Hi everyone.
Welcome to this week’s episode of No Bullshit Talks.
And I’m so excited to have my guest today on the show, Jennifer Shahade.
I felt like I should be using your chess title, which is Women’s Grandmaster, Jennifer Shahade.
But that is not just who you are.
You’re a professional poker player, but there are no titles in poker, which we’re totally going to come on to because that’s so weird.
And you’re a podcaster, you’re an author, you run book clubs, you do a million things.
How would you actually describe yourself?
Well, that’s a great question.
You started off… yeah.
Well, I tend to, when I meet someone, I often say that I’m a professional chess and poker player.
A lot of times I leave out poker depending on the situation, because that’s a bigger conversation.
I am a PokerStars ambassador as well, and then I play poker and I’m a poker podcaster.
But just like in chess, it tends to be a few different things that I do, not just one single thing.
So I often say I work as a professional games player.
And then I also talk about working in female empowerment.
Okay, so you actually prioritize chess over poker in introduction-wise.
Yeah.
That’s interesting because I also said I didn’t know how to introduce you.
You do so many things.
How would you describe yourself?
Would you also say you’re an entrepreneur?
What would you…
Maybe, although I feel like I don’t manage people.
So I think entrepreneurship is really… and that’s something I’m probably going to have to start to do more in my career.
Because everything that I’m doing is kind of blowing up.
And my response to that tends to be just to work harder.
And I do have some people that I hire to do certain things.
But in terms of full-time team members, that’s something that I kind of associate with most entrepreneurs.
Maybe something, definitely a skill set that I’m looking to build for sure.
And then I think author and speaker is really a good catch-all too.
Because I do so much speaking and hosting.
And then writing is one of my first loves.
So yeah, it’s hard to kind of get by without a lot of slashes.
Yeah, well that’s what I was going to ask you next.
Obviously it was so difficult to introduce you because you do so many different things and pinpoint a title for you.
But then it’s like, which… I know you’re going to say I can’t answer this question… but which of those things do you think you love the most?
I like writing and speaking, probably.
Yeah, I like them both.
Because I like the idea… I mean, you know, I’ve been a commentator for many, many years.
I’ve done so many commentary sessions.
But I actually think that what I excel in is slightly more curated content.
Just because I’m not always that great on my feet.
I’m not bad.
I mean, I’ve worked at it for so many years.
I’ve learned some tricks.
But I’ve never considered myself the sharpest, quickest thinker.
I think I do really well when I’m able to structure things and come up with a creative way to present information.
And just dole it out in the right quantities.
I think that those are actually my strengths.
So when I give a one-hour talk or I write an essay, I’m able to think about all these insights and visuals and ideas that I have and say what’s most important.
How can I distill this to make people find it interesting?
I think that is where a lot of my talents lie.
And that’s why in my podcasts, they’re heavily edited by my husband, who’s an amazing editor.
And I think that’s why they’re really good.
Because I’m not the best with completely unscripted stuff.
I tend to use a lot of empty words, just like most people.
Most people.
But you know, I also work with somebody like Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, who just speaks as if he’s writing a book on improv.
He’s literally giving a speech in improv.
That’s not me.
But I’m warning you, Jan, because I don’t have a husband who’s an editor.
It’s okay, my podcast is not going to be heavily edited.
No, no, no.
It’s also different because when you’re the guest, I think sometimes it’s a little easier because somebody’s prompting the questions to you.
When I’m the host, I usually find that sometimes I just bumble a little bit.
Well actually now I’m kind of hoping you will so that I have these little moments to haunt you forever on my podcast.
You’re kind of nervous that I’m joking or not.
But no, we’re going to move on to your chess career, I guess, first.
Because I guess that’s how I know you to start.
So I know you as a pro chess player.
You are a Women’s Grandmaster, which basically defines you as one of the top female players ever in the world, which is kind of cool.
But tell me about your love for chess.
When did you fall in love with the game, and what kind of journey would you describe you’ve taken through it?
That’s a great question.
I think that I really fell in love with the game.
I have a very vivid memory of Brazil when I was 15.
That was my first…



