Behind The Scenes of Chess Journalism with Vanessa Sun

104 This week’s guest is Vanessa Sun, a former chess journalist. For years, she covered events for US Chess, from major national tournaments like the US Open to local competitions.

She was also a tournament director at the famous Marshall Chess Club in New York City. Plus, she’s volunteered for IM Greg Shahade at the US Chess School, which is a nonprofit that offers free chess coaching to the most promising juniors in the country.

Beyond her chess experiences, she’s an atmospheric chemist and is currently in a Ph.D program.

In this episode, we chat about her chess journey, including:

• What unique insights about chess she’s gained from covering tournaments and doing interviews as a chess journalist. • Why she prefers classical and calls herself a “blitz hater.” • Whether there’s any link between playing chess and intelligence. • The powerful impact chess can have on people’s lives, even if they don’t make a career of it or work on the game regularly.

Find Vanessa on Twitter

How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like:

• Submitting questions to guests • A shout-out of your name on the pod • Vote on future topics/guests • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)