ELO: 1728 ### Rapid game ELO: 1738 ### Blitz ELO: 1729 (July 2025)

FINNISH NATIONAL RATING: 1527 (July 2025)

FINNISH BLITZ RATING: 1606 (July 2025)
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FAVORITE OPENING(S): Old Indian defence, Scandinavian defence, Ruy Lopez (with white pieces) and Giuoco Piano. I have also played other systems on both sides of the board and sometimes even incorrect lines.

HISTORY:

I started to play chess in 1991. In 1995 I got my first official rating (about 1200). After that my development was quite slow. I joined to Jyvas-Shakki (Jyvas-Chess), the chess club of my home town, in 1996. My first tournament was in Jyvaskyla 1999. I started playing more actively as late as in 2005. Then my rating raised over the limit of 1500 points for the first time on my career. Some OTB-tournaments I have taken part of:

Jyvaskyla Winter tournament (1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009); Jyvaskyla (rapid tourney) 2008, Keuruu (rapid chess) 2001, Seinajoki 2004, Heinola 2006, Lahti (rapid chess) 2006, Lahti (long games 2006, 2019, 2020 & 2022), Mikkeli 2008, Mänttä (2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 & 2022), Kokkola weekend tourney (2014, 2016, 2018 & 2019), Hämeenlinna tourney (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2022) and Kalakukko-tourney in Kuopio (2012, 2017, 2018 & 2019).

I have played over 1000 official games in the national competitions around Finland. I was promoted to the III class in 2012. (It means national selo rating over 1600 but less than 1750.)

Between 2011 and 2016 I also played correspondence chess (or remote chess as it's called today because the games are played on the server.) I achieved the 1st class. I took part of friedly matches and got so many points that the national correspondence chess federation awarded me a bronze plaque.

I joined to Chess.com in February 2009. It was part of process for me to search new horizons and experiences. For the nexr couple of years I was playing here actively and even organized team matches. (I was the administator of Finnish team in the European league 2009-2011.) I took part of some online tournaments and several team matches from 2009 to 2012. After 2012 I was for several years less active and finally totally inactive. Because of time consuming job I had to give up the online playing in 2017.

During the Covid-19 pandemic I again started to play online games in Lichess (in February 2020). Not that I would critisize Chess.com - on the contrary I like the graphical user interface of this site. The developers have done a great job for improving it during my absence. Because of various reasons my comeback to this platform was delayed but now I have returned and started to play daily games in the beginning of the year 2023.

I got my first ELO rating in 2010. (Currently I have 1738 points.) I also “earned” ratings in rapid and blitz chess during late 2010’s and early 2020’s. I have played in ELO rated tournaments only seldom within the last decade but I have organized many such competitions in my home town. I have been a member of the organizing committee of the Jyväskylä Winter tournament since 2008. Many Finnish chess players have got their first ELO rating in Jyväskylä after the tournament was added to the circle of ELO calculation system. The national federation (Suomen Shakkiliitto) granted me the title of the national tournament director in 2012 and I have been a national arbiter (NA) since 2013.

My profile on the page of FIDE: http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=507644

Behemon