My Path to Improvement

When I was eight or nine, my mom and dad showed me the game. It became a hyper-fixation. I saved money and bought books (classics, it turns out by Fred Reinfeld and Walter Korn), all written in classical notation with few diagrams.

Then, they purchased a Fidelity Chess Challenger so I would have someone to play. I wore it out until the buttons stopped working.

We lived so far away that there was little way to improve. And when algebraic notation swept through chess literature, I got more books that were easier to process.

But I never played many people. Then I got older, out of touch with everything chess-related, started raising kids, and chess was more of a hobby or an art form than a sport.

In another post, I tell more of my more recent renaissance, but I've been working to improve for about 2 years now. I've applied myself to get back much of what I had lost or never really worked through. I still have habits of sitting down with computers, but I'm crossing a threshold where I hope to play more.

Part of the change is that I volunteer with local chess club with college students. They like to play and like to beat the old man in their, but it's getting harder!

On chess.com, I qualified for Knockout tournament in the 1200's. Picking up wins and advancing has moved me into the 1580s.  There are 25 players left.

I'm traveling to a rated tournament to play OTB later this month. Maybe I'll make some progress toward a FIDE rating. I'd like to have a real number.

I don't wild amounts to time to play, and I fret too much and don't handle time well. But I am getting faster. I hope my story is inspiring to other older players. You can get better, but it does take work.

My journey with chess is long, but I'm finally making improvements!