I have to be honest with y'all...

Hi, chess friends! So yes, there is something I need to be honest about. My posts the past year or so have been consistently about my (attempt of) improvement. I do think it paid off in a lot of ways. I got my USCF rating up to 1836, and I also was able to climb my online ratings, got 2050 rapid, 2100 blitz, and 2800 puzzles. And honestly, it's been satisfying to have improved from sub-2000 so solidly above [online]. 

However, as many of you know, my life circumstances have changed. I'm now enrolled at Baylor University, and being involved with that, both socially and academically, has really put perspective into my life. Also, a few weeks ago, I had a rough local tournament, which brought my USCF rating down to 1774. Honestly, for the first time in my chess career, I was disappointed with my results, but I didn't really care. It was a complicated feeling that I can't explain 🤷🏻‍♂️

I think in life, it's important to be direct and honest... whether it be professionally, in a relationship... or... whatever lol. All that to say, I believe my days of making substantial improvements to my chess are over. OK, to be completely honest, it's probably been this way for a while. It is hard to admit. However, I believe there is more to my life than calculation, memorizing opening lines, and being frustrated with losing chess games. I believe my life has moved on to bigger and better things. 

Now please don't jump too quickly to conclusions. Am I retiring from chess? Absolutely not! I still enjoy playing competitive chess and even studying (when I have time and motivation lol). 

I do want to focus more on using my chess experiences to help other people. As some of you know, I am a listed chess coach on Chess.com, and I have a few students. I'll look forward to focusing more on them, and hopefully taking on a few more if anyone is interested! I still want to post on my blog. And I will post about my games if/when I play in tournaments. However, there's other content that I'd love to post on my blog that I think would be helpful to others. And maybe I can revive my Youtube channel, and get 100 subscribers! Lol. 

And I have bigger aspirations for my chess "business" I'm hoping to come to life soon. Keep an eye out!

All that to say, thank you so much for your support throughout my chess journey. It feels good to read comments and know that people outside of my family and close friends care about how I'm doing.

Be on the lookout for more content.

I love you all... even the haters and trolls!

So...uh... yeah... bye!