Game Night and Book Signing with Jennifer Shahade
Game Night and Book Signing with Jennifer Shahade | Fri, Nov. 13, 2026 | 6 – 8 pm | In-person
Join us for a captivating evening with Philadelphia-based two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion and author Jennifer Shahade, who will host a discussion about art, chess and gender on Nov 13 from 6 to 8. Attendees will step into the new show, Donna Dodson: Match of the Matriarchs, which centers on a monumental, interactive chessboard featuring 32 movable chess pieces hand-carved from salvaged wood. The show also includes Hula Chess, Naked Chess, and Breast Milk vs. Formula, pieces by Jennifer and her collaborator Daniel Meirom. Jennifer will guide tours of the works from 6 to 6:30, followed by a talk on her art, where you will learn about the Marcel Duchamp chess games that inspired several of the works. Attendees will help Jennifer finish “Not Particularly Beautiful” the interactive chess board which reveals the pervasive misogyny in the game.
Copies of the book Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life will be available for purchase at the event, along with plenty of opportunities for conversation and chess. The event will take place from 6 – 8 pm.
Jennifer Shahade is a three-time national chess champion, poker pro and keynote speaker on decision-making. Her books include Chess Bitch, Chess Queens and her latest, Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life. She’s co-author of Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess, and has created art inspired by Duchamp and chess with her collaborator Daniel Meirom, including Hula Chess, Naked Chess and Not Particularly Beautiful.
A two-time Global Poker Award winner and chess Olympic medalist, Shahade was the first female to win the US Junior Open and holds the Woman Grandmaster title. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Time.
Shahade is known for big moves to create more gender equality in chess. As The Telegraph reported in 2023, “Thanks to the actions of female stars like Jennifer Shahade, a dark side to the male-dominated-mind sport can no longer be hidden.”
This event is free to the public. The Museum for Art in Wood interprets, nurtures, and champions creative engagement and expansion of art, craft, and design in wood to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of it. A suggested donation of $5 per person enables us to provide programs and exhibitions throughout the year.
Questions? Please contact Katie Sorenson, Director of Outreach and Communications, at [email protected].
*Photos of Jennifer Shahade by Maria Emelianova