chessable.com/the-magnus-touch-chess-strategy/course/39478/   29:00- Levy tells the story of how he got his start as an announcer for Chess.com. Mentioned: GM Robert Hess, GM Daniel Naroditsky, IM Danny Rensch, Levy’s Recap of one of Magnus’ Recent Blitz Games,  Mr. Dodgy’s compilation of GM Magnus Carlsen’s recent Twitch stream, GM Peter Leko, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Anish Giri, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Jan Gustafsson     35:00- Chris Wainscott asks Levy about the status of his amusing chess show, Post Mortem.   39:00- We also dive into a recent controversy involving Chess.com and Chess24.com, and the way that the sites broadcast events that are sponsored by their competitors.    44:30- Levy answers another question from the Patreon mailbag, and gives some advice to a newer player who is having trouble avoiding blunders.  Mentioned: You can buy Levy’s opening repertoire course here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-75djkXcEvJns9wvhony5bItA8Bv_f63lLUyXmvMPlCfIRg/viewform   51:00- A related question has to do with how a newer player should be using Chessbase.  Mentioned: The London System, The King’s Indian Attack    59:00- Levy fields a few fun questions from Twitter, and tells the story of why he got kicked out of legendary GM Arthur Yusupov’s chess camp as a kid.  Mentioned: International Chess Academy, Sam Copeland’s interview with Levy Rozman, Greg Shahade, IM Teddy Coleman, Jen Shahade, IM John Bartholomew, IM Alex Ostrovskiy   Thanks to Levy for coming on the show. Here is how you can keep up with him: Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/gothamchess Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHX6ViZmPsWiYSFAyS0a3Q Twitter: https://twitter.com/GothamChess?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here.    

"You're going to want different things on different days," NPR's Linda Holmes says. She recommends two documentaries, "Brooklyn Castle" and "May At Last."Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.

Elizabeth Spiegel is a USCF expert who played in the US Championship in 2006 and the US Women’s Championship in 2007. Of course, her greatest accomplishments have come in the realm of coaching, as she is an award winning and renowned scholastic coach, as well as a New York Public City School teacher.  Elizabeth has been a guiding force for the incredibly successful Junior High School chess program at IS-318 in Brooklyn. The students at IS 318 have amassed 57 National Championship Titles (!!), and the program was featured in the award-winning, outstanding 2012 documentary, Brooklyn Castle.  Elizabeth was honored as the 2019 Chess Educator of the Year by University of Texas at Dallas, and her teaching was also memorably featured in the excellent book, How Children Succeed.  In our conversation, Elizabeth shared tons of insights from her experiences as a chess teacher, and parent. We also talked about ways to further popularize chess, and a bit of  US Chess politics, as Elizabeth voiced her frustration about some recent rule changes relating to age groupings at US Chess Scholastic Nationals. Please read on, as always for more details.  If you are not seeing any embedded hyperlinks in the episode description, you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/12/10/episode-155-elizabeth-spiegel 0:00- We begin by talking about the chess activity in Elizabeth’s own household. Wiith chess-obsessed 12 and 6 yr old’s living under her roof, she sees a lot of chess learning first hand.  Mentioned: FM Mike Klein of Chesskid (aka FunMasterMike), Chessable, The Steps Method 13:50- How much is it appropriate for typical scholastic players and club level players and study openings?  Mentioned: Elizabeth’s 2019 Chess Educator of the Year Acceptance Speech, FM Justus Williams, NM James Black, FM Donny Ariel  19:30- 2 Patreon supporter of Perpetual Chess submit questions for Elizabeth asking for some teach tips.1)  How to motivate students to do chess puzzles? 2) How to manage classes with disparate skill levels?  Mentioned: The great chess Books for kids by Jeff Coakley 25:00- How has Elizabeth’s teaching changed since Brooklyn Castle was released in 2012?IS 318 Web Site  Mentioned: IS 318 Vice-Principal John Galvin, Facebook Chess Teacher’s Forum, Katie Dellamaggiore (Director of Brooklyn Castle), John Hamm of Mad Men    32:00- To check out the World Championship chess mugs, go toChessmugs.com. If you decide to buy a set of mugs, use the code “perpetualchess” at checkout to save 15%. 33:00- Elizabeth shares a few more book recommendations.  Mentioned: Mastering Chess Strategy, Positional Decision Making in Chess,  Chess School: The Manual of Chess Combinations. More of Elizabeth’s favorite books for teaching can be found here and here.  37:00-  How could chess be better marketed? Elizabeth thinks there should be more titles in scholastic chess, and that chess could be better marketed to autistic students.  Mentioned: IM Cyrus Lakdawala   45:00- As Elizabeth details on her blog, in 2019 the US Chess Scholastic Committee changed the rules regarding which grade levels are eligible for Junior High Nationals prizes. Despite the fact that most schools labeled “Junior High” in the U.S. go up to 8th grade, the US scholastic Nationals allows 9th graders to compete for Junior High prizes as well. As Elizabeth explains, this primarily benefits private schools and magnet schools, at the expense of more traditional junior highs, such as, IS 318. A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks for Elizabeth’s thoughts on this issue, as well as whether it may have effected her winning the 2019 Chess Educator of the Year prize from University of Texas at Dallas.   Mentioned: Elizabeth’s blog, FM Sunil Weerumantry, WIM Beatriz Marinello, J.J Lang’s Perpetual Chess Interview  1:03- We discuss Elizabeth’s developing thoughts on chess parenting.  Mentioned: GM Jonathan Rowson’s All the Moves that Matter , Elizabeth’s beginner curriculum is available for download here,   Elizabeth’s “pin and skewer puzzle” here- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=Ohq5ew6aMX8jfa/9PpWEh02Z/+kYuDvPO6m93orqYYhrxTLkgkYoQifCP5/kltL7 Solution here-  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=9X/QHzGoTQrE3QVL9browbeYG4G76LfpL8sT73650khNCeYFbxN1wTRYJhcptlP0 1:09- Thanks to Elizabeth for joining us! You can keep up with her via Facebook and her blog.  If you would like to help support the kids at IS 318, you can do so here: https://t.co/YUUvGHIl1L?amp=1 If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

This week on Perpetual Chess, I would like to spotlight some of the ways that people are using chess as a vehicle to make a difference in the world. I am happy to say that there are countless qualified guests to choose from in this regard, and it was hard to limit myself to only 2 segments. As you will hear, the guests in both segments have great stories to tell. My first interview this week is with Scott and Norma Mero, the founders of the Charity Chess Championship, while Part 2 (26:30) features Gabrielle Moshier and Jason Bui, who are Philadelphia school teachers and board members of The Philadelphia Chess Society,  Please read on for relevant links and more detailed timestamps. 0:00- Part 1-  Scott and Norma Mero are the founders of the Charity Chess Championship which will take place this year on June 2, 2019. It will feature more titled players than I can list here, but a few who may be familiar to listeners are GM Joel Benjamin, GM Robert Hess and GM Irina Krush. This year the money that the event raises will go to the help the early detection and prevention of pancreatic cancer. You can read GM Robert Hess’ write-up of last year’s event here, as well as Jenn Shahade’s interview with Kimberly Doo previewing last year’s event  here. 9:30- Scott and Norma talk about how this annual event originated. They started the event in 2017 with their son, Daniel Mero who is a very active scholastic player. Daniel (who is 12 years old and rated about 1800) draws inspiration from his coach, GM John Fedorowicz, and the YouTube videos of GM Ben Finegold. We also talk about their son’s approach to chess improvement. 18:00- We get into the nuts and bolts of the Charity Chess Championship by answering the following questions: How do they line up so many titled players to attend the Charity Chess Championship? Is is mandatory to spend money to attend the event? Does one need to sign up in advance to attend?   26:00- Goodbye and contact info.You can email Scott and Norma Mero here, or drop them a line if you will be attending the 2019 National Elementary School Chess Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. Of course, you can also see them (and me) at the Charity Chess Championships on June 2 in New York city. 26:30- Part 2  I am now joined by Philadelphia teachers, and board members of the Philadelphia Chess Society, Gabrielle Moshier and Jason Bui. In addition to their work as chess coaches, Gabrielle is an English teacher at the Esperanza Academy Charter Middle School, while Jason teaches science and math at the  S. Weir Mitchell Elementary School. 29:00-  Gabrielle and Jason begin by telling the stories of how they got into chess and discussing how chess can change the kids that they teach. 36:00- Gabrielle and Jason share their experiences from the 2019 All Girls Nationals in Chicago, IL, from whence they had just returned. What sort of obstacles do girls encounter that boys do not in chess? They also discuss the remaining major events on their chess calendar. 44:00- How does the Philadelphia Chess Society go about trying to raise money? One small but easy way to support the program is to shop on Amazon using this Amazon Smile link. We briefly discuss the movie Brooklyn Castle, and Jason and Gabrielle share a few stories in the spirit of that great movie. 53:00- What are Jason and Gabrielleftitl’s favorite chess books and resources as teachers and players?  Gabrielle is a big fan of Jenn Shahade’s Play Like a GIrl. Jason is a big fan of Silman’s Complete Endgame Chess as well How to Beat Your Dad at Chess, and Winning Chess Tactics for Kids . 56:00- Patreon supporter of the podcast, Mr. Moonmaster 9000 is back in the house! The Moonmaster asks whether Jason and Gabrielle feel like they have to overcome a negative image of chess when presenting it to students and parents. Gabrielle’s answer might surprise you! 1:01- Here is how you can keep up with the Philadelphia Chess Society: Follow on Twitter here, Facebook here. Email Jason here. You can donate to the organization through the Facebook page, or mail checks (payable to Philadelphia Chess Society) to: Philadelphia Chess Society. 4916 Paschall Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19143

Welcome to the very first “Hess’s Heroes” podcast! I feel like there should be some sort of drum roll or fireworks going off in the background. The reason we are here is that a while back I was thinking about my own strengths and weaknesses and after fumbling around with some classes in machine learning and human-centered design that I thought would help me in my day job, I came to a realization that what I enjoy most is a good story, and so I decided to start a podcast about people’s stories that I personally find inspiring with the may provide a lesson or two for all of us and perhaps a little loftier maybe make us happier and perhaps better. There is a lot of negativity in today’s world and I hope this can provide people some hope. To that end, my guest today is long time friend Nelson Dellamagiore, making him “Hess’s Hero” number one. Nelson was one of the first people that came to mind because he and his team, including his amazingly talented wife Katie have been making documentary films for some time that champion underdogs, inspire their audience and often manage to tug at your heart strings. You probably know their work best from the 2012 film Brooklyn Castle that documents the chess team from IS 318 in New York. I rewatched the film yesterday to get ready for this discussion and it validated every intuition I had about having Nelson on – it is a GREAT story with wonderful characters – I found myself choking up at several moments (I have become a total softy since becoming a father). You want so bad for these kids to succeed, hell I wanted to write my congressmen afterward to suggest greater allocation for after school programs (and we can perhaps talk about government funding later on). In short, Nelson is a great storyteller and I liked that it would be a little “meta” to have someone on that captures stories in a way that this show might aspire to. So welcome Nelson, I am sure that little diatribe only scratches the surface. Tell us a little bit about your background and perhaps what motivates you every time you get up in the morning.

OmegaJephPodocalype 146 - Stay on TargetShit we watched: Girl Meets World, Brooklyn Castle, Strongman, Knuckleball, Citizen Koch, Final Member, Dante's Inferno. Shit we talked about: Star Wars and the Yuuzhan Vong, Verizon, Merv Griffin Show - Dick Gregory Interview - Watts Riots - 1965, sex dreams, Happy Birthday Master Blaster. Please visit us at http://thepodocalypse.com/. Hate Mail Welcome!yes01:19:45

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