Patzer to Grandmaster: My first fourteener, well not quite

First off, the news! I was awarded some bonus points by Chess.com as part of their fair play policy, and I went from... wait for it... drum roll... 1392 to ... a little anticipation please, let's not get hasty 1406!

In other words, I broke the 1400 barrier. It never came to a more deserving person. Thank you. Thank you! I'd like to thank my mom and dad who never expressed any interest in my chess  and my dog. 

Now if you check out my stats, as some of you may have--its not that hard--you will see that when I first joined chess.com I actually hit 1600 right there at the beginning, and then I lingered above 1400. But let's clarify that. In those days about three years ago I played very little rapid chess. I mostly played 10/0 blitz (yes, 10/0 games were considered blitz)  and also at that time Chess.com allowed you to play the computer as a rated game. I beat up on the Computer-easy and brought up my ratings.  But anybody knows the computer ratings are not the same as a person. 

So while, yes, I was over 1400, that was based on minimal games against the computer. Not real data.

When I really started playing rapid games for real, my ratings tanked down to what was an honest 1080 -1096. Verily, verily I was a sub 1100 player.

And it was at that point that I decided to seriously study chess. Read chess books, do endless puzzles, hire a chess coach (for about 6 weeks), do endgame studies, analyze and annotate my games, study opening theory. 

That was May 2021, and I was 1089.

At the end of 2021 I was 1257.

My Acceptable goal for 2022 is 1300

1 month ago I was 1348. 

My Good goal for 2022 is 1350

Three weeks ago 1365

1 week ago 1392

 My Best goal for 2022  1400, I am 1406

My Premier goal for 2022 is 1450.

 feel like I have earned the moniker as a fourteener. So, thank you, thank you. Yes, yes you may put that fourteener pin on my lapel. 

p.s. if any of you are Chessable members I'm loving the opening theory of GM Shankland.