Chess Style Diagnosis & Improvement Program for Novice and Intermediate Players

Description: CHESS STYLE DIAGNOSIS & IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR NOVICE AND INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS This easy-to-follow program is designed to reveal the strong and weak points of your playing style, and enable you to enjoy a quantum increase in your playing strength. Basically we will start by playing 50 games using all the common openings to see how you handle various types of positions. When we're finished I'll prepare a detailed report analyzing your play with recommendations to take you to the next level. No work is required on your part, you just play. Your work will begin after I email you the final report. We will play at lichess.org, which is 100% free and has many features that support trainer/student interaction and game analysis. My ID at lichess is "gambitguyx". Common wisdom says a chess trainer should be rated at least 200 points above his student. My rating hovers around 2150 on lichess, so if you are rated below 1950, you are a candidate for this program. I have been training chess students for six years. Chess training is a labor of love and does not pay a high hourly rate unless you're rated 2400+. We will schedule each game by appointment, or we can play on the spur of the moment if you find me available. I will email you a template of the 50 games, which includes the name of each opening, the first few moves we will play, background information, and the strategic goals for each color. You may wish to study up on each opening before we play. You get to choose a time control between 10/10 and 20/10, no slower than that please. I will give you extra time if you need it, since a time forfeit tells us absolutely nothing about your ability. But please do not abuse this privilege. Games that routinely take well over an hour to complete simply consume too much of my free time, for I have learned to play a competent and well-thought-out game at rapid time controls (15 minutes per side). Slow time controls are generally not suitable for online chess unless you're matched with a trusted friend, for there are many poor sports who will stop moving and make you wait until their time runs out after they have obtained a thoroughly lost position. If you are playing 60/20, you could have a long wait indeed. Some online players behave in ways they wouldn't dream of exhibiting at an OTB (over-the-board, face-to-face) tournament, where decorum and good sportsmanship are the rule. If there are particular openings you are interested in, we can play those. The important thing is to get variety. We will play each game without comment. No takebacks except for obvious mouse slips. If one of us blunders away our queen, it will stand. I keep a log of the pertinent results of each game in the template, which will be included in your final report. You should allow three months for this phase, four or five games per week. Then give me a week to prepare your final report. After each game we will spend 15-20 minutes going over the game looking for mistakes, good moves, and lost opportunities. I do not get involved in exhaustive game analysis, I'm no good at it. Despite my advanced age, I'm a chess warrior who thrives on creative tactics and cut-and-thrust combat at rapid time controls, and strives to find moves that make my opponent feel the most uncomfortable. These are my strengths. When all 50 games are completed, I'll email you a final report covering various aspects of your play. This report contains the following information in the order listed: Summary of results for games we played, with comments on your wins/draws, and your losses. Are there recurring themes responsible for them? Your overall opening play Your general middlegame play Your endgame play. How do you treat the different piece and pawn positions? How do you handle tension in a position? Do you play better in open or closed positions? Can you attack effectively? Can you defend accurately? Do you get good piece activity? Do you understand the concepts of good pawn play? Do you pursue the struggle for the initiative? Can you create active counterchances or do you just passively neutralize threats? Do you have visualization problems? Can you spot tactical opportunities accurately and detect countertactics coming before they inflict damage? Do you sacrifice frequently, sometimes, or not at all? Your greatest strengths and how to make best use of them Your worst weaknesses and how to correct themThe GM your style most closely resembles A recommended comprehensive opening repertoire, custom designed for you to make the most of your strengths and hide your weaknesses How to design your own work/study program Summary of high priority steps to improve your play rapidly Appendices: Generic tips, advice, and book recommendations (grouped by category) for all players. Brief expositions on various topics of interest: A. What is chess? B. Chess books, authors, and study plans C. Endgame study D. The best players in history E. Opening theory and repertoire F. Setting traps G. Ratings and what they mean H. “Draw death” and methods of drawing a lost game I. Tactical themes, combinations, and problems J. Middlegame planning exercises K. Chess books for your kids L. Sacrifices M. Attack N. Defense O. Pawn play P. Position play Q. Tournament books R. Time controls The completed log of our games played, showing the opening variation (including the first few moves, background information, and the strategic goals for each side), the game#, the color you played, the date, the result, and my notes on the pertinent events that determined the outcome. Up until a few years ago, I had a collection of over 740 chess books that I've assembled over the last 45 years. And I've read or reread half of them. I've sold all the books I read and didn't care for, as well as books that didn't look worthwhile enough to read in the first place. Most of my remaining books are recent, published in 2000 or later. Quite frankly, there are a lot of lousy chess books out there. But a few books are real gems. Throughout the final report, I'll give you many dozens of recommendations and warnings about specific books, all including mini-reviews, and tailored to meet your needs. The good books will be worth your effort to track down, purchase, and study diligently. The book information alone will save you a lot of wasted money and make it worth signing up for this program. Criticism can be difficult to accept gracefully. Please do not be offended or outraged by anything I tell you in the final report. I will present my judgments in straightforward, sharp terms. If I try to make them more palatable by being overly polite, you might miss my points or ignore them as irrelevant. Then I would not be fulfilling my role as a chess trainer. I assure you I am motivated only by a sincere desire to improve your play as best I can, so you will look back on my program as a worthwhile experience and a good value. You will learn a lot about openings, receive much immediate critique/feedback on your play, and get an expert diagnosis on how to make a leap forward. I took lessons by snail-mail at $30/hour from a Senior Life Master (2400+) some years ago. I told him up front that my goal was to enhance my chess skills at rapid time controls and wanted advice on how to achieve that. I mailed him 30 good rapid games of mine to look over. What did I get? No tips. No evaluation of strengths and weaknesses. No book recommendations. No improvement plan. Just detailed analysis of the games I submitted for his study, which was worth little to me, so I terminated early. The program I offer, on the other hand, is responsive to the needs students have expressed to me, and promises the likelihood of a significant improvement in a reasonable time frame for a minimal cash outlay. Consider taking a big step to improve your play now! CHESS 50 GAMES TEMPLATE/LOG FOR We will play a game with each opening line listed below. These are all commonly played, nothing obscure here. ECO designations shown after opening name. For some we will play one game with each color. The lines and colors specified have been carefully selected to tell me what I need to know about your play. The first 45 games are mandatory to test your handling of a wide variety of openings that require different strategic plans and different skills. The last five games are your choice of opening---anything goes!---just tell me the first few moves you want me to play. We can play the openings listed below in any order, your choice. The alphanumeric designation before each game result shows the game index number and the color you will play. When we meet to play, just give me the game index number you want and I will be ready. I will fill in the blanks as we finish each game. The completed log will be included in your final report. Within two weeks after we start playing, please send me a complete list (including the first few moves) of all the openings you routinely play so I can begin to think about a repertoire that would suit you best, while building on what you already know. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRENCH DEFENSE---This is a good counterattacking defense you will meet 15% of the time if you play 1. e4. Only four main lines (almost nothing else is played). 1970s German GM Wolfgang Uhlmann played it exclusively. His opponents therefore found him easy to prepare for, but because he knew it so well he still scored many wins. Critics of the French say it is no good because black is saddled with a bad light-squared B. True! But nobody mentions the fact that white is saddled with an equally bad dark-squared B. And sometimes black's QB turns out to be the hero of the game! Curiously, weak players (1200-1400) play the Exchange Variation, better players (1400-1600) the Advance, good players (1600-1800) the Winawer, and the strongest players (1800+) the Tarrasch. Not surprisingly, the Tarrasch is the hardest for black to meet. These four lines have nothing in common and must be treated separately. Exchange Variation (C01)---1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e4xd5 e6xd5, 4. Nf3 Nf6---Can be drawish because the center is closed and the pawn formations symmetrical, but there is still room for spirited play. No bad Bs. The heavy pieces are often all exchanged on the open e-file, leading to minor piece endgames. Black must castle Kside ASAP or he will get in trouble. White can castle either side. 1W. Advance Variation (C02)---1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 c5, 4. c3 Nc6---Both sides castle Kside. Black directs his attack at the base of the pawn chain on d4. White's best plan is to start a Qside pawn storm and try to provoke tactical weaknesses there. Alternatively, white may play the highly speculative Milner-Barry gambit (5. Nf3 Qb6, 6. Bd3 Bd7, 7. O-O c5xd4, 8. c3xd4 Nxd4, 9. NxNd4 QxNd4, 10. Nc3 Qxe5). This popular gambit demands hyper-aggressive attacking moves and often additional sacrifices. If black can safely castle Kside without losing material, white is lost. 2B. Winawer Variation (C15)---1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nc3 Bb4, 4. a3 BxNc3, 5. bxBc3---A rich line that can take a lot of different paths. Both sides can castle either way or not at all. Wide open and tactical, loaded with pins and forks, with play on both sides of the board simultaneously. 3W. Tarrasch Variation (C05)---1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nd2 Nf6, 4. e5 Nfd7, 5. Bd3 c5, 6. c3 Nc6---Slow-moving positional opening. White will castle Kside and try to develop an initiative there. Black may castle to either side and start a Kside attack with a well-timed f5 pawn break, or he may direct an attack on d4. 4W. SICILIAN DEFENSE---A good counterattacking defense that is played in 25% of GM games. Closed (Old) Sicilian (B30)---1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d3 d6, 4. Be2 Nf6---Slow and positional. Various plans suitable for both sides. 5W. Najdorf Variation (B90)---1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 a6---The single most popular variation in contemporary GM chess. A Kasparov favorite. GMs know it over 40 moves deep. Bent Larsen called 3. d4 “a cheap trap” because it gives up a center pawn for a flank pawn. White must be the aggressive player and will often sacrifice pieces on e6 or f7. Black wants to maintain a solid position with no weaknesses, and liquidate down to a slight endgame advantage. 6W. Smith-Morra Gambit (B21)---1. e4 c5, 2. d4 c5xd4, 3. c3 d4xc3, 4. Nxc3 Nc6---An almost risk-free gambit that is easy to learn and easy to play. My personal flagship gambit. Popularized by Ken Smith, a 2350 player who owned the company Chess Digest until he passed away about twelve years ago. They put out a big annual catalog with honest mini-reviews of every book. Alas, Chess Digest is no more. They were taken over by another company that only sells chess opening monographs. Both players will castle Kside. Kside attacks play no role in this gambit until very late in the game. White looks for powerful play down the c-, d-, and e-files, hoping to win a piece or at least the exchange. Black tries to hold on to his extra pawn and liquidate to a winning endgame. 7W. 8B. RUY LOPEZ---Named after a Spanish Bishop who wrote a book about it in the 16th century. Probably the most deeply analyzed opening in chess, GMs know it right through to the endgame. Many main lines. Exchange Variation (C68)---1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 a6, 4. BxNc6 dxBc6, 5. d4 e5xd4, 6. Qxd4 QxQd4, 7. NxQd4---A favorite of Emmanuel Lasker, world champion for over 20 years. Reuben Fine, a strong player as well as a psychoanalyst, wrote a strange little ultra-Freudian book The Psychology of the Chess Player in which he asserted that Lasker was driven by a need to clarify the situation by getting rid of the females! Plans for both sides are clear. White will try to take advantage of black's doubled Qside pawns. Black will try to make his two Bs count. 9W. Berlin Defense (C65)---1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 Nf6, 4. O-O Bc5---As in many open games (those starting with 1. e4 e5), white will try to establish a strong mobile pawn center. Black will try to demolish it. 10W. 11B. GIUOCO PIANO, CLASSICAL VARIATION---Italian for “quiet game” but as played these days it is not quiet. Both sides castle Kside and K attacks are the order of the day. Main line: 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bc4 Bc5, 4. c3 Nf6, 5. d4 exd4, 6. cxd4. 12W. KING'S GAMBIT---All the rage back in 1850, when it was considered the best way for white to get an advantage in the opening. Both players castle Kside. White's plan is transparent, he wants to attack f7. Black also wants to develop a Kside attack. Risky for both sides. White often regains his pawn because black doesn't try to hold on to it. If most of the pieces are exchanged, white can have an endgame advantage with his Qside majority. Revitalized in the 20th century by Rudolf Spielmann, David Bronstein, and Boris Spassky. Fischer Defense (C34)---1. e4 e5, 2. f4 e5xf4, 3. Nf3 d6---Bobby had his sights focused on Spassky long before their 1972 world championship match. In the 1960s he invented the move 3.....d6 (which prevents Ne5 by white) and published a monograph calling it “a bust to the King's Gambit”. He's exaggerating. Fischer was a pawn-grabber. His plan is to hold on to the f4 pawn at all costs, and be willing to go through wild contortions to do so. White accepts this and looks for good piece activity and the usual Kside attack. After due preparation, white will play g3 to put the question to black's f4 pawn. 13W. Falkbeer Countergambit (C31)---1. e4 e5, 2. f4 d5!---German Ernst Falkbeer invented this move about 1860, and it simply put the King's Gambit out of business for many years. Nobody could figure out how to beat the Falkbeer. White is often in danger of getting his Q pinned to his K by a black R. Since then ways have been found for white to get a tolerable game, but no more than that. Not many play it, but if you know your opponent plays the Falkbeer, you should play something besides the King's Gambit. 14B. CARO-KANN DEFENSE---1. e4 c6, 2. d4 d5---Closely related to the French, but without the bad B. A Kasparov favorite. It should be very popular, but for some reason it's not. Advance Variation, Tal Gambit (B12)---1. e4 c6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 Bf5, 4. h4!? h6, 5. g4 Bh7, 6. e6!---Tal invented the move 4. h4!? back in 1958. The point is that black cannot play the natural follow-up move 4.....e6?, because 5. g4! traps the Bf5. This is a positional gambit, not very tactical. Not the best gambit, but it is the most interesting of all. After 6. e6! f7xe6, black's side of the board is effectively split in two. He will have trouble developing his Kside pieces and getting from one side of the board to the other. After white exchanges light-squared Bs with 7. Bd3 and plays Qg6+, black's K will be stuck in the middle of the board. White can castle to either side. 15B. Classical Variation (B18)---1. e4 c6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nd2 dxe4, 4. Nxe4 Bf5---Balance between space and structural pawn weakness is the major characteristic of this variation. 16W. PETROFF DEFENSE (C42)---1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nf6, 3. Nxe5 d6, 4. Nf3 Nxe4---Drawish reputation but still enjoys contemporary GM usage. A favorite of world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Note that 3. Nxe4?? loses to 3......Qe2!, 4. Ne4-moves Nc6+, winning the Q. 17W. ALEKHINE'S DEFENSE---1. e4 Nf6---Looks like white can gain some tempos by pushing the Nf6 around, but this is deceptive. Alekhine knew what he was doing. Four Pawn Attack (B02)---1. e4 Nf6, 2. e5 Nd5, 3. c4 Nb6, 4. d4 e6, 5. f4---Against weak play by black, white can steamroller black's center and win quickly. Against strong play by black, white's pawns are revealed to be overextended and weak, and will be destroyed. 18B. Krejcik Gambit (B02)---1. e4 Nf6, 2. Bc4 Nxe4, 3. Bxf7+ KxBf7, 4. Qh5+ g6, 5. Qd5+ e6, 6. QxNe4---Yields a playable game for both sides. Some will try to hold on to the extra piece with 4.....Ke6, a big mistake. With a little careful deliberation, white will always be able to mate in the center of the board. 19W. QUEEN'S GAMBIT---1. d4 d5, 2. c4---Solid and positional, not really a gambit in the usual sense of the word. Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav Defense (D45)---1. d4 d5, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 c6, 4. Nf3 Nf6, 5. e3 Bd6, 6. Bd3 d5xc4, 8. Bxc4---Black delays capturing the c4 pawn until white's KB has moved, so no tempo is gained. Black wants a position with no weaknesses. White wants more space and better piece activity. 20W. Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch Defense (D32)---1. d4 d5, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 c5---One side will get stuck with an isolated pawn. Most players don't like this. Miguel Najdorf actually preferred having an isolani. 21B. Queen's Gambit Accepted (D20)---1. d4 d5, 2. c4 d5xc4, 3. e4 b5---Black makes a clear statement that he intends to hold on to the extra pawn, but he leaves Qside weaknesses behind. With good play, white will get an advantage. 22W. NIMZO-INDIAN, KMOCH VARIATION (E20)---1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 Bb4, 4. f3 c5, 5. d5 BxNc3, 6. b2xBc3---White wants to use the two Bs, black wants to strike at the doubled pawns. Hans Berliner's 1999 book The System details his experiences with computer and correspondence chess (he was world correspondence champion). He claims he has a forced win beginning with 1. d4! The only response that gave him trouble was the Nimzo-Indian. Chess was invented in India about 600 AD, and was quickly spread to the Middle East and Europe by merchants and traders. Pawns originally could only move one square forward on their first move. Around 1500 AD international rules created the two-square pawn move option to speed up the game. Indian defenses are so named because India did not adopt this rule change until several centuries later. 23W. 24B. BENKO GAMBIT (A58)---1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 c5, 3. d5 b5, 4. c4xb5 a6, 5. b5xa6 Bxa6---Played by a small group of eastern Europeans back in the 1920s (known as the Volga gambit back then, after the river in that area), but didn't receive widespread recognition until Pal Benko popularized it around 1970. Probably the only gambit that enjoys common usage by contemporary GMs. Positional gambit, not very tactical. Black gets a strong and lasting initiative down the semi-open a- and b-files. He will try to win his pawn back and emerge with the better position. The Bg7 is black's most important piece, as it can give white's Rs a real headache as they try to get positioned behind the a- and b-pawns. White tries to hold on to the extra pawn and liquidate to a winning endgame. 25W. 26B. MODERN DEFENSE---1. d4 g6, 2. c4 Bg7, 3. Nc3---White will make use of his space advantage and set up a Kside attack. Black defends and tries to undermine white's pawn center. The two variations below result in very different games. Saemisch Variation (E70)---1. d4 g6, 2. c4 Bg7, 3. Nc3 Nf6, 4. e4 O-O, 5. f3---White should try to close the center and stabilize the Qside before starting his thematic Kside attack. The f3 pawn should remain there until late in the game. It restrains black's Nf6 and Bc8 from moving to g4, and also supports an eventual g4! that announces white's Kside attack. After getting all his pieces in position, white will often sacrifice a N on f5 to open up the g-file. Black has two good counterplans. He can bring all his heavy pieces to the a-,b-, and c-files and try to establish an advanced passed pawn there before white can get his Kside attack rolling. Or black can play an early f5! and start his own Kside attack, which stifles white's plans. 27W. 28B. Four Pawn Attack (A40)---1. d4 g6, 2. c4 Bg7, 3. Nc3 e6, 4. e4 Ne7, 5. f4?!---f4 can be “over-the-top” (too aggressive) for white, and should only be played if black has developed his KN to e7 instead of f6. 29B. BENONI DEFENSE, MODERN VARIATION (A60)---1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 c5, 3. d5 e6, 4. Nc3 e6xd5, 5. c4xd5 d6---Another ancient opening that GMs know 40 moves deep. Many main lines. Black will mobilize his Qside pawn majority. White will pursue a Kside attack with an early advance his e- and f-pawns. 30W. 31B. ENGLISH OPENING, ANGLO-INDIAN DEFENSE (A16)---1. c4 Nf6, 2. Nc3 c5---Solid opening that can be positional or tactical. Both colors castle Kside and can try to seize the initiative on either side of the board. 32W. 33B. SCANDINAVIAN DEFENSE---1. e4 d5---Originally called the Center Counter Defense. Fell out of favor, but has enjoyed a recent revival because Vishy Anand uses it. Mieses-Kotroc Variation (B01)---1. e4 d5, 2. e4xd5 Qxd5, 3. Nc3---Looks silly for black because white can gain tempos chasing the Q around. But it's difficult for white to turn this into a tangible and lasting advantage. 34W. Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (D00)---1. e4 d5, 2. d4 d5xe4, 3. f3 e4xf3, 4. Nxf3---A good alternative for white yielding a lead in development, active piece play, and pressure on e6 and f7. White will castle Kside, black can castle either side. 35B. PHILIDOR DEFENSE (C41)---1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4---Named after the Frenchman who was probably the world's best player in the 1700s. This defense exemplifies his philosophy of no pawn weaknesses. His famous quote: “Pawns are the soul of chess”. 36W. PIRC DEFENSE (B07)---1. e4 d6, 2. d4 Nf6, 3. Bd3---Similar to the Modern Defense. Both colors castle Kside and pursue Kside attacks. 37B. DUTCH DEFENSE (A81)---1. d4 f5, 2. g3 Nf6, 3. Bg2 g6, 4. c4 Bg7---This is the Leningrad variation, a Botvinnik favorite. Both colors castle Kside. Black will use the f5 pawn to spearhead an early Kside attack. White defends and counterattacks. 38B. OWEN DEFENSE (B00)---1. e4 b6, 2. d4 Bb7, 3. c4 Nf6, 4. f3 e6, 5. Bd3—-Also similar to the Modern Defense. Both colors castle Kside and pursue Kside attacks. 39B. RETI OPENING, ADVANCE VARIATION (A09)---1. Nf3 d5, 2. c4 d4---Richard Reti used this opening in almost every game he played as white. Black tries to establish a space advantage. White pressures black's center and Qside from the flanks. 40W. KING'S INDIAN ATTACK, FRENCH VARIATION (A08)---1. Nf3 d5, 2. g3 c5, 3. Bg2 Nc6, 4. O-O e5—-Black will establish a King's Indian Defense Saemisch Reversed position by playing f6. Both colors will initiate Kside attacks. 41W. BIRD'S OPENING, FROM GAMBIT, LASKER VARIATION (A02)---1. f4 e5, 2. f4xe5 d6, 3. e5xd6 Bxd6, 4. Nf6 g5!?---Popularized by English GM Henry Bird in the late 1800s. Black here responds with the From gambit and seeks a quick and dirty Kside attack. Many weak players of the white pieces try to stop black's advance with 5. h3?? and get mated instantly with Bg3#. Play is highly tactical, wide open, and happens across Kside and Qside simultaneously. Can transpose to the King's Gambit with 2. e4. 42W. COLLE SYSTEM (D02)---1. Nf3 d5, 2. d4 Nf6---This has been called the dullest opening in chess. Very popular with average players. Strategy is simple. Both colors try to prepare and play P-K4 while simultaneously preventing their opponent from doing the same. 43W. HEDGEHOG (B00)---1. e4 ….Subsequent moves vary widely, see following discussion for our game move requirements---”Hedgehog” is a generic term that refers to any black opening in which he begins by moving at least four pawns to the third rank and none to the fourth rank. He seeks to avoid confrontation and weaknesses. This has become the single most popular opening for average players, all because world champion Kramnik has used it occasionally to take his opponents out of book opening theory. But alas, the average player is not Kramnik. Extremely easy to defeat. White pushes his four center pawns getting a big space advantage, then simply crushes black's position like a steamroller. Black's K is often caught in the center because he has wasted so much time on useless pawn moves. My personal record against this opening is something like +190-4=2. 44W. 45B. CHOICE--- 46. CHOICE--- 47. CHOICE--- 48. CHOICE--- 49. CHOICE--- 50. Biography: High school honor student. BS Computer Science, Penn State University, 1971 (one of the first colleges in the USA to offer a comp sci major). Twice married and divorced, one child, and two grandchildren so far---they live nearby. I now enjoy living alone in the rural hills, surrounded by forests and small farms, with my beloved two dogs and cat. Spend my free time buying and selling on Ebay, reading, watching movies, and being an amateur musician (electric guitar, bass, and keyboard). Have over 1400 watts of aggregate sonic potential in my little living room, probably enough to kill me (the military says 126dB is fatal, your eardrums get blown out and the brain hemorrhages instantly). Due to my obsession with online chess, have developed a curious habit of sleeping only every other day---stay up for 30 hours then sleep for 20, more or less. Allows me to get a lot done in one day. Graced by God with excellent health despite being a heavy smoker. Have worked as a golf caddy, printing factory laborer, bartender, computer programmer, auto mechanic, tire dealer manager, astrologer, technical writer, data analyst, software engineer, proposal editor, motel operator, go-kart track operator, and used car dealer (did a lot of my own repos and experienced some tense moments!). Much work for the US military---flight simulators, submarines, tanks, ICBMs, sonar, radar, logistics, as well as nuclear power plant control room simulators---very interesting stuff! Got ordained as a Christian Minister last year and offer religious ceremonies and pastoral counseling to local residents. Chess biography: Father taught me to play at the age of eight. Started taking chess seriously in 1972 at the age of 22, and have studied diligently but sporadically since then. Often too busy with work and family to have time for chess. Have played maybe 900 OTB tournament games all up and down the USA east coast, New York City to Miami. Given their ratings, the NYC players are stronger than you would expect because there's so much top-flite local competition. I am no genius. My only claim to fame as a chess player is that I have played over 150,000 online games since I got my first computer in 1998. And these were all 10/10 to 20/10 games, no blitz, so I had time to think and learn from each game. For every game that responds to my opening repertoire, I have seen it at least a hundred times. And it is rare that I run into something new in the first ten moves. Thanks to all that practice, I'm now playing the best chess of my life despite my advanced age!