Chess Champion's Shocking Career Pivot You Didn't Expect | Alexandra Botez DSH #925

I hit a new all-time high in Jessica.

Heck yeah, what's your ELO?

It's low compared to you, but it doesn't matter, it's about your all-time high.

What is it?

1460.

Let's go.

So, you probably hit that when you were 10.

I'm probably more like 14, but wow.

Oh, wait, 1400?

Oh, yeah, never mind.

Probably like

wow, wait a minute, you feel good.

But I started playing really young.

All right, guys, here with Alexandra Botez at the Celebrity Pokétor, and you just busted out.

What happened?

I had six big blinds, pocket fives, ton of limpers.

I shove, folds to the last guy.

He calls me with 10-9 off.

Wow.

I have it up until the turn and he rivers a straight and we're out.

Damn.

Feels bad, man.

I mean, you probably made the right move and just won.

Hey, it's fine.

It's poker.

It's fun for everyone.

Yeah.

You've been playing a lot of poker lately?

I played a lot of poker in the first half of the year and then I took a little bit of a break, but I'll probably play Bahamas this December.

Okay, so you're going to fly out and play in the tournament?

And play the 25k, yeah.

Damn.

I know.

It's going to be a big one.

Is that the biggest buy-in you've ever done?

25k, yep.

Wow, so you've been uh you've been practicing, I bet.

I am going to be studying a lot leading into it, yeah.

You got a coach and everything?

Uh, I do have a coach, but um,

honestly, like, just

I have a group of friends who plays poker, and that's the most fun way to do it.

We just look at hands after, and that's been the most helpful.

Have you noticed with chess, like, you got obviously really good at chess, like, you're able to replicate that to poker?

Time will tell.

Yeah, you're pretty new to poker, right?

A couple years?

Yep.

yeah that makes sense um i hit a new all-time high in just today heck yeah what's your elo it's slow compared to you but it doesn't matter it's about your all-time high 1460.

let's go so it's only fitting i had you on today

happy to be here yeah um but you probably hit that when you were 10.

um probably more like 14 but wow damn that's young oh wait 1400 oh yeah never mind probably like

wow wait a minute we feel good but i started playing really young yeah how young um when i was six.

Damn.

I was really good when I was young.

Like, I hit 1800 when I was 12, and then it kind of just tapered out.

Wow.

What do you think caused that plateau?

That's a good question.

I think I after I won a full ride when I was 15 for chess.

And then I just thought, what else am I going to do with chess?

So then I sort of just switched to focusing on school instead.

Full ride to Stanford, right?

I didn't get a full ride, but I did get financial aid.

Woohoo!

Oh, did you make it all the way through?

I did, yeah, I finished.

Well done.

What's it for?

I don't know, but I did finish.

You don't know the major?

I do know the major.

I'm just saying my college degree did nothing for me.

Well, I love the honesty.

Yeah.

But the networking was probably good.

For sure.

And I met some of my close friends there.

Yeah, and you stream with the people you met there, right?

No, I stream with my sister.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Who else?

Pardon?

Who else are you streaming with?

Just her mainly?

Like on the same channel?

Just like in the videos, I guess.

Are you collaborating with other chess?

Yeah, for sure.

I mean, like, you collaborate with everyone who's in chess and generally in streaming.

Yeah, it's a small small world, right?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so

the world championship's coming up next week, you said, right?

Yep.

Do you have any predictions on who's going to win that?

I mean, Gukesh is the favorite, but more than anything,

nobody cares that much about this World Chess Championship because the number one player, Magnus, isn't playing.

So it's like a world championship match between world number four and world number 20.

Not as exciting.

That being said, Gukesh is 18.

India loves chess.

So like if he wins, it'll be big for him.

Ding Liren already has a world championship title.

but the world championship title doesn't mean as much anymore because it doesn't mean you're the best player in the world.

Right, because the best players stopped competing in it.

Yes.

Yeah.

What about the woman's side?

Are you following that side?

Honestly, I don't really follow that much competitive chess in general, but the women's world championship doesn't happen at the same time.

Got it.

Yeah.

Was becoming a grandmaster a big goal of yours?

It was never even a goal.

Really?

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

So you were just playing like...

Like, what was the main goal, I guess?

To win a scholarship.

Okay so you wanted to you planned on stopping after the scholarship?

I always really liked playing chess but if you're not one of the top you know players in the world it's very hard to make a living.

If you're gonna be a grandmaster you might as well have gotten a PhD in something that actually pays you money.

So yeah it was just one of the things that I realized it's very tough to make a living even if you love the game.

That makes sense.

It's like being a struggling artist.

Yeah.

So you're leaning more towards poker now?

I have been enjoying poker a lot and I'll definitely keep playing more.

We'll see how it goes.

Well, stay tuned.

You said that when's that event coming up?

The 25k one?

In December.

In December.

Yeah.

Stay tuned for that.

And where else can people find you?

On MySpace.

Yeah, only platform I use.

Okay.

If you know, you know, well, we'll link YouTube below.

You guys have a YouTube channel.

All right.

Peace, guys.