S03 E05: Fiona Steil-Antoni on a Life in Chess

Fiona Steil-Antoni, Women’s International Master (WIM) and popular Twitch streamer, joined me on Step Up! to talk about her brilliant career in chess. Fiona has competed for Luxembourg on the world stage since she was eleven years old, battling it out with the world’s best at many of the chess world’s most prestigious international tournaments.

We talked about her early days in Luxembourg, her first exposure to chess, and training under Czech Grandmaster Vlastimil Jansa on the national team. We also covered Fiona’s amazing individual gold medal win at the 2006 World Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy, as well as some of her earlier experiences in competition.

We chatted about the importance of confidence while competing, and the value of being prepared physically and mentally before entering an important competition.

In 2014 Fiona transitioned in her chess career by moving from the player’s seat to covering the Reykjavik Open for tournament organizers. Since then she has broadcast from many of chess’s biggest events and built a popular Twitch channel with more than 10,000 followers.

Of course, any discussion about chess in late 2020 is incomplete without touching on the Queen’s Gambit. Paul and Fiona talked about the gorgeous cinematography, the impact of the show, and the accuracy of the chess scenes.

Fiona’s energy and enthusiasm made this a fantastic show – it was my pleasure and privilege to host her on the final episode of 2020!

Fiona Steil-Antoni – Chess Competition Highlights:

• Winner, Women’s Luxembourg Championships (multiple titles)
• Gold, Women’s Chess Olympiad, 2006
• Bronze, European Small Nations Championship, 2009 (team award)
• 2nd, WGM Tournament, Condom Chess Festival, 2008
• 2nd, Klaskvik Open, 2010
• 2nd, Uxbridge Autumn Women’s International, 2010
• Winner, with Tom Weber – Blitz Pairs, Gibraltar, 2011
• 2nd, WIM Tournament of the Mulhouse Chess Festival, 2012

Show Info and Links:

Fiona’s Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/fionchetta

Fiona’s Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/fionchetta

During the episode, Fiona mentioned the upcoming Tata Steel Chess Tournament, taking place January 15-31 in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. For more on this tournament, visit: https://tatasteelchess.com/

Paul’s Additional Info:

Paul’s Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/Paul_de_Burger

Paul’s Professional Speaking & Corporate Training: www.pauldeburger.com

Paul de Burger – Photography: www.pauldeburgerphoto.com

Intro Music: RetroFuture Clean Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/