arvind99

Thanks to Chess.com, chess has been immesely enjoyable and instructive! I learnt chess from my father at the age of 10. He used to be a good casual player. My parents play Bridge a lot in clubs and tournaments and are urging me to take up Bridge. However, for me chess is first love. My father who is past 80 now, can still give me a good game of chess and he in fact beat me not so long ago! I have not been a regular player up until I joined up chess.com in 2011. After having thrashed out more than a thousand games on here on 10 min blitz, I have started to become a bit more serious about my playing only very recently (2015).

I am an ardent chess fan, and I follow all major tournaments, with resources online that are so fantastic these days. We chess fans are really lucky in this day and age. I have just recently (2015) started to play in an OTB local tournament and I can tell you that it is so much more enjoyable. I hope to get rated in a few months. I am ok with basic openings but not an expert in all the lines as my memory for the game is not as good as my love for the game! I am a romantic and bold player and getting better at avoiding blunders !

Getting through the opening unscathed and then having a plan for the middle game is something I really am working on. Reading a position is the most important skill in chess, rather than just play seemingly good moves. I would be over the moon if I can get to be a 1800 player.

Best wishes to all you chess lovers out there .. the popularity of the game only seems to be sky rocketing, what with so many school kids getting into it as well.

A lovely game for one and all, right from child to the the centenarian!

-Arvind