Mathew Martello, a native to Norristown, PA and the founder of this academy is a 2000 USCF level chess player (Master) and has been passionately studying the game of chess for 15 years. Matt is born and raised from the suburban Philadelphia, PA area. Matt was diagnosed with autism around 2-4 years old. When Matt diagnosed with autism, he was predicted to not have a bright future. But with the mentorship of his late mother, his dad, his teachers, his sports coaches, his friends and family, and God Matt was able to overcome his autism and go above and beyond his expectations. Matt graduated from Kutztown University in 2013 with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology: Molecular/Micro/Cell with two minors in Mathematics and Biochemistry. Matt is a "Cinderella Man" in his own right!!! Matt is also apart of the amazing Philadelphia International Chess Syndicate. With the Philly Chess Syndicate, we have a mission of making Philadelphia, PA one of the best chess cities in the USA and in the world. Philly chess has a rich culture and it is proud of it!!! There are already a lot of strong Philly, PA chess players and we will make it keep growing. Matt has an amazing tournament resume/accomplishments since he started competitive tournament play in 2012. He is a 3-time first place champion (2013 Liberty Bell Open: U1500 Section, 2013 National Chess Congress: U1800 Section, 2018 Philadelphia Open: U2000 Section), a second place finisher in the 2012 Delaware State Championship, and a 2-time fourth place finisher (2013 Philadelphia Open: U1600 Section and 2015 National Chess Congress: U2000 Section). He also played on a chess team in the 2015 Greater Philadelphia Chess League and his team finished 2nd place that season. What really prepared Matt for his recent 2018 Philadelphia Open Championship Run was the "Street Kings Tournament" hosted by the Philadelphia Chess Syndicate, personally doing a meticulous chess study with 5-minute and 3-minute blitz on chess.com, and amazing NM Peter Minear coached me to become better at high-level calculation and space. The Street Kings Tournament is a very strong U2200 unrated tournament that has the best chess players competing in the Philadelphia, PA area. The Street Kings Tournament prepared Matt for anything and got Matt psychologically tougher and more focused for the Philly Open. Matt highly recommends that any player within Philadelphia/suburban Philadelphia plays in the Street Kings Tournament. And Matt also learned so many new patterns and fixed mistakes from playing 5-minute and 3-minute blitz. Matt got as high as 2121 for chess.com blitz rating and his goal is to hit 2200+ chess.com blitz rating. If anyone wants to learn how to become a chess champion, Matt is your guy!!! Matt offers 1-on-1 coaching through video conferencing to dedicated players that range from beginner level middle school students to intermediate level adults. Matt's coaching style is hands on, you will be playing online games with Matt as he provides move by move feedback. Matt's coaching philosophy is grounded in encouragement and meticulous game review. Matt offers monthly coaching packages and extracurricular programs for students. My website is www.martellochess.com.

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