My name is David Blackwelder. I started playing tournament chess at the age of 22. I have worked my way from the 1200s up to a peak rating of 1783 (June 2017). Those are my United States Chess Federation (USCF) ratings. My short term goal is to reach a rating of 2000 which will earn me the Expert title. My long term goal is to reach the National Master (NM) title at a rating of 2200. As an adult they say it is near impossible, well I don't believe that. Therefore I am creating blogs and videos to help other adult players improve their chess as well. Thanks for following me!