
NM SHAWN PEALER
Head Coach
Shawn learned chess from his father - possibly around the age of 4 in Vermont. However, chess first became more of an interest in 4th grade when the family moved to Evanston, Illinois. There, Shawn joined his first chess club and first heard about the USCF when his dad bought Sargon III for the family’s first computer - a Mac plus! His dad also had a collection of about a dozen chess books - they were storybooks you could interact with!
Moving back to Vermont, there weren’t many opportunities to play chess. In his third tournament, Shawn won 2nd place in the High School championship as a 9th grader. The next time he played for the High School championship of Vermont was as a 12th grader - and he won first! In high school, Shawn enjoyed studying chess by reading Combination Challenge between classes and playing by mail by postcard with people from around the country.
In college, Shawn became increasingly interested in chess - playing on the Free Internet Chess Server and in a few tournaments. A highlight was meeting and drawing IM Joshua Waitzkin in a simul!
Shawn’s first job after college was at the US Chess Federation. What a joy to work in an office dedicated to chess with a warehouse of the coolest chess equipment imaginable below your feet!
In 2004, Shawn moved to Charlotte, NC. There he was able to play in lots of tournaments (thanks to Leland Fuerstman and Peter Giannatos) and eventually get to National Master at the age of 39. He has also directed a lot of tournaments and worked as a chess coach since approximately 2008.
Shawn is extremely excited to be lending a hand at the Charlotte Chess Center. This organization is a real treasure for all of us chess enthusiasts!