I got a chess set in third grade and quickly realized it was more interesting than checkers. Soon I was playing and studying all the time. I won the National Grade Championship in eighth and ninth grade.

I used the strategies and study techniques I learned from chess to make a living as a poker pro for seven years, but I couldn’t stay away from chess forever. I returned to the royal game and, using techniques I learned from poker, increased my rating from 2200 to above 2400. Along the way, I won state championships in Massachusetts and Nebraska.

I’ve always been interested in games as a laboratory for examining how our minds work. I combine my experiences from chess, poker, and data science to find new ways of thinking about chess and learning.