EP 437- Coach Jay Stallings and NM Adam Weissbarth talk Chess Teaching, Chess in the Movies and The Challenges and Rewards of Running a Chess Business

This two-part episode of Perpetual Chess features two of the most impactful figures in American chess education: Coach Jay Stallings and Adam Weissbarth. First up, Coach Jay shares insights from his decades of experience teaching over 30,000 students,and also discusses his recent work consulting on the chess scenes in the new Hollywood blockbuster The Accountant 2. Additionally, Jay reviews some of the teaching tools he currently relies on—including a fun new one that he recently created himself.

Following Jay is Adam Weissbarth, founder of Silver Knights Chess Academy, one of the largest after-school chess programs in the country. Adam recounts the immense challenges his company faced during the pandemic, when it lost all of its revenue sources overnight. He explains how he rebuilt the organization and expanded into elite coaching with grandmasters. Together, these conversations offer a fascinating look at the state of chess instruction—from classrooms to Zoom screens to movie scenes. Timestamps of guests and topics are below. 

Check out the special offers mentioned at the beginning of the show below: 

Chessdojo-

https://www.chessdojo.club/signup

Chessmood- Free one Week Trial-

Chessmood.com/Ben

Chess.com-Free Premum One Week Trial-

http://go.chess.com/Perpetual

0:02:00- Coach Jay joins the show! We begin by discussing chess and movies, Jay recently consulted on the chess scenes for The Accountant 2.

Mentioned: 

Check out my recommended books here:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/book-recommendations

Order Coach Jay’s Books for Kids here:

https://store.coachjayschessacademy.com/collections/coach-jay-starter-packs

Coach Jay’s prior interviews:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2017/9/12/episode-39-coach-jay-stallings

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2018/5/14/episode-72-coach-jay-stallings-returns

Also mentioned:

Searching for Bobby Fischer 

14:30- Why did Jay wind down his chess non-profit after the pandemic? 

16:00- Jay’s report on Supernationals, the giant scholastic tournament where he coached? 

25:00- Jay discusses his new chess educational kit for kids, “Triple Check”

Get it here:

https://store.coachjayschessacademy.com/collections/triple-check-the-chess-puzzle-game-that-needs-no-wifi

37:00- Jay shares a few new teaching tools he has been using.

Mentioned: Lichess studies, Chess.com Arena tournaments 

40:00- Thanks to Coach Jay for joining, you can reach him via his website:

https://store.coachjayschessacademy.com/

44:00- NM Adam Weissbarth joins the podcast! What was the biggest challenge his organization has faced? 

Adam’s prior Perpetual Chess Interview:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2018/4/9/silver-knights-chess-founder-adam-weissbarth

58:00- What has Adam learned from working with GM coaches like GM Johan Hellsten and GM Lazaro Bruzon?

Mentioned: Mastering Chess Strategy

1:02::00- Why has Silver Knights expanded its offering to stronger scholastic players? 

1:06:00- Did Adam meet people from the US Chess Federation at the Nationals? 

1:10:00- What resources does Silver Knights use for intermediate students? 

1:14:00- Adam’s advice for growing a chess teaching business

Thanks to Adam for joining, you can reach the Silver Knights academy via the following page:

https://chessacademy.com/pages/contact-us

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