Arthur Chu

Arthur Chu
Name:	Arthur Chu
Born:	January 30, 1984
Birth Hometown:	Albany, New York
Occupation:	Columnist
Known for:	Jeopardy! strategy

Summary

Arthur Chu (born January 30, 1984) is an American columnist and former contestant on the syndicated U.S. game show Jeopardy!. 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", after former champion Chuck Forrest.

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 seventh 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 and Salon on various issues, including racism and sexism in nerd culture.

Early life

Chu was born in Albany, New York, 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. During his childhood, Chu lived in Cranston, Rhode Island, spent a year in Boise, Idaho, then lived in Cerritos, California as a teenager.

As a child, Chu participated in the National Geographic Bee, and while attending Swarthmore College, he was a member of the college's quiz-bowl team. He received a B.A. in History at his graduation in 2008.

Jeopardy!

Preparation

Chu spent a great deal of time preparing in the month before his first appearance on Jeopardy! He studied tapes of former Jeopardy! contestants and created study guides based on the advice of Roger Craig. He also read about game theory and Jeopardy! strategy online. As a student at Swarthmore College, he also played quiz bowl, 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 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 and David Madden. He also held the third-longest winning streak in the series' history, behind the same two gentlemen.

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.

Game No.	Air Date	Final score	Cumulative Winnings	Notes
1	January 28, 2014	$37,200	$37,200
2	January 29, 2014	$26,800	$64,000	Co-champion with Carolyn Collins.
3	January 30, 2014	$18,800	$82,800
4	January 31, 2014	$20,000	$102,800	Had to wait three weeks due to the first five games of Battle of the Decades and the College Championship.
5	February 24, 2014	$20,800	$123,600
6	February 25, 2014	$34,400	$158,000
7	February 26, 2014	$22,000	$180,000
8	February 27, 2014	$58,200	$238,200
9	February 28, 2014	$22,800	$261,000	Had to wait one week for the next five games of Battle of the Decades.
10	March 10, 2014	$16,200	$277,200	He becomes third 10+ times champ and First 10+times champ since David Madden.
11	March 11, 2014	$20,000	$297,200
12	March 12, 2014	$0	$298,200	Diana Peloquin ends Chu's streak. He was awarded the standard $1,000 prize for finishing third place.

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. The Forrest Bounce is a somewhat common strategy, however, employed by several successful other champions including Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer 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" moment, and Chu himself "ruthless" and "idol-killingly pragmatic".

In response, both Trebek and Jennings 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 and later for Salon. Chu has written on various aspects of nerd culture and on being Asian American. He is a vocal critic of racism and online bullying, and is known for his opposition to the Gamergate movement.

A documentary feature film about Chu's life, titled Who Is Arthur Chu?, premiered at the 2017 Slamdance Film Festival. It is directed by Scott Drucker and Yu Gu.

Personal Life

Chu resides in Broadview Heights, Ohio. 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.

Trivia

• It is the longest winning streak among champions who have co-chmpions among all-time champions.
• Among the champions who have won 10 or more, he wears glasses like Seth Wilson, Mattea Roach and Ryan Long.
• Unlike other 10 win champions so far, he has not been invited to any other Jeopardy events since the ToC.
• After his departure, the heyday of female participants began. After his departure, the male cast didn't even win four until Vaughn Winchell went on to win five. While the female contestants produced champions of six or more, including Sandie Baker and Kerry Greene, who won six, and Julia Collins, who won 20. For male participants, there was a six or more game drought until Alex Jacob won six in April 2015.
• Until James Holzhauer came along, like Matt Jackson, he had the best ToC of 10 wins.
• After the strategy he devised, there were four co-champions from the beginning of Season 31, so after the S31 ToC, all matches were covered by tie-breakers.
• Eight years later, in 2022, there are a total of 16 champions with 10 or more wins or more, including him, and three millionaire champions, so his achievements are relatively buried. Still, more and more people are honoring his achievements in that it is the first 10 consecutive championship record since David Madden in 9 years, and he opened the door for many champions with more than 10 wins.
• In the unlimited winning streak, the term Super Champion used to refer to a champion with 6 or more wins in Jeopardy, but after his appearance, it was changed to refer to a champion with 10 or more wins. Considering that this is similar to when Major League Baseball revised the definition of 'no-hitter', it was decided to change it to refer to a champion with 10 or more consecutive wins.
• Based on the broadcasting date, he is the only Superchamp who has been active in regular games on his birthday.
• Among the Superchamps who advanced to the finals in the 15-person ToC system, he is the only champion in Group 2.