One Move at a Time

EP #8: Seth Talyansky and Avi Gupta

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to high school students at the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon Seth Talyansky (18) and Avi Gupta (17) about how they are leveraging their state championship team's success to promote chess and support underserved communities.  For example, the club hand-delivered chess sets to children in Chajul, Guatemala; donated chess clocks to a chess club in Ohrid, Macedonia; organized an online match with a high school chess club in Jackson, Mississippi; and traveled to Equatorial Guinea in western Africa to organize that nation’s first open chess tournament. 

 

Talyansky  is a US Chess National Master who has been the number-one ranked player in high school in Oregon since 2016 and was just named a U.S. Presidential Scholar.  Gupta is the two-time Utah state champion in his age group and currently ranked number five in Oregon. He will be appearing on Teen Jeopardy the week of June 17. 

EP #7: Emily Allred

Note: Due to a technical issue, the host's voice is poorly recorded. Our guest Emily Allred's recording is good.

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to Emily Allred, the Associate Curator at the World Chess Hall of Fame. She has worked at the museum since 2013 and has curated or co-curated 14 exhibitions, including Jacqueline Piatigorsky: Patron, Player, Pioneer (2013);  Living Like Kings: The Unexpected Collision of Chess and Hip Hop (2014); Battle on the Board: Chess during World War II (2015); Her Turn: Revolutionary Women of Chess (2016); and Global Moves: Americans in Chess Olympiads.   This episode focuses on the current exhibition she curated that celebrates our 80th anniversary year: US Chess: 80 Years—Promoting the Royal Game in America. 

EP #6: Jamaal Abdul-Alim

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to Jamaal Abdul-Alim, who has probably written more "First Moves" department stories in Chess Life than any other single writer. First Moves focuses on short features about people and organizations that are accomplishing things directly related to our mission. Dan and Jamaal discuss chess journalism and they take a trip down memory lane recounting some of Jamaal's articles from the past decade. 

EP #5: David MacEnulty

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks David MacEnulty, who was the first teacher to teach chess in New York City as part of the curriculum. MacEnulty has been teaching chess to adults and children for more than 25 years and has been one of the most impactful scholastic chess coaches in the USA over that period. He currently teaches chess at The Dalton School. He won the prestigious Chess Educator of the Year award from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2007, was honored with the career achievement and Scholastic Service awards by US Chess, and he received the Lives That Make a Difference award from A & E Television.

EP #4: Jay Stallings

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to Jay Stallings,who has taught over 40,000 kids to play chess at his California Youth Chess League since 1994. The league is a California 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization that has a mission, similar to the US Chess mission, of empowering youth to grow through chess. This month he is celebrating 25 years as a chess coach.

An expert-rated player himself, he has authored several books, including Fried Liver and Burning Pants: Curious, But True Chess Stories and The Lessons We Learn From Them! Last year, he introduced Coach Jay's Chess Academy! >, a complete curriculum which can be found at coachjayschessacademy.com. He is a member of the US Chess Scholastic and Development Committees.

EP #3: Isaac Steincamp

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to Isaac Steincamp, the founder of chesssummit.com, a website where Isaac and a team of writers that are “a mixture of chess players, instructors, and advocates from all over the United States, working on every aspect of the Chess Summit mission – sharing instructional material, personal experiences and goals, and news on ongoing chess programs around the world for free!” Isaac is also  a fourth-year student at the University of Pittsburgh, the Pitt chess team captain, manager of the Pittsburgh Pawngrabbers in the PRO Chess League, and a streamer for chess.com. 

EP #2: Robin Ramson

This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to Robin Ramson, the founder of Chess Girls DC, https://chessgirlsdc.org/, a Washington, D.C. organization with a mission "to build the confidence of Girls using Chess as a tool." CLO recently featured Robin in "Mid-Atlantic Girls Regional a Big Success: 'When is the Next Chess Tournament.'"

EP #1: Michael J. Ryan

Welcome to the inaugural edition of "One Move at a Time," the US Chess podcast in which we talk to people and organizations that are advancing the US Chess mission statement of "Empowering people through chess, one move at a time." We are grateful for the sponsorship of US Chess Sales. See the end of this announcement for how you can enter to win a $50 gift certificate to uscfsales.com. This month host Dan Lucas, the Senior Director of Strategic Communication at US Chess, talks to the Honorable Mayor Michael J. Ryan of Sunrise, Florida. Mayor Ryan has been actively using chess as a key city initiative since he took office in 2010. US Chess recognized his efforts by naming Sunrise the Chess City of the Year in 2015. Chess Life magazine has featured Sunrise twice over the years in December 2013 and April 2018.