Rest in Peace: Dr. Ira Lee Riddle d.7/6/09 

I was live on the Howard Stern show Monday May 18 roughly 9:40-11 AM. We again will be auctioning off a trip to the Howard Stern show to raise money as part of the Holly Heisman Memorial Fundraiser chess tournament. This year we were planning to use EBay (!) to raise as much donation as possible for this worthy cause but this may not happen so if you would like to bid to be on the Howard Stern show, please email Dan.

Congrats to Dan Yeager, who made Senior Master (2400) at the DC Action Open, winning 5.5/6

My previous 83 (!) radio shows are now archived by the ICC (ICC membership required) My show is changing after May '09 from Question and Answer format to pre-recorded videos on instruction.

Golf? Live in the Philadelphia area? I am looking for someone to golf with, especially on a weekday morning

Sample of my art (including chess stuff) - Except for the Black king, most of my best stuff had already been wall-mounted. I will draw a custom-ordered, signed, 8.5x11 grey-scale for anyone for $40

I have 16 chess videos on chess improvement! Watch the first one on Counting and Safety free (the rest are for ICC members or but are available even for free one-week trial members). The second set of five are now here - click on them to get a five minute preview.

"Chess is good for you" Department. From the book "Welcome to your Brain" by Caltech's Dr. Sam Wang and Dr. Sandra Aamodt: "You'll be doing your best to keep some of both types of activity in your life. If you already get enough exercise, add an intellectual hobby like learning a new language or playing bridge."

Yes, that was me on the Howard Stern show (!) Sep 10, 2007 with Adam Weissbarth of Silver Knights.   See Howard's chess interview in the NY Times.

"In the last half-dozen years or so, Dan Heisman has carved out a niche as perhaps America’s preeminent chess instructor. His name is invoked frequently in chess server chat rooms, various newsgroups, and in tournament halls across the country. ChessCafe.com readers are no doubt familiar with Mr. Heisman’s monthly Novice Nook column wherein he dispenses practical advice for the improving tournament player. He also enjoys large audiences on his twice-weekly radio show for ChessFM where he fields questions from listeners and discusses all things chess with a breathless enthusiasm.

One secret of Heisman’s success is his ability to empathize with his audience. Years of experience as a chess coach have taught him that it is not enough simply to explain why a move is good or bad, but also to try to understand why intelligent, hard-working, dedicated players continue to repeat their mistakes even when they know better. He understands that most of us can become perplexed by even the simplest of positions, that chess is a game full of truths and contradictions, and that even boneheaded moves are often motivated by good, albeit misguided, intentions. This is not so much insight as it is respect for his students. Heisman knows that we genuinely want to improve, and he in turn genuinely wants to help us. And while many authors seem to think that the best way to write for junior or novice players is to pepper their prose with “Gee Whiz!” vernacular, Heisman writes in a refreshingly sincere and honest style without affectation or condescension." - Richard Roseborough in Chess Cafe.

Dan gets FIDE CM title