She received a $70 gift certificate to the fantastic Israeli restaraunt, Zahav. In Israel, the merits of various neighborhood’s hummus are debated as a matter of local pride. One Israeli guest said that the innovative entries would not fly. Another responded, “That’s what we do in America. We take something classic and add a bunch of junk to it.” If that doesn’t inspire you for Hummus Throwdown Part IV, you should probably just stick with peanut-butter.

Coolooloosh people of the street music video from DIM mak films on Vimeo.

If you purchased the book and want to access the animated games by Sabrier, click here, (Username=Chess, Password: ISBN Number for Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess.) For more information about the book go to Francisnaumann.com.

I was there to help film and to my surprise, I saw a Girls High student from my 9Queens’ Academies sitting in the second row. There are many cliches about what it means to sit in the first-row, but I think there’s something to be said about the second-row too: enthusiastic but self-conscious about it, and in this case, missing out on the thrill of getting your sneakers drenched in liquid nitrogen.

Our Mission: 9 Queens is a national, educational organization that promotes and provides chess education to under-served and under-represented populations, especially girls and at-risk youth. Our mission is to provide all children with equal opportunities to realize their potential and enjoy the benefits of chess education. Through chess, we motivate, empower and engage under-served and under-represented youth to achieve academic and personal success.

About our Name. Although every player begins the game with only one queen, every pawn has the potential to become a queen. In theory, it is possible to transform all 8 pawns into queens, thus creating a position in which there are 9 queens on the board. 9 Queens is a metaphor for the all too often unrealized capacity to empower all children through chess.

9Queens Philadelphia Queens Academy: In Philadelphia, I teach a monthly women’s chess workshops at the Free Library in Philadelphia, sponsored by 9queens and ASAP (After School Activities Partnership.) For a blog on a recent Queens Academy, check out our 9queens blog.

Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New In Chess, the L.A. Times, Games Magazine and Chess Life Magazine, for which Jennifer is the web-editor. Jennifer is currently working on her second book, a novel. Shahade also contributed to Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess, which you can purchase here. In conjunction with DimMak Films Shahade created a video, nakedchess, and a video installation, hulachess, both inspired by the book project. 

In 2007, Jennifer Shahade and Jean Hoffman founded 9queens, a non-profit that provides chess instruction to those most in need of its benefits, especially girls and at-risk youth. Throughout her career, Jennifer has made a point of focusing her coaching efforts on girls and the inner-city, starting with her five-years of coaching work with Chess-In-The-Schools in New York. Her work with CIS included starting a Girls’ Academy and three years of training with the Championship Junior High School team, I.S. 318.

Jennifer performs simultaneous exhibitions in which she plays up to 50 people at once, in locations as various as Shanghai, China, Soweto, South Africa and a Girls’ Scout Convention in Los Angeles. Jennifer has also participated in and helped organize events at art galleries and museums, including the Noguchi Museum in Queens, the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Viewing Room Gallery in New York, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival and the Psycho-Geography Festival.

You can reach Jennifer at jenshahade@gmail.com.

Buy Chess Bitch at amazon, B&N.com or chesscafe.com. To order Chess Bitch for your store, call  the toll free order line of Silman-James Press, (877) SJP-BOOKS

I’m currently working on fiction that deals with games, sexual confusion and modern dating. The idea is a beach read that doesn’t make you feel you lost 20 IQ points.

Articles: I have contributed to the New York Times, Games Magazine, the L.A. Times, New in Chess, Foreword Magazine and Chess Life Magazine, for which I am the web editor.

Links to writing samples:

Jen on Chess Outliers and Unlucky Birthdays

New York Times Op-ed "All The Right Moves"

Pick Up Lessons in Reverse 

Review of Birth of the Chess Queen in the L.A. Times

Review of Tabloid Love

Interview with Elizabeth Vicary on Chess Life Online

 Bookslut Interview with writer Chris Hallman 

Zugzwang Challenge on 9queens.org

Chess Life Online blog on "Burning Boards."