Path to Grandmaster
Learning the game (Age 6-11)
A chess program in my elementary school, P.S. 116 introduces me to the game. I would take after school classes and be part of a chess team that would win several national, state and city championships. I showed some promise but on the whole my results were not remarkable. I won some lower sections at scholastic tournaments but was consistently outclassed when playing in the Open section. I would leave elementary school with a rating of 1463.
Mastering the Basics
(Age 12-15)
6th Grade was my first year of middle school and it was passed without much attention to chess. I was simply too focused on basketball and videogames. This would change on entering 7th grade as I would discover the Marshall Chess Club. Being able to play in several tournaments a week, I begin playing literally every tournament available. I have no coach , nor do I have almost any chess books. Yet I continue to reiterate and refine my approach based on learning and introspection from past losses. This approach makes me grow at a fast rate of around 2-300 points per year, outpacing many of my peers who have coaches and a defined study plan.
National Master (Age 15-17)
On January 29th, 2009 I pass 2200 to make National Master. It had been only 3 and a half years since I had been rated 1399 in May of 2005. There is only so far I can go without any chess materials and so I begin studying chess books laboriously. I learn opening theory for the first time, studying books on the Grunfeld and Marshall Attack.
​
My grades in middle and high school suffer as all my focus is drawn to chess. I am insistent on 'doing it all myself' and repeatedly resist and reject grandmasters who insist I should be coached. This would be my biggest mistake as hiring a coach would have saved me enormous amounts of time in figuring certain things out.
Beyond National Master
(Age 17-22)
My last year of high school was marked by several of my best accomplishments. I crossed 2400 (USCF) and won the National Championships for 12th Grade in Orlando, Florida. In April 2011, I crossed 2300 FIDE in Toluca Mexico at the continental championships. This would qualify me for FIDE Master, though it was a title I would never end up applying for. For passing 2400, I was also selected for the 2012 All American Team.
​
In August 2011 I made the critical mistake of believing I needed a college degree when everything in my life had told me I wanted to spend my life immersed in chess. So I spent 4 years at McGill University studying tirelessly to get a hard earned 3.76 GPA that I would ultimately never use.
​
From 2011 to 2015 my rating peaked and troughed between 2250 and 2300 FIDE. I spent a bit of my time on vacations doing chess but there was never enough time to immerse myself sufficiently. You can't spend the majority of your time and mental energy directed at academics and other parts of life, without your chess beginning to stagnate.
Las Vegas, October 2015
Road to International Master
(Age 22 - 24)
I leave college with a rating of 2259 FIDE and go into overdrive studying to make up for lost time. I spend 6 months travelling and living in various hostels studying 60 hours a week. I quickly zoom up to 2400 FIDE, crossing it live in a First Saturday in Budapest before rebounding down to 2370.
I spend the period between 2015 and 2017 striving for 3 IM norms to secure the International Master title. In August 2015 I make my first norm in Barcelona at the International de Sants. Then in June 2016, I would make another norm at the New York International. After long delay, I would make my third norm in April 2017 in Bridgetown, Barbados at the Heroes Day Cup. This would clinch the title of International Master.
Chess takes a backseat
(Ages 24-25)
The costs of life begin adding up and I begin to shift my focus to trying to get a stable job with my hitherto useless college degree. I play rarely and study even less over this period as chess becomes less of a priority for me.
I reach a peak rating of 2465 in May 2018 at the Barbados Heroes Day Cup but a few poor tournaments over the Summer sober me to the reality that I am nowhere near Grandmaster strength yet. I fail to come close to a GM norm and apart from that hiccup to 2465, my rating remains consistently below 2450 FIDE.
Belgrade, November 2020
Barcelona, July 2019
Nomad International Master
(Age 25 - 26)
In late 2018 I read Tim Ferriss' 4 Hour Work Week and realize I can indeed afford to finance a chess career assuming I live in countries with low costs of living. I pack my bags and on March 6th 2019 head to Lima, Peru. It is there that I spend 8 hours a day studying chess. I get in better shape, regularly going to the gym and swimming. The goal is to be in fantastic condition to play the Catalan Circuit which starts in late June in Spain.
​
In the summer of 2019 I play some of the best chess I ever have. Over 2 and a half months my rating catapults from 2429 to 2487, barely eclipsing the important barrier of 2500 necessary for the title of Grandmaster. I return to NYC in late 2019 to recoup and get ready for a final trip abroad, one from which I plan not to return until I've made Grandmaster.
Chess during Corona
Ages 26-27
Just as I am putting the final touches on a trip to return to Europe in Spring of 2020, the Coronavirus and its lockdowns grind everything to a halt. After sheltering in place for a few months I weigh my options and realize if I am to push for Grandmaster I need to begin travelling irrespective of the global situation.
I begin by playing in Serbia in November of 2020. There I gain some elo and move from 2477 to 2481. Then I play well in the 2021 Floripa open in Brazil, and my rating goes even higher, to 2490. I return to Serbia in April of 2021 to finish the job.
I break 2500 finally in Round 1 of the Belgrade Spring GM Invitational. This would mean I only need to secure 3 GM norms to fulfill the title.
Florianopolis, January 2021
Novi Sad, July 2022
The 3 Norms
Ages 27-28
I spend the rest of 2021 in Serbia playing GM norm tournaments frequently.
​
I make my 1st GM Norm in Banja Vrujci, Serbia on June 10th. After a few more tournaments I make my 2nd GM norm in a GM Mix in Novi Sad, Serbia on August 6th. I expect the title to be right around the corner but am rudely awakened by one of the worst stretches of performances in my career. Over the next 7 months I drop from my peak live rating of 2507 down to 2401. In Spring of 2022 the bad performances cease and I begin playing again at a strong level, getting close to the final norm several times in Budapest, Hungary. Finally on July 6th 2022 I make my 3rd GM norm in Novi Sad, Serbia, at the 2022 Serbian Open. The title is complete and after the FIDE Fall Congress of 2022, I am officially a Grandmaster!