BuzzardBait

National Tournament Director (NTD) / International Arbiter (IA-D)

My Chess Story:

     My paternal grandmother, Miriam Reed, bought a small folding wood framed board with little plastic magnetic pieces for me when I was about eight or nine years old (which I still have), and taught me the basics of how the pieces move and how to play. I taught my two younger brothers what I knew (practically nothing), and occasionally played with them and friends.

     Growing up in a small town in Central Texas, there just wasn't much of a chess culture around, and since I could usually best my brothers and most of my friends I never really bothered with improving my game (I'd never seen nor heard of a chess book). In most of Texas, a state where gridiron football reigns supreme, chess is just another run-of-the-mill board game to play on a rainy day.

     Fast forward about 25+ years and adding a wife and three kids to my small clan, and I finally bought my first chess books and started getting serious about things. I have learned so much over the past few years, but I still have a long, long way to go. Some days I wish that I had started getting serious sooner, but perhaps it's just the way things were meant to be. I taught all of our kids (each of them when they were about six years old) how to play (i.e. how to move the pieces). We occasionally play together and in tournaments.

     In less than eight years, with lots of help from my friends, I earned the US Chess National Tournament Director (NTD) certification and the International Arbiter (FA) title. I'm also still studying whenever I can to improve my game.

     My wife (KnittingQueen) and I started our own nonprofit chess club (Alliance Chess Club) in 2017. It's a small club, but we have a lot of fun with it. We hold monthly US Chess Quick rated tournaments as well as an annual US Chess/FIDE Regular/Standard rated tournament.

Favorite chess quote: "The stomach is an essential part of the Chess master." -- Bent Larsen