his third and final grandmaster norm at the SPICE Cup in Lubbock, Texas. Finegold's USCF rating has been "as high as 2662, at which point he was neck and neck with GM Larry Christiansen for the distinction of being the highest rated American born chess player in the country." Finegold has been a live commentator at the U.S. Chess Championship, U.S. Junior Chess Championship, Sinquefield Cup, and Chess World Cup. He also frequently gave lively and often humorous instructional lectures at the Saint Louis Chess Club (formerly the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis). He was the grandmaster-in-residence of the Saint Louis Chess Club until August 14, 2012, where he filmed a number of chess YouTube videos. In 2017, Finegold and his wife Karen co-founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta. Finegold's lectures are available on the YouTube channels of the Saint Louis Chess Club as well as the channel of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta and on Twitch. As of 2021, Finegold streams chess five to six times a week, particularly on Twitch under the handle "GMBenjaminFinegold"; his account currently has over 121,000 followers. Highlights and clips from his Twitch streams are regularly uploaded to his Youtube channel with the same name. As of October 2022, his Youtube channel has over 110,000 subscribers. He also has a Twitter account, with more than 20,500 followers as of October 2022. Finegold has appeared three times as a guest on the Perpetual Chess Podcast hosted by National Master Ben Johnson. In 2000, Finegold co-authored a chess book with chess master Bob Ciaffone, titled Smith–Morra Gambit Finegold Defense. Personal life Finegold was a student at Wayne State University. In July 1988, Finegold moved to Brussels, Belgium, with Gina Lynne LoSasso, one of the top female players in the U.S. Finegold and Gina were married in January 1989 in Hastings, England. They have a son, Spencer Finegold, who is a chess National Master. He met his second wife, Kelly, on the Internet Chess Club. They married in March 2001 and have a daughter, Erum. He is currently living with his third wife Karen Boyd, a chess player with a background in programming. Finegold has been a vegetarian since 1986. He became a vegan as a New Year's resolution in 2018. References Further reading "The 40-Year-Old GM", by Ben Finegold, Chess Life, February 2010, pp. 18–25. Smith–Morra Gambit