EP 481- IM Greg Shahade: Inside His Incredible Jeopardy Run

EP 481- IM Greg Shahade: Inside His Incredible Jeopardy Run

From Perpetual Chess Podcast by Ben Johnson

May 5, 2026 · 1h 21m

About this episode

IM Greg Shahade discusses his impressive run on Jeopardy! and the learning strategies that contributed to his success.

IM Greg Shahade has long been well known in the chess world as a three-time national scholastic champion and the founder of the Pro Chess League and the US Chess School. Recently, however, he reached a much broader audience with an impressive run on the syndicated trivia show Jeopardy!. Greg amassed over $75,000 in winnings, dethroning 31-time champion Jamie Ding along the way. He joined me after what he described as “the craziest week of his life” to discuss: The approach to adult learning that helped him go from trivia novice to Jeopardy! champion in just a few years Behind-the-scenes insights from the recording process, plus his reflections on his controversial on-stage mannerisms How his background in chess (and poker) shaped his strategy and decision-making under pressure There isn’t a ton of chess discussion in this episode, but Greg’s approach to learning and performance has clear applications across many domains. 00:00 Introduction Check out our sponsors, Chessiverse.com , and you can use code Perpetual30 to save 30% on premium feature and/or IM John Bartholomew’s Complete Scandinavian Course. Chessiverse.com 03:00- Greg Shahade joins the show, we begin by discussing…

People in this episode

Host: Ben Johnson

Guest: Greg Shahade

Topics covered

  • adult learning
  • trivia
  • Jeopardy!
  • chess
  • performance
  • strategy

Keywords

  • Jeopardy!
  • Greg Shahade
  • adult learning
  • trivia
  • chess strategy
  • performance
  • knowledge structures

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pro Chess League, US Chess School, Jeopardy!, Learned League, Ducksters

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