One Move at a Time

EP #18: Justin Morrison

This month’s guest is Justin Morrison, the founder and owner of Kid Chess, a metro Atlanta chess teaching company reaching thousands of children, mainly in after school programs. We discuss what it takes to start and run a chess business and also his ideas on attracting the masses to our game.

EP #17: Michael Propper

This month’s guest is Michael Propper, the Director of ChessNYC and President of New York City Chess Services Inc, a non profit focused on expanding the reach and impact of chess as far as possible. We discuss ChessNYC's innovative programs such as their $10,000 Championship Challenge and their prison programs in the Queensboro Correctional Facility and Rikers Island. 

EP #16: Dr. Karen Aronian

This month’s guest is Dr. Karen Aronian, M.A., Ed.M., Ed.D., who is the principal of Aronian Education Design LLC, a full-service education design firm which creates irresistible environments and content for children and families in private and public venues. We talk about how being a professional educator has informed how she is a chess parent to her two active scholastic players. Dr. Aronian considers all places learning spaces, and the dynamic energy of her work reflects this philosophy. She has worked in the art, design, and education fields for over 30 years, and is an award-winning educator. She is widely considered an expert on education and parenting; her columns on the topic appear regularly in a broad range of newspapers, and her work has been featured in international publications, including Parents Magazine.

EP #15: Allen Priest

This month's guest is Allen Priest, the president of the US Chess Executive Board. We talk about where US Chess has been, where we are going, and take an in-depth look at the just-revised US Chess Values.

Allen Priest has been the US Chess president since 2018 and is the 29th president in our 80 year history. He was first elected to the executive board in 2011. He lives in the Commonwealth of Kentucky where he is a CPA, a field he has worked in since 1982 and which has allowed him to bring his experience in non-profit audit, tax compliance, and benefit plans to US Chess. He first became a US Chess delegate from Kentucky in 2007 and has served on various committees including finance, audit, bylaws, forums, and LMA.

EP #14: Jim Egerton

This month's guest is Jim Egerton, who uses chess to help businesses achieve their goals.

Jim Egerton is the CEO and founder of Business on the Board® and the author of the book of the same name which is subtitled, "How the World's Greatest Game Can Build Better Leaders." A respected teacher, coach, manager, leader, and entrepreneur, his speaking has impacted the lives of thousands. His management, information technology, and training experience come from serving in the health care, energy, and finance industries. He does workshops for firms like Amazon, UBS, FedEx, RRDonnelley & Wrigley who want to use a game-based approach to developing the skills their leaders need to be successful. He uses his speaking platform to show people that chess is a powerful tool for developing skills our future leaders will need. He has a degree in mathematics from Northern Illinois University and an MBA degree in finance from Illinois Tech.

EP #13: Dr. Alexey Root, WIM

Dr. Alexey Root is our guest today on this October edition of "One Move at a Time." She holds the title of WIM and was the 1989 U.S. Women's Champion. Before earning her Ph.D. in education, she taught high school social studies and English and ran the school's chess club. She has written seven books on chess in education; some are available at USCF Sales and all are available on Amazon. She teaches online courses about chess in education for The University of Texas at Dallas and the courses have been taken by students all over the world. She has been a long time writer for Chess Life, Chess Life Kids, and CLO, and she seems naturally drawn to topics that speak directly to our US Chess mission statement. 

EP #12: David Grimaud

David Grimaud is this month's guest. Grimaud has been the President of the South Carolina Chess Association since 2006, the Chair of the US Chess Senior Committee, a member of the Scholastic Council, and a member of the States Committee. Along with his wife Maureen, the couple was awarded the Koltanowski Silver award this year for their support of senior and women’s events. In his non-chess life, David is president of the Automotive repair and maintenance company Precision Tune's largest area developer, Grimaud Enterprises Inc., which oversees 93 stores in 11 states, from Utah to Texas to South Carolina.

EP #11: Dr. Martha Underwood

This month’s guest, recorded live from the 2019 U.S. Open in Orlando, Florida,  is Dr. Martha Underwood of Arizona, one of only seven women to have earned the National Tournament Director (NTD) title; she is also a FIDE Arbiter (FA). She is the president of the Southern Arizona Chess Association and, of particular interest to this podcast and the main topic of conversation, she is a member of the US Chess Accessibility and Special Circumstances Committee.

EP #10: Ranae Bartlett

This month’s guest is Ranae Bartlett of Alabama, who has developed the Madison City Chess League into an established part of the local school system. She is the Executive director of 501(c)(3) non-profit organization promoting chess education for students in Madison, Alabama and the surrounding area that teaches kids life skills through chess. It was founded in 2013 with 14 children.

Ranae is the President of the Madison School Board, one of the top performing school systems in the State of Alabama.  She has been on the school board since 2011.  Ranae earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law where she was a member of the Arkansas Law Review and member of the National Moot Court team.  Upon graduating from law school, she clerked for the Honorable Henry A. Politz, Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  Ranae graduated with high honors from the University of Central Arkansas, earning a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in mathematics and political science.

EP #9: Chris Wainscott

This month's guest is Chris Wainscott of Wisconsin, who has steadily built up an extensive chess resume.

Chris grew up in Midland, Texas, where he learned to play chess at the age of four at the end of the Fischer boom. Chris has written for Chess Life, Chess Life Online, and American Chess Magazine while also posting on his blog ontheroadtochessmaster.com. He wrote the July 2015 cover story in Chess Life about our new golden age of American chess. In the January 2014 issue of Chess Life he wrote about improving as an adult. On CLO, his articles include an obituary of Sevan Muradian, an interview with Alex Velikanov, and a 2015 article about "some player" named Awonder Liang who became our youngest IM to that point.