This month, Pete Karagianis sits down with IM Kassa Korley for the Chess Underground. Born and raised in New York City, Kassa learned to play chess at the age of five and has been passionate about the game since. Having never had a coach or formal instruction, he has always learned by playing, losing, and making adjustments. At 15, Kassa became the youngest African-American National Master in history, a mark that has since been broken. In 2010, Kassa became a FIDE Master and, in 2014, he became an International Master. The same year, he switched federations and became a member of the Danish federation, where he also holds family ties as a dual-citizen.After graduating from Duke University in 2015, Kassa worked at Codecademy, a tech startup that teaches millions of people how to code. In 2019, Kassa left this full-time position to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a Grandmaster. Follow IM Kassa Korley on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch. -- "Chess Underground" is a monthly US Chess podcast hosted by US Chess Assistant Director of Events NM Pete Karagianis that explores eccentricities, peculiarities, and theoretical novelties.   Listen to the whole family of US Chess podcasts at https://new.uschess.org/podcasts