Hello Andrew! We look forward to working with you this summer. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your presence in the chess community?
Thanks, I’ve really been enjoying the internship so far! I’m a rising senior at Princeton University, majoring in Operations Research and Financial Engineering. I am president of the Chess Club and I’ve worked on the Daily Princetonian. I started playing chess when I was 4 and a half years old in IL. I moved to MN when I was 8, and that’s when I got serious about chess. I consider myself the best hyper-bullet (30 seconds) and ultra-bullet (15 seconds) player in the world. I am a top 5 Bullet Chess player, finishing second in the last two years in the Chess.com Bullet Chess Championship. In high school, I started streaming and had 55,000 subscribers on Twitch. I became a Twitch partner and was one of the first chess players signed by the export forum. How did you first hear about GIS?
I first heard about SIG during the 2019 Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship. SIG had a booth there and I knew the chess players representing SIG at the event. I didn’t know much about the business until I moved back to Princeton and some of my friends got into quantitative trading. A friend of mine who is a full SIG Quant Trader starting in NYC this fall joined me at the Princeton Chess Club. He said, this company is very nice, you should check them out. I did an interview and look at me!
What drew you to business?
I’ve heard a lot about GIS about how marketing is like a game, and obviously I like playing games. I am very competitive. It seems like a dream of trying to make other people know money to make money, the company seems to be interesting. Andrew Tang penguinm1
Have you seen any similarities between trading and chess?
There are a few parts. When it comes to chess, I’m a fast chess expert, so it takes a lot of decisions, calculations, analysis, and quickness on your feet in a minute. From a more conceptual perspective, both require a greater understanding of what’s going on underground. One big thing people say about trading with SIG is the options; when people interact with you, there may be a good reason. When it comes to chess, it’s the same. When my opponent allows me to play a move, maybe I originally thought, oh, that’s a good thing. But I have to be very careful and think about why they allow me to take the step. Is there a reason why it is not good? Most of my biggest regrets in chess are mistakes when I didn’t consider my opponent’s response. What surprised you about GIS culture?
I think it’s fun to be here. It’s such a competitive industry that being on the course is fun. We play poker in the afternoon. I don’t get tired of anything during the day. I didn’t expect to enjoy it. What’s living in Philadelphia been like? Any favorite restaurants or things to do? It’s good to live in the city. There are many good restaurants, my favorite is Double Knot. We like to go to the playground, Round 1, a lot. I also like to go to the gaming site, TAP Esports. Clearly, you can see the values that my colleagues and I enjoy playing.
