Updated: 21 Feb 2021, 9:03
GRANDMASTER Jennifer Shahade, 40, is a two-time US Women’s chess champion. She lives in Philadelphia with husband Daniel, 45, and son Fabian, four.
Here, she tells her extraordinary life story, from watching her father and older brother playing the game at the age of six to proving once and for all that chess is not a man s game.
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Jennifer Shahade is a two-time US women s champion chess playerCredit: JenbyMariaE
“My heart raced as I finally made checkmate against my opponent. At 21, I’d just become US Women’s Chess Champion, a title I’d been dreaming of my whole life.
I m the real-life Queen s Gambit and proof that chess is not a man s game the-sun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from the-sun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jennifer Shahade at the London Chess Classic, December 18, 2015. (YouTube screenshot)
LONDON (Jewish News) Long before Beth Harmon burst onto our screens as a flame-haired chess prodigy in “The Queen’s Gambit,” Jennifer Shahade was checkmating her way to the very top of her field.
In fact, the 40-year-old is a two-time US Women’s Chess Champion and the World Chess Federation (FIDE) bestowed Shahade with the title of Woman Grandmaster, putting her on a par with the likes of iconic male competitors, including Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov.
So rather than being a work of fiction, Shahade knows women can rise to the top in chess just like in “The Queen’s Gambit” and is hopeful Netflix’s most-watched limited series ever will encourage others to take up the game.
Oslo Børs stengte med oppgang – Nel falt over syv prosent dn.no - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dn.no Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Before The Queen s Gambit There Was Vera Menchik Netflix
By Jeff Somers/Dec. 29, 2020 2:50 pm EDT/Updated: Jan. 5, 2021 4:46 pm EDT
The Queen s Gambit has been a breakout success for Netflix, reintroducing the world to Walter Tevis terrific novel and inspiring a surge of interest in the game of chess. The story of Beth Harmon orphan, alcoholic, and chess genius the series combines a fine sense of 1960s style with an accurate portrayal of just how dramatic the chess world can be. And while the story only skims the challenges faced by female players in the male-dominated sphere of world-class chess, it s easy to see Harmon as a feminist icon who smashes through glass ceilings as easily as she smashes through her endgames.