One Move at a Time

EP#51 Dewain Barber

In this One Move at a Time episode, we sit down with Dewain Barber, The Dean of Scholastic Chess! From a humble beginning as a middle school teacher to creating tournament of champions events.

EP#50: Dan Lucas

In this special edition of One Move at a Time, host Bryan Tillis sits down with none other than Dan Lucas—the creator of this podcast! With a remarkable career in chess journalism and service, Dan has made a lasting impact on the chess community.

EP#49: Kevin James Doyle

In this episode of One Move at a Time, host Bryan Tillis sits down with Kevin James Doyle, a comedian and chess teacher, to talk about his unique journey in chess. Kevin shares insights about his comedy show, After Endgame, which blends chess and humor and gives us a glimpse into his personal history with the game.

EP#48: Michael Tisserand

For the October edition of One Move at a Time, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas sits down with Michael Tisserand to discuss his chess writings, his books (especially his biography of George Herriman), and chess and comics.  Learn more about Tisserand at michaeltisserand.com.

EP#47: GM Alejandro Ramirez

For the September edition of One Move at a Time, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas sits down with GM Alejandro Ramirez to discuss his chess history as the first grandmaster from Central America, being a commentator for the Sinquefield Cup, and the new World Chess Hall of Fame exhibit about the 1972 World Championship. 

EP#46: Fred and Bonnie Waitzkin

For the July edition of One Move at a Time, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas sits down with Fred and Bonnie Waitzkin to discuss both the book and film versions of Searching For Bobby Fischer and what it all meant to the Waitzkin family, more than three decades after the book's release.

Among the topics covered, we learn that Bonnie has an extensive history as a chess teacher.

Publications Editor Melinda Matthews joins this episode as a co-host. 

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“One Move at a Time,” is a monthly US Chess podcast in which Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication, talks to people who are advancing the US Chess mission statement to “Empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess.”

Listen to the whole family of US Chess podcasts at https://new.uschess.org/podcasts 

EP#45: Elliott Neff

For the June edition of One Move at a Time, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas sits down with Elliott Neff, founder and CEO of Chess4Life and author of A Pawn’s Journey: Transforming Lives One Move at a Time to talk about the history of his organization, chess as a transformational tool, and being a chess teacher and coach.

Chess4Life is a platform that teaches kids critical thinking skills, problem-solving, EQ, and other important life lessons through chess. Elliott is a master-level player and he holds the Professional Chess Coaching Certification Level V — the highest awarded certification by US Chess. Chess4Life has more than 70 employees and they’ve trained more than 10,000 students and have also been recognized as one of the Inc. 5,000 fastest-growing private companies on their 2015 list.

His book, A Pawn’s Journey: Transforming Lives One Move at a Time, shares true-life stories of students he’s encountered over his 20+ years of coaching, whose lives have been significantly changed for the better by chess.

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“One Move at a Time,” is a monthly US Chess podcast in which Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication, talks to people who are advancing the US Chess mission statement to “Empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess.”

Listen to the whole family of US Chess podcasts at https://new.uschess.org/podcasts

EP#44: GM John Fedorowicz

For the May edition of One Move at a Time, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas sits down with GM John Fedorowicz. 

From his 2009 US Chess Hall of Fame induction plaque:

"Inspired to begin playing chess by the Fischer-Spassky World Championship match in 1972, "The Fed" won the National High School Championship in 1975, tied for the U.S. Junior Championship in 1977, and won the competition outright in 1978. Both before and after attaining the GM title in 1986, Fedorowicz was considered a force in American chess, taking the U.S. Open in 1980, the New York Open in 1989, the National Open in 1992, and qualifying for the U.S. Championship numerous times. He is also the winner of five World Open titles and has many international victories to his credit, including Cannes and Sesimbra in 1987 and Wijk aan Zee in 1990.

"Fedorowicz twice represented the U.S. in the World Chess Olympiad and captained both men's and women's Olympiad teams. He also has authored numerous chess articles and two books, The Complete Benko Gambit in 1990 and The English Attack, with Nick de Firmian, in 2004. A lifelong New Yorker, Fedorowicz spends much of his time teaching and participating in the city’s chess community, and has frequently served as a second and advisor to U.S. Champion Gata Kamsky."

EP#43: IM Greg Shahade

Welcome to the April edition of One Move at a Time! Our guest today is IM Greg Shahade, who founded the US Chess School in 2006 and which resumes classes this year in a victory for a post-covid world. He also founded the New York Masters and the U.S. Chess League which is now known as the PRO Chess League. He is a former member of the Executive Board of US Chess. Greg won three national scholastic championships: tying for first in both the 1993 National Junior High School Championship and the 1996 National High School Championship, and winning the 1996 United States Junior Open outright. He won the prestigious Samford Fellowship, annually awarded by the U.S. Chess Trust to the top U.S. prospect under the age of 25, in 1999. His dad is FM Michael Shahade and his sister Jennifer is a two-time US Women’s Champion and our US Chess Women’s Program Director.

EP#42: Tyler Schwartz

For the March edition of One Move at a Time, US Chess Senior Director of Strategic Communication Dan Lucas sits down with Tyler Schwartz, the co-founder of Chess at Three and Story Time Chess. Both companies use an original, story-based method to teach chess to children as young as three years old. This innovative method is explained in Tyler's 2018 TED Talk, “Can Three-Year-Olds Play Chess?”

Tyler is also a professional magician and currently performs in "Speak Easy Magick" at the McKittrick Hotel alongside the best magicians in New York City. 

Dan and Tyler discuss the recent success of his companies, the similarities between chess and magic, his frustration with misoriented chess boards, and about the time he “beat” GM Hikaru Nakamura at chess in an energy drink commercial.

Follow Tyler on Twitter and Instagram.

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“One Move at a Time,” is a monthly US Chess podcast in which Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication, talks to people who are advancing the US Chess mission statement to “Empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess.”

Listen to the whole family of US Chess podcasts at https://new.uschess.org/podcasts