Arthur Chu
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Arthur Chu (born January 30, 1984) is an American
columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
and former contestant on ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
'', a syndicated U.S.
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
. Chu first became known for the unusual style of play he adopted during his eleven-game winning streak on ''Jeopardy!''. When the shows aired, Chu attracted criticism from many for jumping from category to category rather than selecting clues in sequential order, a strategy known as the "Forrest Bounce", named for former champion
Chuck Forrest Charles “Chuck” Forrest (born June 3, 1961) is an American attorney and game show contestant who at one time held the record for the largest non-tournament cash winnings total on the syndicated game show ''Jeopardy!'' The ''Los Angeles Times' ...
. Chu prepared extensively before his ''Jeopardy!'' appearance by reviewing tapes, study guides, game theory and ''Jeopardy!'' strategy. He made his debut on January 28, 2014, winning $37,000 in his first game. After winning 11 games, he lost his 12th game (which aired on March 12, 2014) to Diana Peloquin. Chu is the tenth highest-earning ''Jeopardy!'' champion in non-tournament gameplay, with a grand total of $298,200. Chu also won an additional $100,000 for taking second place in the 2014 Tournament of Champions. Since appearing on ''Jeopardy!'', Chu has used his fame to speak out publicly on issues that are important to him. He later became a columnist and Internet commentator, writing for ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' and ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
'' on various issues, including racism and sexism in
nerd culture A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...
.


Early life and education

Chu was born to a
Taiwanese American Taiwanese Americans (traditional Chinese, Chinese: 臺灣裔美國人; pinyin: ''Táiwān yì měiguó rén''; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Tâi-Bí-jîn'') are Americans of Taiwanese people, Taiwanese ancestry, including American-born descendants of migrant ...
family in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, on January 30, 1984. His parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan. He moved several times growing up, due to his father's job in the
chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...
. During his childhood, Chu lived in
Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, formerly known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second-largest city in the state. The center of ...
, spent a year in
Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...
, then lived in
Cerritos, California Cerritos (; Spanish for "Little hills") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was municipal corporation, incorporated on ...
, as a teenager. As a child, Chu participated in the National Geographic Bee, and, during his time as an undergraduate at
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
, he was a member of the college's quiz-bowl team. He graduated from Swarthmore with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in history in 2008.


''Jeopardy!'' appearances


Preparation

Chu spent a great deal of time preparing in the month before his first appearance on ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
''. He studied tapes of former ''Jeopardy!'' contestants and created study guides based on the advice of Roger Craig. He also read about
game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
and ''Jeopardy!'' strategy online. As a student at
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
, he also played
quiz bowl Quiz bowl (quizbowl, scholars' bowl, scholastic bowl, academic bowl, academic team, academic challenge, etc.) is a family of quiz-based competitions that test players on Outline of academic disciplines, a wide variety of academic subjects. Stand ...
, in which he has said he was an aggressive player despite having limited knowledge.


Debut and championship

Chu made his debut as a contestant on the January 28, 2014, episode of ''Jeopardy!'', winning $37,200 in his first game. On the January 29 episode, Chu made a ''Final Jeopardy!'' wager that caused him to tie fellow contestant Carolyn Collins. Chu claimed that he made the decision to wager for a tie not out of kindness but because of the advice of 2003
College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
champion Keith Williams, who claims that game theory favors wagering for a tie over the more common practice of wagering to win by a dollar. Chu defeated Collins on the January 30 episode. After a three-week airtime break, he became eligible for the Tournament of Champions on February 24 when he won for the fifth time; his total winnings were $123,600. On February 26, he became the ninth biggest all-time ''Jeopardy!'' winner, with a total of $180,000. The next day, he jumped to third, with a total of $238,200. Chu won his eleventh and final game on March 11, bringing his total to $297,200. His streak ended on March 12 when he was defeated by Diana Peloquin. He ended up in third place after losing his entire score in ''Final Jeopardy!'' His third-place earnings of $1,000 brought his ultimate winnings to $298,200, putting him at third place on the list of all-time highest-earning ''Jeopardy!'' champions, behind
Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, former contestant, and author. He is best known for his work on the syndicated quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' as a contestant and later its host. Jennings was born in Edm ...
and David Madden. He also held the third-longest winning streak in the series' history, behind the same two gentlemen. Chu's 11-show winning streak was later passed by Julia Collins (20 wins in 2014), Matt Jackson (13, 2015), Seth Wilson (12, 2016), Austin Rogers (12, 2017),
James Holzhauer James Holzhauer (born August 6, 1984) is an American game show contestant and professional sports betting, sports gambler. He is the American game show winnings records#All-time top 25 winnings list, fourth-highest-earning American game show c ...
(32, 2019), Jason Zuffranieri (19, 2019),
Matt Amodio Matthew Benjamin Amodio''Jeopardy!'', Sony, 2021 (born December 4, 1990) is an American mathematician and game show contestant who won 38 consecutive games on the game show ''Jeopardy!'' in 2021, the third-longest streak in the show's history, be ...
(38, 2021), Amy Schneider (40, 2021-22), Mattea Roach (23, 2022), Ryan Long (16, 2022), and Cris Pannullo (21, 2022) pushing Chu's streak to the fourteenth-longest in ''Jeopardy!'' history (tied with Jonathan Fisher). Collins, Jackson, Rogers, Holzhauer, Zuffranieri, Amodio, Schneider, Roach, Long, and Pannullo also surpassed Chu's total winnings, pushing Chu to thirteenth place in all-time regular play earnings. After his initial appearance on the show, Chu competed in the 2014 ''Jeopardy!'' Tournament of Champions, where he finished second to Ben Ingram, an IT consultant from South Carolina. Chu won $100,000 for his second-place finish, bringing his overall winnings to $398,200.


Response to game play style

Throughout Chu's 11-game streak, his aggressive style of play attracted criticism among fans of the series, some of whom considered his conduct to be unsportsmanlike and against the spirit of ''Jeopardy!'' His strategy earned him the nickname the "''Jeopardy!'' Villain", a nickname Chu fully embraced. One of the most common complaints about his playing style was that he jumped from category to category, a strategy known as the "Forrest Bounce", after former champion
Chuck Forrest Charles “Chuck” Forrest (born June 3, 1961) is an American attorney and game show contestant who at one time held the record for the largest non-tournament cash winnings total on the syndicated game show ''Jeopardy!'' The ''Los Angeles Times' ...
. The Forrest Bounce is a somewhat common strategy, however, employed by several other successful champions including Brad Rutter and
James Holzhauer James Holzhauer (born August 6, 1984) is an American game show contestant and professional sports betting, sports gambler. He is the American game show winnings records#All-time top 25 winnings list, fourth-highest-earning American game show c ...
who, like Chu, used it to increase their odds of finding Daily Doubles first. Inspired by Watson, a computer that was programmed to play ''Jeopardy!'', Chu picked high-value clues first, because they are more likely to be Daily Doubles. In his second game, Chu wagered $5 on a Daily Double and responded "I don't know" immediately after the clue was given. Chu also held the buzzer close to the microphone, resulting in audible clicks when signaling, and upon correctly answering a question, rushed quickly to the next clue. This gamesmanship, the resulting criticism and his engagement with critics on Twitter during airings of his shows led some to declare his run akin to a "
Moneyball Moneyball or money ball may refer to: * '' Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'', 2003 book by Michael Lewis ** ''Moneyball'' (film), 2011 film adaptation of the book * ''Moneyball'' (album), 2025 album by Dutch Interior * Sabermetrics ...
" moment, and Chu himself "ruthless" and "idol-killingly pragmatic". In response, both
Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...
and
Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, former contestant, and author. He is best known for his work on the syndicated quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' as a contestant and later its host. Jennings was born in Edm ...
have defended Chu as a "good player" who makes the game "more exciting". In a 2018 interview, Trebek admitted that Chu's use of the Forrest Bounce could be irritating when it disrupted the flow of the game, although he also praised Chu and said, "as the impartial host I accept disorder".


After ''Jeopardy!''

After his appearance on ''Jeopardy!'', Chu contacted publicists and PR firms to ask for suggestions on how to monetize the recognition from his ''Jeopardy!'' run. However, he found the proposals unappealing and did not follow suggestions that he use the "successful game theorist" image. Instead, he began writing a column for ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' and later for ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
''. Chu has written on various aspects of
nerd culture A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...
and on being
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
. He is a vocal critic of racism and online bullying, and is known for his opposition to the
Gamergate Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized online misogyny, misogynistic online harassment campaign motivated by a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the ...
movement. A documentary feature film about Chu's life, titled ''Who Is Arthur Chu?'', premiered at the 2017
Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...
. It is directed by Scott Drucker and Yu Gu.


Personal life

Chu resides in
Broadview Heights, Ohio Broadview Heights is a city in southern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The city's population was 19,936 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. ...
. Chu has worked as a voice actor, for example, on the webcomic Erfworld, and as an insurance compliance analyst. Chu married science fiction writer Eliza Blair in 2012; the couple met during their time at Swarthmore College. They later divorced.


Footnotes


References


External links


What's Up With Chu
nbsp;– Chu's blog (no longer updated)
Chu's website
*
Arthur Chu
at ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
''
Arthur Chu
at ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, Arthur 1984 births American male bloggers American bloggers American people of Taiwanese descent Contestants on American game shows Living people Writers from Albany, New York People from Boise, Idaho People from Cerritos, California People from Cranston, Rhode Island People from Broadview Heights, Ohio Swarthmore College alumni