May

SuperJen Lecture Brings IM to Delaware

docfleetwood on May 9th, 2005

On Saturday, May 7, 2005, Jennifer Shahade visited the Bear Library
to give a lecture and simul to 35 Delaware players. “SuperJen” as
she is known, enjoys promoting chess and it showed in her enthusiasm
and radiant smile as she talked about game tactics and strategies with children and adults. After giving a mini-lecture on various tactical positions, SuperJen fielded questions from the audience. During her lecture she spoke of the benefits of tactical training, especially for the less experienced players. When preparing to move you should, “Always look at checks and captures as candidate moves and then look for other possibilities” she said as she worked through one of the positions on the large display board. She also demonstrated why it is sometimes beneficial to under-promote a pawn to a knight or bishop rather than a queen – something most young players would never really consider. Although she did quickly add that you should never under-promote just to “torture your opponent!”
How old were you when you started chess?

6 years old

What is your favorite white opening?

e4 – (as we soon learned in the simul :-))

How long have you been playing in tournaments?

Since around 3rd or 4th grade.

Is it okay to approach you at tournaments to say hi?

Sure. (did I mention she really enjoys promoting chess? Just don’t start giving
her game advice!)

What was your best Olympiad experience? (The women’s team had their best showing ever in the last Chess Olympiad as they won a silver medal!)

Having the opportunity to train with Garry Kasparov leading up to the Olympiad. The event itself was a wonderful event in a beautiful location. (Mallorca, Spain)

Speaking of training, what is your training schedule like?

It depends on the event. (Since Jen also works hard to promote chess and has now written a book, due out soon, her training schedule varies.)
Unfortunately, the best trainer I have ever worked with, Victor Frias, recently passed away – Victor was great.

What do you think of the Fischer situation?

I think it is bad for chess. He looks like a disaster, he says all these crazy things – he was great for chess once but now I think he is bad for the game.

Are there any training books you recommend?

There are many great books but one I particularly like is Combinational Motifs by Blokh. I also like Aagaard’s work and the Seven Deadly Chess Sins is a good book on the psychology of chess.

What is in your immediate future?

I will be playing in Curacao in July. You can see my schedule of events and exhibitions on my website at www.jennifershahade.com.

The Delaware chess community definitely wants to thank Jennifer for spending the day with us. It is an amazing ability to be able to play 35 people at the same time and still maintain your sanity! Everyone involved had a great time and enjoyed interacting with this very personable Women’s International Master. We certainly wish her the best in the future. Be sure to check out her website. And, for the results of the simul and more information on the day be sure to click on over to the Bear Scholastic site http://bear.delawarechess.org/Jen_simul_news.pdf

SuperJen signs autographs