An Actuary and ... Chess Master
By The Actuary, UK, Staff
Reinsurance News, April 2024
This article is updated from an earlier version that first appeared on the website for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries/UK publication The Actuary. We are grateful they have allowed us to republish this article.
Natasha Regan, head of risk at Aon, has broken down barriers in the game.
How did you get into chess?
I was about seven when my father taught me. We had got a kids’ chess book from an offer on the back of a Rice Krispies box, and when I learnt I was fascinated. I enjoy it because it’s a game of skill, and it has enough complexity that you can always keep improving. We had a great junior chess club nearby – I wouldn’t miss a single week.
How did you get so good?
I started going to tournaments in my teens, and surprised myself by winning the England under-14 girls’ championship; I went on to win in my age group for five years running. During my A-levels, I would play hundreds of games, perhaps to avoid study; I made my biggest improvement that year!
Tell us about your record breaking at the University of Cambridge…
The annual Oxford-Cambridge chess match started in 1873 but only men played until 1978, when a Women’s Board was added – though your score only counted for your Varsity team if overall there was a tie. In 1982 it started counting properly, and from then until 1992 the match was eight boards, with Board 8 the ‘Ladies’ Board’. In 1992, I was the first woman to play on Board 7. By 2000, two women were playing each other on Board 1.
How did you become a Woman International Master?
I needed to get three qualifying results (‘norms’) at international tournaments, including wins against titled players, and get my international rating above 2200. I scored my norms at the 1991 Hastings International Chess Congress, the 1994 Lloyds Bank Masters tournament and in the German Women’s Chess Bundesliga. I got my title in 2002, aged 31.
Do you still play seriously?
I am busy with my career and family, so play fewer tournaments than before. Chess is quite a high-maintenance game at international level because you need to stay up-to-date with the latest opening theory to avoid being in a worse position before the non-memory part of the game starts. During the pandemic, I found new ways to enjoy chess, commentating on the British Online Chess Championships via Twitch. In chess, over-50s are ‘senior’ players. I thoroughly enjoy playing as a senior and won the British over-50 Women’s National Championship this year and last year.
How did you become a chess author?
I wrote Chess for Life with the English chess Grandmaster Matthew Sadler in 2016. We had seen the film Moneyball, in which a scout uses stats to improve a baseball team’s performance, and thought there would be mileage in looking at chess data to see how players’ careers change over time. It was a lot of fun to write.
Our second book, Game Changer (2019) was about the artificial intelligence (AI) program AlphaZero, which learned chess to superhuman level, having been given only the moves—it taught itself the strategy. We analysed its 2018 games against Stockfish (the previous strongest chess engine), bringing out ideas that AlphaZero had taught itself so players could adopt similar techniques. Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen used the book to adapt his game.
Has chess informed your actuarial life in any way?
Chess has given me confidence. As a kid, I would beat adult players and I learned to trust my own assessments of problems. I’ve also never been fazed by being in the minority—often, in tournaments, only one in 20 competitors were women. Finally, I was extremely nervous when presenting at school, and giving talks to chess audiences has helped me in those situations at work.
What’s your favourite chess move?
The zwischenzug—an ‘in-between’ move that is against the expected run of play and can be a surprise to your opponent! In June, I published an online course, Zwischenzug! A comprehensive guide to intermediate moves, with chess coach Matt Ball.
Do you play other games?
I started playing Go competitively in 1999 and have played in international tournaments such as the World Mind Sports Games in Beijing and the World Pair Go Championship in Tokyo. Pair Go is like mixed doubles. I’ve won the UK Pair Go Championships seven times with Matt Cocke – also an actuary!
Have you ever played chess in the US?
Twice, both times In Philadelphia. There Is a wonderful tournament called the "World Open" which attracts a mixture of amateur and master players. The first time I played, in 1990, we went as a group of three English juniors and our coach, GM John Emms. It was a great experience, and I got the chance to play several titled players. We hadn't realised that In the US competitors bring their own boards and clocks to play with. Everyone was very kind to us and lent us equipment where needed!
Who in chess has inspired you?
One of my favorite chess books as a child was "My 60 Memorable Games" by Bobby Fischer (an American player who became World Champion In 1972, starting a chess boom in the US and England). I liked his clear and open style of play. Other players I tried to emulate Included Garry Kasparov and Judit Polgar. More recently I was thrilled to meet US legend chess and poker player Jen Shahade. Jen has been a long-time promoter of Women's chess and in 2019 she held a poker tournament In London to celebrate International Women's day—which was a perfect way to enjoy using games playing and mathematical skills at the same time!
Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the newsletter editors, or the respective authors’ employers.
Ronald Poon Affat, FSA, MAAA, CFA, is an independent actuarial consultant who blogs under the name “Actuary Out of the Box.” Ronald can be contacted at poolside06@yahoo.com.