Karen Schmidt is joining the team as Beginner Coach, Writer and Blogger. She is a long time University District resident, graduate of the UW with a BA in Anthropology, and former accountant at both Nordstrom Corporate Accounting and the University of Washington. She learned to play chess at 13 in Yakima, where she was born and raised. She later joined the Chess Mom Scholastic Circuit for several years after teaching her only son to play chess. She has enjoyed playing casual chess at Westlake Park downtown since 2016, and has improved her game in the years since then by playing casual chess with stronger players.