Two-time U.S. women's chess champion and author of "Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport," Jennifer Shahade will give a lecture titled "Leveling the Chessboard: Women in Competitive Chess" on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. The event, which will be held at Griffin Hall, room 3, on the Williams College campus, is free and open to the public.
Following the lecture, Shahade will play 20 simultaneous chess games in Griffin 4. Participants who give her the most challenge will receive signed copies of her book. Those interested in signing up should contact Trevor Murphy at tmurphy@williams.edu.
Shahade, a Woman Grand Master who has an FIDE rating of 2322, is considered by some to be the strongest female player ever born and raised in the U.S. In 1998, she became the first female to win the U.S. Junior Open. She then proceeded to win the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in 2002 and 2004.
Shahade's 2005 book, "Chess Bitch," is a controversial but critically acclaimed investigation of young women in chess today. The book profiles international chess players and explores trends and biases in the game.
This Brooklyn-based chess expert is also the web editor in chief for the United States Chess Federation. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications. In 2005, the New York Times carried an op-ed by Shahade, in which she suggests that chess in the U.S. can and should be popularized in a manner similar to the mainstream presentation of poker, a game she also plays competitively.
Shahade who holds a B.A. in comparative literature from NYU teaches chess and is involved in performance art.
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Williamstown Fire District Expects Slightly Lower Tax Rate
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A rise in operating expenses for the Williamstown Fire Department will be offset by lower debt service payments on the new fire station, resulting in a slightly smaller tax bill from the district, officials noted last week.
One week after the Prudential Committee, which oversees the district, reviewed the fiscal articles it will send to May's annual district meeting, the fire chief explained that while operational funding is up by by nearly $125,000 from the current fiscal year to FY27, a drop in principal and interest payments will make up the difference.
Currently, the tax rate for the district — a separate taxing entity apart from town government — is projected to be $1.15 per $1,000 of valuation in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The current rate is $1.24.
In FY26, district taxpayers paid $1.9 million toward principal and interest for the Main Street fire station. The draft warrant for the May 26 annual district meeting calls for $1.7 million to be raised for that capital expense, a drop of just more than $198,000.
"The impact of the new debt and, indeed, the entire budget is offset by certain revenue items, particularly the $5.5 million in gifts from Williams College and the Clark [Art Institute]," Chief Jeffrey Dias wrote in an email discussing the proposed budget.
The $500,000 pledge from the Clark and the $5 million donated by Williams College are being utilized at the start of the payback period for the bonds that fund the station's construction — when those payments are higher.
Melissa Cragg, chair of the Fire District's Finance Committee, explained that the use of those gifts early in the process will not necessarily mean a sticker shock down the road.
Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 84 North Summer St.
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The tax bill of a median-priced single family home will go up by 8.45 percent in the year that begins July 1 under a spending plan approved by the Finance Committee on Wednesday night.
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Colleen Taylor and her brother and business partner Sean Taylor grabbed the concession offered by the Five Corners Stewardship Association, which purchased the store at the junction of Routes 7 and 43 in 2022.
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The Prudential Committee last week reviewed a draft annual fire district meeting warrant that includes an operational expenses budget up 9.4 percent from the figures approved at the May 2025 annual meeting.
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