Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

March ended with me hitting a new peak: 1675 USCF. April ended with me back down to 1589. So yes, the title basically wrote itself.

April was one of those months that reminds you chess improvement is not a straight line. Sometimes you gain rating, confidence, clarity, and momentum. Other times, you get humbled repeatedly by the same game you thought you were finally starting to understand.

This month, I played 14 classical games across four events: two Quad Nights, Tunnelvision XLIII, and the 2026 Columbia Chess Club Championship. On top of that, I played two blitz events, two rapid tournaments, and about 40 online games, which is roughly a 900% increase over my normal online volume.

One funny data point: my over-the-board improvement has outpaced my online rating so much that I’m now drastically underrated online. I had around a 70% win rate in online blitz this month, which feels backwards. Usually players get good online first, then try to transfer that strength to OTB. I seem to be doing it in reverse.

I also had time to host the South Carolina Girls Championship, and take my daughter to another Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament in Charolotte, NC where she earned gold. 

The Club Championship Begins

My first game of the month was against James Frassica, an improving high school player who is tactically sharp but still has some gaps. I had White in a Scotch and played an unsound Greek gift sacrifice that he let me get away with. It was not my cleanest attacking game, but I found enough tactics and he resigned on move 30.

Then came Round 2, where I got the worst pairing I could have imagined: NM Mike Sailer, the top seed and eventual Club Champion.

Mike played the London, which did not surprise me. His style is to slowly grind you down positionally, then unleash a tactical blowout once you finally crack. I actually held on for a long time. The engine says I was fine much longer than I felt I was, which is an important lesson by itself. I thought I was suffering, but objectively I still had resources.

The real turning point came when I got overzealous with 40...f5, allowing him to infiltrate on the kingside. Suddenly I had two weaknesses and no realistic way to cover both. I pushed my f-pawn as far as I could, but it was in vain. Mike checkmated me on move 61.

Quad Night Chaos

The first Quad Night was a strange one.

Against Joseph Thomason, I felt bad early because my f-pawn was slightly off-center on its starting square, and he seemed to think it was on e7. He hung a knight because of it. I made some positional concessions afterward, partly because I felt bad and partly because I underestimated him. That nearly cost me the game. I should have lost, but I survived because of a late tactical miss from him.

Then came Lawrence Feng. Before the game, Larry and his coach had some friendly banter with me about who was going to win. So when I lost, it stung a little extra. I was trying to play solid instead of aggressive, and that didn’t suit me. I also did not properly understand his setup with ...c6 preparing ...b5. I’m used to seeing ...a6 first in those queenside pawn storm structures. That was a strategic gap in my understanding, and he routed me positionally before I eventually blundered in time trouble.

I finished that Quad Night by beating Benjamin Black, which is still a fantastic name for a chess player. Ben is an improving middle schooler, and we played a Four Knights Italian. I knew the structure better, won material early, and converted the ending.

Tunnelvision XLIII: Pain, Recovery, and Proof

Tunnelvision XLIII was probably the emotional center of the month.

In Round 1, I lost to Brandon Tregde, but I actually think I played a decent game. I knew I had lost the thread when I had to play 10. Rb1, but I found interesting counterplay with 11. Nf5. I was trying to harass his queen and harmonize my pieces, and for a while it worked.

Then the game got disrupted. After he made a mistake with 26...d5, he started talking during the game about not knowing why he made that move. I kept nodding, hoping he would stop. I let it break my concentration. Instead of taking a moment to re-center, I rushed into Bxb7, thinking it was tactically sound. It wasn’t. That one was frustrating because the lesson was not just chess-related. It was about maintaining focus no matter what is happening around me.

In Round 2, I bounced back against Aarush Panda. We usually get Fried Liver-style positions, but this time he played a Giuoco Pianissimo setup. I knew a lot of the theory and felt comfortable for the first 13 moves or so. Once I survived the opening, his overextended kingside gave me tactical chances. Eventually my doubled rooks, queen, and bishop overwhelmed his king, and I ended with checkmate.

Round 3 against Alexander Moreno hurt badly.

Alex is a fan of the blog, and he loves the Sicilian. We got an Open Najdorf, and I played a creative knight route: Nf3-h4-f5xd6. By move 18, after Bxa6, I knew I was much better. The engine later said I was around +4.7 coming out of the opening. At one point I was up two passed queenside pawns.

But I failed to coordinate my pieces and allowed counterplay. His rook infiltrated my second rank, and suddenly my clean advantage became complicated. Even later, I was back to around +5.4, but I became paralyzed. He blockaded my a-pawn, created his own h-pawn counterplay, and I threw away the win with 44. Be4. In the final scramble, I reached what should have been a drawn bishop-and-pawn versus rook ending, but I could not hold it with seconds on the clock.

That loss could have ruined my final round.

Instead, I had to force myself to reset because I was paired against Sean Miller.

I played a c5 Panov against his Caro-Kann, trying to paralyze his queenside. I misremembered some move-order details, but I still got the kind of position I wanted. Sean defended very well. I tried a few cheeky tactical ideas with Qb3 and later Qb8, but he saw everything.

At one point, Sean offered a draw. I declined. I was up a pawn, had more time, and wanted to prove something after the Moreno game. The game eventually became a queen ending with real danger of perpetual check, but Sean flagged. We both had over 91% accuracy, which surprised me because I was still calming myself down from the previous round.

That win mattered.

Not just for the rating. For the psyche.

Another Quad Night, Another Lesson

The next Quad Night started well.

I beat Brian Chiozzi, who usually plays Reti-style setups. Against Brian, patience matters. He is solid and will take what you give him. I won a pawn, then another, and slowly squeezed until he allowed a tactic that won his rook with mate soon after.

Then I got my revenge against Lawrence Feng.

The lesson from the first game was clear: I needed to be assertive. So I played 5. g4. It was not the “best” line, but it was dynamic, and that was the point. I wanted to bring the fight to him first. By move 17, I found Ne6, and after 18. Nc7+, he resigned. That was a satisfying correction from the previous week.

Then came Harrison Walsh.

This one hurt. I was winning. I knew my theory in the Closed Catalan-type structure because I’ve been burned by it before. By move 15, I was up three pawns. Then I missed a tactical fork where he threatened both a piece and mate. This is a pattern I seem to miss more often than I should: threats that combine material and mating ideas. I flagged while trying to find a way out of the mess.

That was another reminder that being winning is not the same thing as winning.

The Final Club Championship Rounds

Against Thomas Thorla, I had White in another Panov. He fianchettoed, and the game stayed equal for a while. Eventually I thought I had pressure against f7, but I didn’t really have anything. On move 30, I made a bad practical decision. I didn’t want doubled pawns, so I recaptured with my queen on f3. I overlooked that he could trade queens and pick up my bishop. Simple, painful, and decisive.

I finished the Club Championship against Charlotte Jordan.

Charlotte is stronger than her rating suggests. She has beaten me twice in faster time controls, and if she gets a good position, she can be relentless. She played the London, which I was ready for. After 12. Nc4, she misplaced her knight, and I was able to pick up a pawn while improving my bishop. I kept my queen centralized for a long time, watched the tactics carefully, traded queens favorably, won more material, and converted the endgame.

Player Choice Awards and Club Pride

Outside of my own games, April was a huge month for the Columbia Chess Club.

I was honored to receive 2026 Tournament Director of the Year during our Player Choice Awards. Our members voted over the course of a month, which made it especially meaningful. I gave a short speech thanking the players, parents, volunteers, coaches, and community that make the club what it is.

The truth is, being a TD is not just about pairing rounds and submitting ratings. It is about creating an environment where people can compete, improve, and enjoy chess at a high level. That is what we are building at CCC.

We also crowned NM Mike Sailer as the 2026 Columbia Chess Club Champion. Mike tied for first with Erik Walker at 4.5/5 and won the title after four blitz tiebreak games. The event had 49 players, plenty of upsets, and several milestone achievements, including Matthew Rogers crossing 2000 and Aarush Panda crossing 1700.

I am incredibly grateful to preside over a club that keeps growing, evolving, and leveling up.

Training: Still Chasing Mastery

As for my training, April made one thing clear: I need more tactical volume.

Chessable slowed down a bit because I was getting so many reviews correct, so I started adding more to the cycle. I’m still taking lessons with FM Mees van Osch, still reviewing my games, still competing as often as I can, still taking my nootropics, and still wishing I had more time and energy to exercise.

The rating drop stings. Going from 1675 to 1589 is not fun to write down.

But I also know this month was not a collapse. It was a correction. I played a lot. I fought a lot. I lost games from winning positions, missed tactical patterns, got punished for lapses in concentration, and learned exactly where the next layer of work needs to happen.

That is chess improvement.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Still forward.