Back when I was competing in chess professionally, I had the privilege of being taught by an eccentric husband-and-wife duo, An and Hung. An is a Woman Grandmaster, and Hung, unlike most other chess coaches, was an engineer before leaving his high-paying job at a reputable company to pursue a career in chess. Many considered him foolish for making this career shift, but he was truly happy with his decision; it gave him the opportunity to live with his passion for research and chess. His story has been a major inspiration for me, but their teachings have had an even greater impact on my thinking and approach to “diving in depth.”

Before a major tournament game, they would spend hours with me analyzing my opponent’s past games. Hung, approaching it like an engineer, would break down the games to understand their openings, styles, and strategies. We’d then compare that to my own style and explore various openings and strategies for the upcoming game. Since there’s often a gap between theory and practice, An would play the role of my opponent, assuming their style. At the time, I didn’t always enjoy these deep-dive sessions. Why spend all this time analyzing when I could simply play the game?

Years later, I’m incredibly grateful for those moments. Like prepping a a chess game, to understand how something is truly built, it’s essential to examine it from multiple angles rather than just reading a simplified story from A to Z. Only by doing so can I apply these insights to my real-world problems.

We hope that Chess Not Checkers, beyond being a venue for people to connect, encourages you to dive deeper into how companies are built, offering you multiple lenses and perspectives through our curated event guests and resources. Through a more investigative, “case study” approach, we aim to provide you with as many “dots” as possible, allowing you to connect them yourself.