A Conversation with Kyla Zhao
A Conversation with Kyla Zhao
Kyla Zhao is the author of the best-selling book, May the Best Player Win.
Zhao recently attended the World Chess Championships in Singapore.
“A quote that I heard when I was an adult but wish I had heard much earlier is that failure is not the opposite of success - it is a part of success . It sounds so simple but I think if I had heard it when I was younger it could have been very impactful in my life.”
Ken: When did you first start playing chess?
Kyla: I was introduced to chess when I was six years old by my grandfather.
I spent many afternoons with my grandfather in Singapore and I loved watching him play chess in the neighborhood.
One day I asked him to teach me and that started my journey into chess. I soon went from only playing my grandfather to participating in tournaments.
Ken: Was your grandfather supportive of your interest in chess?
Kyla: Honestly, I don't know if he expected that I would become so interested in chess and that I would pursue it so passionately.
Like most kids, I often developed a passing interest in many different things.
With chess, it was very much self-initiated .
Ken: When did you get your first chess coach?
Kyla: I think I was 7 to 9 when I first worked with a coach. He coached my school’s chess club.
Then when I was about 10, I changed elementary schools. By chance, it turned out to have a very strong chess team in Singapore.
That’s when I began to take chess more seriously. I would go for chess training sessions twice a week.
Ken: How did your interest in chess help inform some of your other interests either academically, artistically or socially?
Kyla: I think chess piqued my interest in psychology because I felt, from a very early age, that there are two distinct camps of players.
The first camp is comprised of people who are very dogmatic. They believe in playing the absolute best move they can in every situation.
The second group of players don’t play against positions but rather play against the player in front of them.
I think I fall into the second camp and so I became interested in human behavior.
Years later, when I enrolled at Stanford University, I decided to major in psychology.
My fascination with that field of study can be traced all the way back to my days playing chess.
Ken: Do you continue to see how different people perceive chess in different ways?
Kyla: Of course. I had the privilege of attending the recent World Chess Championships in Singapore.
I noticed that my friends who were watching the games online had a completely different experience than those of us who had the opportunity to watch the tournament in person.
It's such a different experience seeing the matches unfold firsthand.
I loved watching Gukesh and Ding compete and react to each other in real time.
There were so many micro expressions that crossed their faces. Every expression and slight facial movement communicated so much information.
I realized that I was witnessing something very special.
Ultimately the match was just two human beings playing against each other in a very high stakes situation.
Ken: When you developed your ideas for your books did you have a strong mission statement in mind?
Kyla: To be honest, I tend to write about things that interest me. These are the topics that I want to explore.
It’s only after I take a step back and look at my work from a broader perspective, that I can see the similarities across all my books.
I realized that I enjoy writing about Asian characters – especially the type of characters that I didn't see when I was growing up.
I also like to write about what it's like being in the minority in a very male-dominated space and how a person can carve out a space for themselves.
Ken: How much of your books are based on your life?
Kyla: I always get asked that question!
Let me just state that I’m very familiar with the world of competitive chess. There are elements of my life but it
really boils down to the simple motivation why I wrote these stories.
I want to convey the idea of performance anxiety and the pressure to succeed. It certainly was something that I struggled with a lot when I was growing up.
It eventually got to a point where it all became too much.
Ken: What were you afraid of?
Kyla: I felt like my fear of losing or failing overshadowed any joy that chess was bringing me.
After middle school, I actually ended up quitting chess and I never participated in a competition again.
It was only many years later when I was a third year student at Stanford that I rediscovered my love of chess.
It was 2020, during the COVID pandemic that some of my college friends were first starting to discover chess.
Ken: What spark did you see in your friends?
Kyla: I saw how much fun they were having learning chess. I remembered what it was like for me when I was just starting. I was just playing for fun.
I felt such a strong nostalgia for it and that's what drove me to start writing this story, as a way to figure out my own history and feelings around chess.
Ken: That’s amazing . I have interviewed many different chess players at various ELO ratings. A common thread is that chess is like a river that keeps flowing all the time.
Chess is always available for anyone to dip back into at any point in their life.
Kyla: Exactly!
Ken: Are there other themes in your books that you’d like to share?
Kyla: I think there are two themes that are part of my work.
The first is that you celebrate effort rather than results.
This is the growth set model that I studied at Stanford University when I was doing research for Carol Dweck, Ph.D.
Carol is one of the leading psychologists in the area of growth mindset .
She is the author of the best-selling book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322/ref=sr_1_1?crid=145VBSA095B19&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Nu_2yJCG8MYrnDRLvJ54JImRCs1k4bBjDjIbSHPnH48HzMFCW3dhOugWQWJldZnu672KkmlqExxNZDJT3YTavczie5ejP0EwEXFLFu3yWuK4OciQmrsZ6YXnafsPAeKj1q4bcEMUe9Jlr_U5T_dHZBCR_7s0fEK2i1d4vEOB_wZXfJHxuapiTLyNqLPrIgksToUWgio8ud8RFYavg2ad-l-F0aMowLOUGoXsJ4MkHnY.CrG8ZXO_N691qIiaay1G7rBXsS5L26VX_LaL2VeXe5Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=carol+dweck+growth+mindset+book&qid=1737076365&sprefix=carol+dweck+%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1
Ken: What is the core principle of Growth Mindset?
Kyla: By focusing on effort over outcomes, we can cultivate a positive, flexible mindset that helps us realize we have the potential to improve in any pursuit, as long as we're willing to focus and work hard.
A quote that I heard when I was an adult but I wish I had heard much earlier is that failure is not the opposite of success; it is a part of success. It sounds so simple but I think if I had heard it when I was younger it could have been very impactful in my life.
Ken: Do you compete in chess tournaments now?
Kyla: I don’t compete now, but I still love chess.
I continue to play chess online and I love reading books about chess.
Ken: Who do you find gets most excited reading your books?
Kyla: I hear more from adults but that's because I think the kids are a little bit young to be reaching out directly to me.
But I’m delighted to hear that both girls and boys are enjoying my books.
Ken: What are you working on now?
Kyla: The top two things that I’m working include my full-time job in the tech industry.
I've published 3 books and I'm working on my 4th book now.
Ken: I saw that you were at the World Chess Championships in Singapore with Gukesh and Ding Liren. How did that happen?
Kyla: I was invited to present my book and then I was lucky that I was given the opportunity to go to the press conferences as well.
Besides presenting my book at the World Championship, I also did several school talks in Singapore. I spoke to over 2,000 students at different schools over five days.
Interestingly, most of them knew absolutely nothing about chess but it didn’t really matter.
I think my message about self-expression and growth resonates with all audiences.
Kyla and her books have been featured by media outlets such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Good Morning America, Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, South China Morning Post, etc. Kyla has also been selected as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, a Tatler Leader of Tomorrow, and awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the California State Assembly. She now works at a tech company in Silicon Valley after graduating from Stanford University in 2021.
Kyla draws inspiration from her own life to craft novels that champion female empowerment and Asian representation. In her work, she likes to communicate a simple message for all young people: Failure isn't the opposite of success, but a part of success. Confidence isn't just what you show when things are going well; true confidence shines in those moments when you have to remind yourself that life moves forward, no matter the outcome.
May the Best Player Win is available as a print book, audiobook, and eBook on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593615867?tag=randohouseinc7986-20 and other retailers.https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/713065/may-the-best-player-win-by-kyla-zhao/9780593615867/
