I am on the cover of American Chess Magazine

A peek behind the paywall

I am honored to be the cover star of the current American Chess Magazine. The magazine article is not available online, so I pulled out a few highlights for you.

• On the Polgars: “I was super inspired by the Polgar sisters, of course Judit, but really all three. Sofia because she is also an artist. It always intrigued me that she was lower rated but had her own magical gifts that were celebrated by the whole family. In the book 5334 by Laszlo Polgar, her composition shaped in a rook is enlarged in homage to its precocious creator (Sofia was 7 at the time.)

  

  White to Mate in Two, Sofia Polgar 1982

  Solution in the footnotes¹.

  Sofia just wrote a book Sofia Polgar: Amazing Artist- Dangerous Tactician that combines chess with her many beautiful drawings and paintings and I recommend it. And of course I greatly admired Susan too, for paving the way and fighting against so many barriers. Her win against Chiburdanidze when I played for the U.S. team alongside her was truly epic.”

• On my books: “Play Like a Champion was a welcome distraction during a stressful period of my life. I’m also exceptionally happy with Chess Queens as I think it captures the spirit of our chess world: so diverse, so alive, but also so fraught with the same structural problems we see around us. It embodies my life philosophy: to balance a focus on the positive, the joy and beauty of the game, with attention to the negatives that we need to change.”

  

  CHESS QUEENS at the Marshall Chess Club

• On quitting US Chess (see resignation letter in my substack): “In the aftermath of the (Alejandro Ramirez saga), more and more women came forward to me about their own negative and abusive experiences in the chess world, which deepened my understanding of the need for a safer chess world and how to get there. And yet, my advice still wasn’t taken seriously at US Chess. I loved what I founded with US Chess Women. But I ultimately realized I could make a greater impact from outside the organization. I still care deeply about the future of US Chess. They have some tremendous staff and volunteers. I am hopeful that the future, whether it’s months or years from now, will bring better times and a new perspective for the org.” A little over a month after this cover story dropped, on 12/6/23, US Chess announced that Executive Director Carol Meyer—who was in charge of the organization during the Ramirez complaints and aftermath— was stepping down.

• On poker and chess: “Grischuk was once one of the best poker players in the World, while also being in the top ten chessplayers in the World. But I don’t think that will ever happen again. Poker has become so professionalized, and the top players spend so much time studying its intricacies. Ironically, as poker became more like chess, it became harder to dominate both simultaneously.”

• On my son and chess: “He’s not on a trajectory to be a chess pro, but we get so much joy out of taking him to tournaments and chess camps and classes, and he has renewed my passion for the game and for educating others. He inspired the title, Play Like a Champion, and we also do videos together for our How to Beat Your Mom at Chess channel, which will eventually be a book. Fabian also likes other sports such as basketball and soccer, and I just hope he can continue to take joy from the game even when life gets busier. We’ll definitely be going to the ChessKid National Festival (Feb 16-19, Charlotte) which seems like it will be a nice mix of fun and play.”

  

  Me and Fabi at the ICN Summer camp this year, Photo Jamaal Dozier for the Gift of Chess

Get the cover story issue by subbing to ACM here or find single issues at various online sellers such as the House of Staunton. You can support my work via my substack or my books.

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1. Qb2! I love how you can use logic to get the answer, even if you don’t know chess at all. Just complete the castle drawing!