I've been playing chess my whole life.

I got "serious" about chess when I was about 14. I bought a plethora of chess books and spent day in and day out studying and playing chess with anyone I could get a game with.
I taught a chess class to elementary and middle school students for a couple years.

In Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion I programmed a custom scenario of a chess set, using different soldiers as the pieces. It didn't work completely, but it was playable. I spent months designing the board, the squares, the "captured piece" area, the "promoted piece" area, and designing the triggers (AI) to follow the rules of the game.

I joined the Marines in 2004 where I was given the name "Chessmaster" or "Bobby Fischer" for building a chess board out of notebook paper and packing tape during boot camp. When we went to the Mojave Desert some people brought guitars, some people brought CD players, I brought a chess board.

Back in Northern VA I joined a chess club in Winchester and worked towards certification as a Chess Teacher and TD.

I've played only one USCF Tournament so far. It was in Alexandria, VA.

During the great isolation of 2020 I've rededicated to getting strong again in chess.

Lattenkiste