In May 2021, WIM Jesse February won the Women's African Individual Championship, just the second South African player to win the tournament ever. Taking first place in this tournament means that Jesse will be awarded the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title if she reaches 2100 rating. In just a few days, Jesse will compete for the World Cup in Sochi, Russia. She also streams with WCM Rebecca Selkirk on their Twitch channel, HashtagChess, which has grown very quickly over the last year. I am very grateful that Jesse joined me this week on 64: A Chess Podcast to talk about her chess career.

Episode highlights:

• Her success at the African Championship -- previous attempts at winning the tournament and the moment she realized that first place was in reach

• Being selected as a wildcard for the World Cup in Sochi, Russia, and  ...