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In Episode 283, I have the pleasure of conversing with International Master Malcolm Pein, Chief Executive at Chess in Schools and Communities, Chess Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, Proprietor of Chess & Bridge Ltd and Executive Editor of CHESS Magazine.

Malcolm is a Former British Junior Champion. As a Qualified FIDE Trainer, he has trained over 20 national and world junior champions.

He has been a Chess Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph for over 30 years and has commentated on chess for the BBC, Sky TV, Canal+, Independent Television News and CNN.

He is the author of many books and Executive Editor of CHESS Magazine. He has consulted on many films, including Chess Masters: The Endgame, EastEnders, Casualty, X-Men: Days of Future.

In 1992, he founded the London Chess Centre, a games shop in central London and the UK’s only dedicated chess shop.

In 2010, I founded Chess in Schools and Coommunities, which teaches chess in 350 schools and 800 classrooms weekly. Over 250,000 children have learned life skills through chess in its' programs.

In 2016, he was appointed Manager of the England Open Team. Notable successes include defeating China (the strongest chess country in the world at that time) at the Chess Olympiad in Baku in 2016. In 2019, England took the silver medals at the World Team Championships at Astana, the team's best result for over 20 years and later that year at Batumi, England took the bronze medals at the European Team Championships.

We speak about parallels between Malcolm and our 109th Podcast Guest National Master Bruce Pandolfini, growing up in Liverpool, his favorite Beatles songs, fundraising and more.

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In Episode 282, I have the merit of speaking with Sami Steigmann, who is a Holacaust survivor, educator and motivational speaker. A few years ago, our 50th Podcast Guest Esther Deutsch,his honorary granddaughter, told me about Sami. I was excited to meet him at a Kosha Dillz Chanukah concert, in which he danced on stage.

Sami was born on December 21, 1939 in Czernovitz, Bukovina, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire belonging to Romania. From 1941 through 1944, he was with his parents at Mogilev-Podolsky, a labor camp in an area called Transnistria. The camp was liberated by the Red Army and his family was deported by the Romanians, not by the Germans.

In 1961, his family emigrated to Israel, where he served in the Air Force. In 1968, he came to the United States. He lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he married, divorced and eventually, in 1983 returned to Israel. However, in 1988, he returned to the United States, choosing New York City as his final home. Since then, he has spoke to thousands of people as an educator and motivational speaker.

We speak about empathy, an overview of the history of the Holocaust since World War 1, knowledge versus action, overcoming obstacles, the global chess community, the benefits of chess, positivity and more.

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In Episode 281, I have the pleasure of conversing with Dani Zoldan, Owner of Stand Up NY. Dani has been a serial entrepreneur since he was 19 years old. While in college, he founded the online music company Eargazmic.com, which was a website where independent bands and musicians promoted and sold their music.

In 2008, he purchased Stand Up NY, the famous comedy club, which recently moved from the Upper West Side to Time Square. Stand Up NY became popular with many of the world’s best comics, including Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Louis CK and Jon Stewart.

We speak about meeting at Aleeza Ben Shalom, the famous Netflix Jewish matchmaker's event, the reasons for comedy, alternatives to showcases, the behind the scenes of running a comedy club, chutzpah, The Chosen Comedy Festival, improvisation in chess and comedy and more.