This bonus episode of the GRID offers a fascinating discussion between Jen Shahade and quant sports trader & US Chess expert Ella Papanek. A recent graduate of Harvard University, Ella works at the Susquehana International Group (SIG), a global quantitative trading firm in the Philly area. Her interests span from chess to poker to sports, and of course- statistics, her major at Harvard. 

Jen and Ella’s wide-ranging discussion touches on why it’s hard for children to think probabilistically, rating variability and gender and how to evaluate chess positions from a human perspective. They also talk about Ella’s specialty: sports analytics, and how it can be used not only to both predict outcomes but also to restructure rules to make the game better. As an example Ella points to chess tiebreak rules, as well as to Daryl Morey, President of the Philadelphia Sixers and chess enthusiast. Daryl co-founded the MIT Sports Analytics Conference, and famously suggested shaking up NBA rules by adding a four point line—or making three-pointers worth 2.5 points. 

This episode is an expanded version of the January 2022 episode of Ladies Knight. Find our traditional GRID Episodes using our Episode Finder. 

Discussed in the episode:

Susquehanna International Group 

Angela Saini’s book, Inferior

Jennifer Shahade’s upcoming book, Chess Queens, now available at US Chess Sales

Daryl Morey and Jessica Gelman’s MIT Sports Analytics Conference

MIT Sports Analytics panel “Beyond the Gambit: Chess’ Big Move”

NFL Big Data Bowl: https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/analytics/big-data-bowl/

Jen’s podcast episode with chess enthusiast Bill Chen, who also works at SIG

North American Corporate Chess League

Jennifer welcomes Amanda Botfeld, author of “A Girls Guide to Poker” to the GRID. Amanda discusses a hand from the tag team event at the World Series of Poker, where she paired up with the man who taught her poker 15 years earlier: her dad. The heart-warming duo came in third place, cashing for 50K total. Amanda emphasized the wholesome elements of poker in a viral tweet from one of their early poker lessons “Love you dad, and couldn’t have done it without you.”

Amanda brings to the GRID the very first hand she was dealt on the final table: king jack offsuit. She elected to play aggressively against the chip leader, three-betting the button vs a hijack open. As the hand progressed, she had to decide whether to commit most of her chips…or play it safe.

Amanda talks about her passion for getting more women into poker as an author, and as an instructor and the curriculum coordinator for Poker Power, a rapidly growing organization that aims to bring over one million women into poker. Jennifer has recently joined the Poker Power advisory board.

You can find Amanda on twitter, instagram and giving lessons at Poker Power. And check out her book A Girl’s Guide to Poker.

This episode features special music from Austin based musician and friend of the GRID, Jenny Parrot. Check out her new album, the Fire I Saw, on bandcamp, spotify and YouTube.

Now that Amanda has covered king-jack-offsuit, there are 108 combos left on the GRID.  Check out previous episodes using our  Support the GRID by pre-ordering Jennifer’s book, Chess Queens on Bookshop, B&N or amazon.