Journey to the National Master Title, Part 16

I started the fourth quarter of 2025 the same way that I started the fourth quarter of 2024, playing in a four round tournament on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday October 4, I scored 2.5/4 in the Columbus Fall Open, losing to Alex Cretsos on board one in the last round with first place on the line. I gained four rating points to push my rating to 2005, marking the first time that I had a post-tournament rating of at least 2000 for three consecutive tournaments since November 2023. Unfortunately, I lost nine rating points in the Sunday October 5 East Market Swiss even though I scored 3/4 to tie for second-fifth; this was my ninth second place finish in 2025, tying my calendar year record for most second place finishes that I set in 2023--but of course my goal in each tournament is first place, not second place. My rating slid to 1996, ending my brief run of having a rating over 2000. Stanley Qiu (1742) knocked out the top two seeds, beating me in the second round and then taking down top-seeded Siddarth Kunapuli (2062) in the last round to finish clear first with 4/4. This is the first time I lost to a player rated below 2000 since the last round of the Chicago Open (May 26, 2025), though it should be noted that Qiu's post-tournament rating is 1870.

I scored 3/4 in the October 19, 2025 East Market Swiss, tying for third-fifth and gaining 11 rating points to lift my rating above 2000 (2007). In the second round, I avenged my loss to Stanley Qiu. Here is the position after Qiu played 19...Na6:

I replied 20. Nxg7!, and if Qiu had taken my N then I had a forced mate: 20...Kxg7?? 21. Bh6+! Kxh6 22. Qxf6+ Kh5 23. g4+ Kxg4 24. f3+ Kh5 (...Kh3 25. Qh6#) 25. Ng3#. Instead, Qiu took my B, and after the dust cleared I was up an Exchange and a Pawn with a winning attack. After losing more material and facing an imminent mate, Qiu resigned on move 39. 

My only loss was to Jack Erskine-Pereira, who scored 3.5/4 to tie for first-second. This was his first U.S. Chess rated event, but he has a 1967 FIDE rating, and he earned a 2073 provisional U.S. rating after this tournament. U.S. ratings are typically about 100 points higher than FIDE ratings. I beat my long-time friend and rival John Miller (1900) in the last round.

I started 2/2 in the October 25, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado before losing my last two games to finish out of the money. That is an uncharacteristically poor result for me in an event where I usually score well, and it is frustrating to fall below 2000 again (1994) one tournament after cracking the 2000 barrier. 

Just prior to my 54th birthday on November 3, 2025, I had a birthday weekend full of chess. I scored 1.5/3 in the Columbus G/60 Swiss on November 1, 2025, gaining seven rating points to improve my rating to 2001. In the first round, I defeated the top seeded player, Ashwin Kumar (2103), who is the current Cincinnati City Champion--the youngest ever at age 11--and Cincinnati Chess Club Champion. In the third round, I spurned two early draw offers from Alan Casden, obtained a lost position, and then created a drawing fortress:

Here, I had just played 49...h5. Casden spent 21 moves trying to break through before conceding the draw. Stockfish 17 says that White has a decisive advantage, but if you play the position out Stockfish 17 does not make any progress. The key points are (1) White's K is cut off, (2) Black cannot be forced to take on c7, and (3) White cannot force Black to abandon defense of the g6 pawn because whenever the Q attacks that pawn Black can always play ...Kh7 or ...Kg7. If necessary, Black can mark time by shuffling the R from f7 to f5. According to Stockfish 17, in an earlier position before playing g5 White could have won by constructing a position with his K on h4 and his Q on e5 while Black's K was on g7 and his R was on f6; there, g5 wins because if Black plays ...hxg5 then Kxg5 wins the pinned R. 

Unfortunately, I squandered my small rating gain just one day later, losing 29 rating points to drop my rating to 1972 after scoring just 2/4 in the November 2, 2025 East Market Swiss; my birthday weekend of chess ended on a sour note.

On November 9, 2025, I went to Columbus to play in the G/30 Quads at Donatos, but only one other player showed up, and we played a two game match. I defeated Spand Mehta 2-0, playing White in the first game and Black in the second game. I gained 22 rating points to increase my rating to 1994.

I scored 3/5 in the U2100 section of the November 15-16, 2025 Kings Island Open, losing 24 rating points to drop my rating to 1970. I had a winning position on move 19 of my first round game, but I played a series of inaccurate moves followed by a blunder to transform what should have been a smooth victory into a very frustrating defeat. I did not lose another game the rest of the way, but draws to lower rated opponents in rounds two and three prevented me from gaining rating points overall. After round three, I played in the Kings Island Open Saturday Night Blitz, tying for fourth-sixth out of 46 players with a score of 6/8. I did not gain any blitz rating points, but I won the U2000 prize. 

On November 23, 2025, my daughter Rachel and I played in Robert Chenault's Cincinnati Sunday Chess Tournament. The event consisted of four sections of six or eight players each. I scored 2/3 in the top section, gaining seven rating points to lift my rating to 1977 while finishing second-fifth out of eight. Rachel scored 0/3 in the fourth section. We had a great time in our first appearance at this event, and Rachel even played some casual, unrated chess in between rounds. The Carnegie Center is a nice, historic venue, and I look forward to playing there again in the January 17-18, 2026 Queen City Open. Here are three pictures from the Sunday Chess Tournament:

I scored 3/4 in the December 7, 2025 East Market Swiss, tying for second-fourth and gaining 14 rating points to lift my rating to 1991. I was the only player who started 3/3, but in the last round I lost to NM Deshawn Kelley, the top seeded player who was held to a draw in the second round. 

On December 20, 2025, I played in a tournament held very close to where I grew up, as the Kleptz YMCA in Englewood hosted a four round G/25+5 tournament directed by Rob Dennis of the Dayton Chess Society (the successor to the Dayton Chess Club). I scored 4/4 to take clear first, gaining five rating points to increase my rating to 1996. This was the first time that I scored 4/4 in a regular or dual rated tournament since the October 15, 2022 Cincinnati Tornado. The next day, I started 3/3 in the East Market Swiss--just like I did on December 7--before losing in the last round, this time to Joseph Kleban, an Expert who I beat in the third round on December 7. I gained one rating point to improve my rating to 1997.

On December 27, 2025, my daughter Rachel and I played in the Cincinnati Tornado. We did not have much sleep the previous night after a long travel day, and the results of that fatigue were evident in the way that we played. I scrapped my way to 2/3 in the first three rounds to put myself in position to finally get my rating back over 2000, but then I blundered a pawn early in the fourth round and was not able to save the game. I lost 17 rating points to drop my rating to 1980. Rachel received a first round bye and then lost an extra rated game. She lost her next three games as well. Despite neither of us being in peak form, we enjoyed our last chess day of 2025. Here is a picture of us before the first round:

In 2025, I set career highs with 47 regular rated events played, 187 regular rated games played, and 111 regular rated games won, breaking my previous personal records of 41, 167 and 98 respectively, all of which I set in 2024. Two highlights were finishing clear first in the U2100 section of the Indianapolis Open (4.5/5, gaining 38 rating points), and finishing clear first in the Ohio Senior Open (4.5/5, gaining 15 rating points).

In 2025, I had eight first place finishes, I set a career-high with 11 second place finishes (breaking my personal record of nine set in 2023), and I tied my personal best with 19 combined first place/second place finishes; in 2024, I also had 19 combined first place/second place finishes, but I reached that number with a career-high 13 first place finishes (breaking my record of 12 set in 2019) along with six second place finishes.

I lost 33 rating points in 2025 after gaining 45 rating points in 2024, but if I had not crashed and burned in the 2025 Chicago Open--dropping 52 points by scoring just 2.5/7 in the U2100 section--I would have gained 19 points for the year. This is another example of how in chess--as in life--"everything turns on a trifle"--with one bad move sometimes setting off a chain reaction resulting in loss of a game, followed by loss of another game, and a tournament going down the drain. 

James Altucher earned the National Master title as a young man. As a man who is a few years older than I am, he is attempting to cross the 2200 rating barrier again. He writes about his journey in New in Chess magazine, and in a recent installment he stated--in a combination of resignation and relief--that he is transitioning from being an "adult improver" at chess to an "adult enjoyer." He is focusing more on enjoying chess as opposed to trying to improve his results. 

Perhaps Altucher's shift is a rational and mature reaction to the realities of trying to gain rating points as a 50-plus year old facing talented kids with seemingly unlimited energy, and perhaps this shift is easier to make for someone who has been a National Master before, but I refuse to make that shift and I don't know if I will ever willingly make that shift. I enjoy chess, but I enjoy chess most when I win. Kobe Bryant once said that he could never have a mindset that it is good enough to just show up and do your best. I share his perspective that the point of competition is to win. 

Winning is accomplished by setting goals and then achieving them. Goals should be realistic--and people may disagree about what is realistic--but goals are important. I have been within 10 points of 2200, I still win and draw games versus National Masters, and I believe that a reasonably healthy 50-plus year old with the right plan and the right mentality can surpass 2200; it is frustrating that my rating now is lower than it was when I began writing Journey to the National Master Title, but I am not giving up, and I have the same perspective now that I expressed on January 12, 2023: 

The title of this series of articles is not meant to be presumptuous; although I am confident that I will obtain the National Master title, I understand that it is not 100% certain that I will obtain the National Master title, and that is the reason that "journey" is included in the title: whether or not I make it to the desired destination, I intend to chronicle my experiences during the journey. 

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 12, I listed four chess goals for 2025. Here are those goals, with notes about how I performed:

1) Gain 50 rating points per quarter. I lost 18 rating points in the first quarter of 2025, decreasing my rating from 2013 to 1995; I lost 59 rating points in the second quarter of 2025, decreasing my rating from 1995 to 1936; I gained 66 rating points in the third quarter of 2025, improving my rating from 1936 to 2002; I lost 22 rating points in the fourth quarter, decreasing my rating from 2002 to 1980. Overall, I lost 33 rating points in 2025.

2) Do not lose more than six games to players rated below 1800. I lost five games to players rated below 1800 in the first quarter of 2025; I lost four games to players rated below 1800 in the second quarter of 2025; I lost zero games to players rated below 1800 in the third quarter of 2025; I lost one game to players rated below 1800 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Overall, I lost 10 games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. I had nine draws and 14 losses in the first quarter of 2025; I had nine draws and 15 losses in the second quarter of 2025; I had five draws and six losses in the third quarter of 2025; I had four draws and 14 losses in the fourth quarter of 2025. Overall, I had 27 draws and 49 losses.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014. My winning percentage was .666, the 10th best of my 39 year chess career.

Here are my chess goals for 2026:

1) Gain 25 rating points per quarter. My previous goal of gaining 50 rating points per quarter may have been too high, and this resulted in me "chasing" points after losses. As much as I would love to reach 2200 in 2026, it is more realistic to shoot for 2100, and then target 2200 in 2027. I used to tell my students to set a short term goal to reach the next 100 point level, so I am going to follow my own advice!  

2) Do not lose more than eight games to players rated below 1800. I had 11 such losses in 2024 and 10 such losses in 2025, so this is an attainable goal.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. My draw/loss ratio was 33/36 in 2024 and 27/49 in 2025, so last year was a major step backward in this regard, but my 2024 performance demonstrated that this is an attainable goal.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .700. In the past four years, my winning percentage has fluctuated between .666 and .686. I have reached a .700 winning percentage in a calendar year twice, so this is an ambitious but attainable goal. 

In 2025, I scored 111 wins, 27 draws, and 49 losses in regular rated tournament games with eight first place finishes in 47 events. I lost 10 games to players rated below 1800. My net rating gain for 2025 is -33, so I need to gain 220 points to reach my goal.

Journey to the National Master Title, Part 12

I started the fourth quarter of 2024 with a packed chess weekend. Unfortunately, it was packed with painful losses! I scored 2/4 in the October 5, 2024 Columbus Plus Score tournament. I lost 34 rating points to plummet to 1944. This is the seventh time I have played in a Columbus Plus Score event, and just the second time that I did not achieve a plus score. In the fourth round, I lost to Mehmet Yilanli, the third highest rated seven year old in the United States. Yilanli's published rating for October 2024 was 1696, but his live rating was already 1784 and his post-tournament rating was 1795. 

Things only got worse for me in the October 6, 2024 East Market Round Robin. Originally scheduled as a four round G/45 Swiss, the format was switched to a six round G/25 (with five second increment) round robin because only seven players participated. I lost my first three games before recovering to win my last three games to tie for third-fifth with 3/6. I lost 14 rating points, and my rating slid to 1930. 

In the midst of this disastrous chess weekend, I lost five straight rated games. I cannot remember the last time that I lost five straight rated games. Looking through the past 10 years of my chess performance records, the worst losing streaks that I found were four four-game losing streaks; the most recent one took place in the U2100 section of the 2022 Chicago Open, and the previous one happened in the March 6, 2021 Upper Valley G/45, when I went 0-4 against four players who had each earned or would soon earn the National Master title--a marked contrast to this five game losing streak that included defeats to three players rated below 1800, albeit three players who are underrated kids (one of whom entered the tournament rated 1799 and exited the tournament rated 1857).

I recovered from my "lost chess weekend" to score 3.5/4 in the Columbus G/45 on October 19, 2024, gaining 51 rating points to lift my rating back up to 1981, and tying for first-second with Louis Zhang (who drew with me in the third round).

Louis Zhang (white) versus David Friedman (black), October 19, 2024 Columbus G/45

Then, I scored 3/4 in the October 20, 2024 East Market Swiss, tying for first-third but losing eight rating points to drop to 1973. That marked my 12th first place finish in 2024, tying a personal mark set in 2019. Overall, I scored five wins and three draws during the October 19-20, 2024 weekend, gaining 43 rating points and finishing first twice in one weekend for the first time since April 6-7, 2024.

I entered the October 26, 2024 Cincinnati Tornado with a streak of 11 straight regular rated games without a loss. I won my first round game to extend that streak to 12, but then squandered a winning position in round two and lost to end my streak. I won my last two games to finish with 3/4, earning a tie for second-fourth and gaining three rating points to climb back to 1976.

I won my first two games in the November 10, 2024 East Market Swiss, but then I blundered in my third round game to turn an equal position into a lost position. In the fourth round, I lost for the first time to Keya Jha, the number one rated nine year old girl in the country. I had scored four wins and three draws in our previous games. I lost 19 rating points to drop to 1957.

The Kings Island Open has been one of my favorite tournaments since I first played in the event in 1994. This year, I scored 3/5 in the U2100 section, finishing out of the money and losing 13 rating points to fall to 1944. I won my first two games before facing Gabriel Heyer (1863) in the third round. I had scored 3.5/4 in my previous games versus Heyer, but I had White in each of those games and I had Black this time versus Heyer. He played 1. e3, and I overextended my position trying to "punish" his slightly unorthodox (but sound) opening. 

After round three, I played in the Kings Island Open Saturday Night Blitz, tying for third-eighth out of 35 players with a score of 6/8. There was not a third place prize, but I tied with four other players for the combined U2300/U2100 prize. My USCF blitz rating remained unchanged at 1800, which is my USCF blitz floor; many kids are strong players but have not played many USCF blitz games, so their blitz ratings are hundreds of points lower than their regular ratings: my only two losses were to Sharath Radhakrishnan, whose regular rating is 2248, but whose USCF blitz rating prior to this event was just 1971. He scored 6.5/8 to take clear second behind GM Jianchao Zhou, who finished first with 7.5/8.

In the fourth round versus Carter Evard (1790 after 19 games; 1862 after Kings Island), after mutual mistakes in the opening I "tilted" in this position:

Any normal move--such as 17. Rcd1--keeps the balance. Instead, I played 17. Bxh6??, foolishly and recklessly going all-in for an attack that I should have realized is unsound. My opponent took my B and then pocketed my d pawn after I played 18. Qxh6. Instead of patiently maneuvering to try to obtain an advantage from an equal position, I went for broke on move 17--and got broken! This is the kind of impulsive, unsound chess that I have to eliminate: there is no reason to give up my B for two pawns both in this specific position, and in general versus a player who I should reasonably expect to outplay without taking risks in a patient, positional game.

I scored 3/4 in the November 24, 2024 East Market Swiss, tying for second-fourth and gaining 19 rating points to climb back to 1963. This was a special tournament because my daughter Rachel played. Although she scored 0/4, she had a great time--and when she has a great time, I have a great time as well. This was Rachel's 10th regular rated tournament, and her second appearance at East Market, the site of her first regular rated tournament (March 12, 2023).

Pre-tournament selfie with Rachel at November 24, 2024 East Market Swiss

I started the December 8, 2024 East Market Swiss with 2.5/3, setting up a last round encounter for first place versus top seeded Deshawn Kelley. Kelley won, dropping me into a tie for fourth-sixth. I gained five rating points to lift my rating to 1968, exactly my rating at the start of 2024.

I scored 2/3 in the Dayton Chess Club's December 14, 2024 G/45 Swiss, tying for second-third and gaining three rating points to improve my rating to 1971. In the first round, Kiran Boyineppally (1750) held me to a draw in a wild time scramble, and then he won his next two games to take clear first.

My 2024 chess year concluded on December 28, 2024 at the Cincinnati Tornado. My daughter Rachel played, and this turned out to be one of my favorite events of the year both because we participated together and because I performed very well, scoring 3.5/4 to tie for first-second with the top seeded player (Will Sedlar, 2315) while gaining 42 rating points to lift my rating above 2000 (2013) for the first time since September 2024. This was my second largest single tournament rating gain in 2024, surpassed only by the 51 rating points that I gained in the October 19, 2024 Columbus G/45 tournament. After winning my first two games versus lower rated opponents, I drew with Gajanan Jayade (2128) in the third round and then I defeated FM Hans Multhopp in the fourth round. Sedlar knocked off the only player with a 3-0 score to join me in the winner's circle. Rachel scored 0/3 with a one point bye in round three, but she loves chess so much that she played several casual games during the third round.

Pre-tournament selfie with Rachel at December 28, 2024 Cincinnati Tornado

I entered October 2023 rated 2038 and dropped all the way to 1940 before bouncing back to 1968 by the end of December 2023. This year, I had a 2004 rating in August, and dropped all the way to 1930 before finishing December with a rating of 2013. I am not sure why I have had such dramatic rating fluctuations in the fall months of the past two years, but without those slumps I would be much closer to reaching my goal.

Regarding the challenge of trying to advance from the 1900-2000 range to 2200 in the current era, I found some interesting data confirming my impression that my current level of play is not substantially lower than my level of play during my peak rating years but rather that the rating distribution has shifted unfavorably for players in my rating range. USCF ratings distribution data from 2004 shows that the 2000 rating level was at the 96.9 percentile, the 2100 rating level was at the 98.1 percentile, and the 2200 rating level was at the 99.2 percentile; the USCF ratings distribution data from 2014 shows that the 2000 rating level was at the 97.8 percentile, the 2100 rating level was at the 98.7 percentile, and the 2200 rating level was at the 99.4 percentile. That data demonstrates that the percentage of players who are National Masters (2200 rating level) has stayed about the same (less than 1 percent) but the percentage of players who are Experts (2000 rating level) has decreased. One factor to keep in mind is that the rating pool of National Masters is artificially inflated by older players who have earned a 2200 rating floor but are likely no longer 2200 strength players. In other words, if one excludes the "floored" National Masters then it is possible that the percentage of players who are maintaining a 2200 performance level has decreased just like the percentage of players who are maintaining a 2000 performance level has decreased.

My interpretation of that data is that the small cohort of players who are talented enough and work hard enough to earn the NM title has remained roughly the same size, but overall it is more difficult to maintain an Expert level rating than it used to be. I have not found USCF ratings distribution data more recent than 2014, but based on my personal experience I suspect that the trends noted above have continued or even accelerated: objectively, I would say that my level of play now is not much worse than it was in 2014, but in 2014 I was rated over 2100 while now my rating fluctuates in the high 1900s/low 2000s.

Overall, I performed well in 2024, and I set several personal records for regular rated events, including most first place finishes (13, surpassing the 12 that I had in 2019), most events played (41, surpassing the 39 that I played in 2023), most prizes won (29, surpassing the 24 prizes I won in 2023), highest percentage of events in which I won a prize (70.7%, surpassing the 68.8% prize winning percentage that I had in 2020), most combined first/second place finishes (19, surpassing the 18 combined first/second place finishes that I had in 2023), most games played (167, surpassing the 155 games that I played in 2023), most games won (98, surpassing the 93 wins that I had in 2023), and most draws (33, surpassing the 27 draws that I had in 2012). Also, I won one game versus a National Master, pushing my career total to 81.

I had a good year, but not good enough to earn the National Master title. The biggest challenge is to cut down my losses to players rated below 1800. In the first half of the year I had four such losses, but that number ballooned to seven in the second half of the year, which prevented me from surpassing 2100. Similarly, my draw/loss ratio during the first half of the year was good, but I slipped in that regard in the second half of the year. Overall, though, I made progress, and had my best draw/loss ratio ever, which is a step in the right direction.

My five game losing streak over a two tournament span in October made the difference between a good year and an excellent year. I had winning positions in three of those games, and legitimate opportunities to do no worse than draw all five of them; if I had scored 4/5 in those games then my rating would be close to 2100 now instead of languishing in the low 2000s. The losing streak seems like an anomaly, because I won my next three games, and then the next weekend I finished first in two tournaments, gaining a combined 43 rating points.

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 8, I listed four chess goals for 2024. Here are those goals, with notes about how I performed:

1) Gain 60 rating points per quarter. I gained three rating points in the first quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1968 to 1971; I gained 10 rating points in the second quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1971 to 1981; I lost three rating points in the third quarter of 2024, dropping my rating from 1981 to 1978; I gained 35 rating points in the fourth quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1978 to 2013. Overall, I gained 45 rating points in 2024, which averages out to 11.25 rating points per quarter.

2) Do not lose any games to players rated below 1800. I lost two games to players rated below 1800 in the first quarter of 2024; I lost two games to players rated below 1800 in the second quarter of 2024; I lost three games to players rated below 1800 in the third quarter of 2024; I lost four games to players rated below 1800 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Overall, I lost 11 games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. I had 15 draws and eight losses in the first quarter of 2024; I had seven draws and nine losses in the second quarter of 2024; I had four draws and seven losses in the third quarter of 2024; I had seven draws and 12 losses in the fourth quarter of 2024. Overall, I had 33 draws and 36 losses.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014. My winning percentage was .686, the fifth best of my career.

Here are my chess goals for 2025:

1) Gain 50 rating points per quarter.

2) Do not lose more than six games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014.

In 2024, I scored 98 wins, 33 draws, and 36 losses in regular rated tournament games with 13 first place finishes in 41 events. I lost 11 games to players rated below 1800. My net rating gain for 2024 is 45, so I need to gain 187 points to reach my goal.

Journey to the National Master Title, Part 8

I have been quite active in the past three months, and usually when I am very active I perform well, but unfortunately that was not the case to close out 2023. In the October 8, 2023 East Market Round Robin (Columbus, Ohio), I scored 3/5, finishing out of the money and dropping 19 hard-earned rating points to fall to 2012. I played well for most of the day, starting with 2/3 and finishing with a crisp 26 move win in round five, but the whole event went bad for me in one second during round four: in a completely winning position against eventual tournament winner Calvin Roach, I played my move one second too late and lost on time. The time control was G/40 with a five second increment, so if I had just made my move a bit faster and then responded immediately on my next move I would have then had six seconds, which would have been more than enough (with the five second increment) to finish the game off. Full credit to Roach, who defended resourcefully enough to induce me to run out of time. He scored 4/5 overall, gaining 143 rating points to vault from 1655 to 1798, just short of his highest rating ever (1823). That one fateful second represented a 24 point rating swing, meaning I could have finished the tournament at 2036 instead of 2012.

I scored 1.5/3 in the October 14, 2023 Dublin (Columbus, Ohio) G/60 tournament, gaining six rating points to improve my rating to 2018. I drew my second round game versus the top rated player (Joel Jaffe, 2191), but lost to Brett Passen (2168) in the last round and thus finished out of the money.

I scored 2/4 in the October 22, 2023 East Market Swiss, losing nine rating points to fall to 2009. I was the third seeded player out of 12 players, and I lost to the number one seed (Brett Passen) and the number two seed (John Miller).

I scored 3/4 in the October 28, 2023 Cincinnati Tornado, losing four rating points to drop to 2005. I was the fourth seeded player out of 37 players, and I tied for third-eighth place. In the last round, I drew with the third seeded player, Russell Wilson. I had lost my previous six games versus Wilson, who earned the National Master title in the late 1980s and maintained a USCF rating over 2200 for most of the time between the late 1980s and early 2000s. Wilson won the 1999 U.S. Amateur South tournament with 4.5/5, while I took second place in that event (on tiebreaks) with 4/5; we did not face each other in that tournament, and my only loss came against Ryan Milisits, a talented junior player who was rated just 1782 at that time but who earned the National Master title in 2004. Wilson tied with Mark Geist for the Ohio Champion title in the 2001 Ohio Chess Championship (Stanislav Kriventsov won the tournament, but as an out of Ohio resident was not eligible to be Ohio Champion).

A few days after the Cincinnati Open, the USCF rerated many events that were played after February 2023. I am not going to edit the articles in this series to update my ratings after each tournament that was rerated, nor am I going to edit the post tournament ratings listed above; it suffices to say that after the rerate my October 28, 2023 post tournament rating was 2009. 

I played in two tournaments on my birthday weekend. I scored 1.5/3 in the November 4, 2023 Columbus G/60 tournament, gaining seven rating points to improve my rating to 2016. In the first round, I drew with the top seeded player, Broderick Bauml, after I missed a win during mutual time pressure (but he was in worse time pressure than I was, with less than 20 seconds remaining while I had about two minutes remaining). I beat Expert Justin Notter in a wild game in the second round, and then on board one in the third round I lost to Nicholas Bize, so I failed to win a prize. I scored 4/5 in the November 5, 2023 East Market Round Robin, gaining 16 rating points to improve my rating to 2032. I was the second seeded player. I drew the top seeded player, John Miller, and I drew the third seeded player, Henry Lu, and I won my other three games to claim clear first place. 

Kings Island is one of my favorite tournaments, and I have been successful there many times, including tying for second in the U2000 section in 2003, tying for third in the U2100 section in 2007, tying for first in the U2100 section in 2012, and finishing clear second in the 2013 Kings Island Open Saturday Night Blitz. However, in recent years at Kings Island I have not performed up to my standards. This year, I scored 2/5 in the U2100 section on November 11-12, 2023, losing 43 rating points to fall below 2000 (1989) for the first time since September 2023. I lost three games in the same event for the first time since my disastrous 2/5 performance in the June 10-11, 2023 Cleveland Open. A player's rating as of the final week of November becomes his official December rating, so 2023 marks the first time since 2019 that my official year end rating is below 2000; in 11 of the past 15 years my year end rating has been higher than 2000. After round three, I played in the Kings Island Open Saturday Night Blitz, tying for 14th-16th place out of 41 players with a score of 4.5/8, and losing 30 blitz rating points.

Here is how I squandered a winning position in round one of Kings Island versus Siddarth Kunapuli, a rising young player who is currently rated 1867. In the diagrammed position, it is my turn after my opponent played Qd7. The check on f7 is not a serious threat, so I should have just played ...Bc5. My opponent can take on b7, but then I can play ...Qe4+ followed by either ...Qxc2 or ...Bd6. Stockfish 16 gives Black a nearly +6 advantage, equivalent to being ahead by more than a full Rook. Instead, I played ...Qe7 and watched in horror as my opponent took the free Bishop on d4. The engine evaluation swung by over 10 points in just one move! Objectively, in terms of advantage squandered in one move this has to rank as one of the worst moves of my chess career, or at least one of my worst moves since I became an Expert in May 1995.

Two weeks after the Kings Island disaster, I played in the November 25, 2023 Dublin (Columbus) G/60 tournament, scoring 2.5/4 and losing 12 rating points to drop to 1977. I scored 2.5/3 to set up a last round board one game versus top seeded Nicholas Bize, who defeated me to finish 4/4 and not only claim clear first but also win the bonus prize for a perfect score. Bize attained the Expert title at Kings Island, and he is well on his way to breaking the 2100 barrier during his expedited journey to the National Master title.

It is rare that I have two awful performances in close proximity to each other, but in the November 26, 2023 East Market Swiss I lost my first two games, hanging my Queen in each one. I won my next two games to finish 2/4, but I lost 34 rating points to drop to 1943, my lowest rating since September 2021. In September-November 2021, I responded by gaining 18 points, 52 points, 23 points, and 12 points in my next four tournaments.

This time, I responded by gaining a total of 25 points in my next three tournaments. I scored 2/3 in the December 2, 2023 Dublin (Columbus) G/60 tournament to tie for second-fourth place, but because all three of my opponents were rated below 1900 I lost three points despite having a positive score. I then scored 3/4 in the December 3, 2023 East Market Swiss to tie for second-third place, gaining 27 points to push my rating up to 1967. In my final tournament of 2023, I scored 3/4 in the December 17, 2023 East Market Swiss, tying for second-third place and gaining one point to lift my rating up to 1968.

Overall, I had some great chess results in 2023. I won 93 rated games, setting a personal calendar year record. I also set a personal calendar year record for rated games played, 155, surpassing my previous mark of 151 (set in 2011 and matched in 2013). My winning percentage of .684 was my sixth best ever. My peak rating was 2038. I finished first or tied for first in nine regular or dual rated events--and I also tied for first in the July 20, 2023 Cincinnati Chess Club G/24 Swiss. My record for first place finishes in regular or dual rated events in a calendar year is 12 (2019); I also had nine first place finishes in 2005, eight in 1996 and 2009, and seven in four different years (1997, 1998, 2013, 2018). I have finished first in 149 regular or dual rated events overall, which does not approach the unofficial record (more than 1000!) posted by New England FM John Curdo but is nevertheless not too shabby for an Ohio Expert who has not traveled extensively outside of Ohio to play in tournaments.

I finished second in nine regular or dual rated events in 2023, surpassing my previous record (seven, 2008). Thus, I finished first or second in 18 out of my 39 regular or dual rated events in 2023.

However, the reason that my rating currently sits below 2000 instead of above 2100 is that I had awful results in the April 1, 2023 Indianapolis Super Tornado (2/5, lost 36 rating points), the June 10-11, 2023 Cleveland Open (2/5 in the U2100 section, lost 45 rating points), and the November 11-12, 2023 Kings Island Open (2/5 in the U2100 section, lost 43 rating points). The rating losses that I suffered in those three events more than wiped out the rating points that I gained during the rest of an otherwise successful year.

The two biggest challenges that I am facing are (1) fighting against my over the board impatience/impulsiveness and (2) battling against a young generation of quickly improving players.

Look at the rating list of the top 100 players in the world, and you will see that most of the players were born in 2000 or after: December 2023 FIDE Rating List. Only four players in the top 50 were born before 1980! The point is that (1) youth matters in chess and (2) it is quite an accomplishment to maintain one's level or even increase one's level after the age of 40.

I embrace this challenge! My role models here are Wilhelm Steinitz and Viktor Korchnoi.

Steinitz reigned as World Champion until he was 61!

Korchnoi played in his first World Championship match at age 47 and then qualified again for the World Championship match at age 50. He was still ranked in the world's top 100 at age 75 and he is the oldest national champion ever (age 80, Switzerland). He played competitively until suffering a stroke at age 81, but even after the stroke he defied the odds and played a few matches before passing away at age 85.

I reached the 2000 rating level for the first time in 1995 when I was 23, and every year since that time my peak rating has been at least 2000; I sometimes fall below 2000, but I always bounce back. I doubt that many non-Masters have maintained a peak rating over 2000 every year for nearly 30 years. I am a consistently strong player for a non-professional, even though I am frustrated that I have not reached a higher peak (yet!) than 2190.

I plan to update my Journey to the National Master title on a quarterly basis in 2024. My 2024 chess goals are:

1) Gain 60 rating points per quarter.

2) Do not lose any games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014.

Accomplishing those four goals will be sufficient to obtain the National Master title. Of course, that is much easier said than done, but it is important to articulate clear step by step goals in order to create a process to achieve those goals. Here, the process involves both preparation before each tournament and also some mindset adjustments during tournament play.

I am not afraid to publicly state goals now, and then look back in a year to see how I measured up.

In 2023, I scored 93 wins, 26 draws, and 36 losses in regular rated tournament games with nine first place finishes in 39 events--but seven losses to players rated below 1750 were costly, and as a result my net rating gain for 2023 is minus 44 points, so I need to gain 232 points to reach my goal.

Mike Anders is Gone Too Soon but His Joyful Spirit Will Never be Forgotten

I will never forget Mike Anders' smile.



























This picture represents how I will always remember Mike--a big, welcoming smile on his face and an M&Ms tie hinting at his whimsical, non-conformist nature. It is shocking and saddening to speak of Mike in the past tense but I recently found out that Mike and both of his passengers died on Mike's 58th birthday when the plane that Mike was piloting crashed into a house in Florida; the house was totaled but the homeowner jumped out of a window and survived. Susan Crockett is understandably grateful to be alive but when she credits God for keeping her safe that raises the uncomfortable and unanswerable question, "Why did God not keep Mike and his friends safe?" I have spent a lot of time thinking about/agonizing over that issue (not just relating to Mike but as it pertains to all of human history) but this article is meant as a tribute to Mike, not as a forum to debate theology or theodicy.

I first met Mike on October 15, 1994 when I played in a chess tournament called Road to Isengard, held at the Cincinnati Country Day School located just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mike was a teacher at the school and he organized the tournament in two sections, one for scholastic players only and one open to players of all ages. I scored 4/6 in the Open section, tying for 6th-10th place out of 32 participants. The tournament was well run, it featured strong competition and Anders' joyful personality was infectious--he related well to everyone, regardless of playing strength or age. I was hooked and for the next seven years I was a regular participant in Mike's tournaments, driving over an hour from Dayton more than three dozen times to cross swords with Masters, Experts and rising young players from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and other locales. During that period I improved my rating from the low 1900s to as high as 2114, in no small part because of the fertile chess landscape that Anders lovingly cultivated. After Mike left Cincinnati Country Day, he became a beloved teacher, golf coach and chess organizer in Kentucky, as described in this wonderful portrait of Mike's selfless devotion to Clinton County High School.

Even after Mike's relocation he was still a presence on the Ohio chess scene, flying to various tournaments to sell books/merchandise or work as an assistant director, all the while visiting with old friends and making new ones. I looked forward to seeing Mike at the Columbus Open--where he set up shop outside the main tournament hall and spent the whole day shooting the breeze--and at the Kings Island Open, where he worked as one of the directors in the main playing area. The Kings Island tournament often coincides with Veterans Day and every year during one of his pre-round announcements Mike would ask all of the veterans in the tournament hall to stand and receive a well deserved round of applause. Prior to the last round, Mike would say that if each player returned the next year and brought just one friend then we could double the attendance and make the biggest tournament in Ohio even bigger and better. Those statements provide a glimpse at Mike's personality, his thoughtfulness and the fun way that he tried to promote chess.

I only played one rated game versus Mike--and he beat me, even though I outrated him by more than 350 points at the time. A search of the U.S. Chess Federation's Member Services Area, which contains data from 1991 until the present, reveals that I am one of the highest rated players Mike ever defeated; Mike had a peak post-1991 rating of 1774, he was usually rated between 1600-1700 and his final rating of 1654 placed him above the 84th percentile among USCF members. All chess players are proud of their upset wins, so as a tribute to Mike here is his 4/17/99 win against me in the Melee at Amon Hew tournament, one of Mike's Cincinnati Country Day events (each of which was named after some incident or personality from the Lord of the Rings saga). The game was played with a G/55 time control (plus a five second delay):
 

Friedman,David (1962) - Anders,Mike (1610) [A04]

Melee at  Amon Hew G/55, 17.04.1999

1.Nf3 b6 An uncommon reply, though GM Veselin Topalov used it in December 1999 in a short draw versus GM Boris Gelfand. 2.g3 Bb7 3.Bg2 e5 4.d3 d6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Nbd2 Nf6 7.e4 0–0 8.Nc4 Nc6 9.c3 White has not achieved anything special in the opening--a defect in my playing style at that time--and Black has easily equalized. 9...Ba6 10.Qa4 Nb8 11.Ne3!? [11.Qc2=] 11...Qd7!? Black could have won a pawn: 11...Bxd3 12.Rd1 Bxe4 13.Nxe5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Qe8 15.Qxe8 Rxe8 16.Nf3 Nc6³ 12.Qc2 Nc6 13.Nf5 g6!? 14.Nh6+² Kg7 15.Nh4!? [15.a4 Nd8 16.b4²] 15...Ng8 16.Nxg8 Rxg8 17.Qd2 Bxh4!? [17...Rge8] 18.Qh6+ Kh8 19.Qxh4 h5 20.Bh3 Qe8 21.Qg5 Qf8 22.Qe3 g5!? Mike liked to attack, even at the cost of weakening his position. 23.Bd7 Nd8 24.Rd1!? I maneuvered to set up a central pawn break but 24.Qe2 g4 25.f3± emphasizes the weaknesses in Black's K-side pawn structure. 24...Bc8 25.Bxc8 Rxc8 26.d4 Nc6 27.b3 Qg7 28.Bb2 Kh7 29.Rd2 Rce8 30.d5 Ne7 31.c4 g4 32.Rf1 Instead of opening the game to my advantage eight moves ago, I wasted time and gave Black the opportunity to consolidate. The position is now equal again. 32...Ref8 33.f3 f5? This mistake brings White's B back to life. [33...gxf3 34.Qxf3 Qg6=] 34.f4± Qh6 35.Rdf2 exf4 36.Rxf4 Ng6 37.exf5 Nxf4?? This should have been the losing move but White is also better after 37...Rxf5 38.Qe4 Rxf4 39.gxf4± 38.Rxf4? [38.Qe7+ Rg7 39.Qxf8 Nd3 40.Qxg7+ Qxg7 41.Bxg7+-] 38...Re8= White missed a win but still has full compensation for the sacrificed Exchange and the game should be drawn with correct play. 39.Qd3!? 39.Qc3 is much more active. 39...Re1+ 40.Kf2 Rge8 41.f6+?? The losing move. White is still in the battle after 41.Bc3 R1e2+ 42.Qxe2 Rxe2+ 43.Kxe2 41...Qg6–+ 42.Qxg6+ Kxg6 43.Kg2 R8e2+ 44.Rf2 The R trade is forced and Black's remaining R will dominate White's B. 44...Rxf2+ 45.Kxf2 Rh1 46.Kg2 Rd1 47.Bc3 Rc1 48.Bd4 Rc2+ 49.Kg1 Rxa2 50.b4 Ra4 51.Bc3 Ra3 0–1

Even though he won his first three games, Mike did not play in the last round of that event so that no one would be forced to have a bye; Mike was a fierce competitor but his first priority as a director/organizer was to ensure that everyone who came to his tournaments had a good time, so he gave up a chance at clear first place. I won my last two games and tied Mike for first place along with Brandon Kreines, who was then a promising junior player.

Mike loved to fly and he often raved about the great freedom he obtained by buying his own small airplane; he could easily start the day in one part of the country and end the day hundreds of miles away enjoying a meal at a fine restaurant and good conversation with friends. When I heard that Mike's plane nosedived into a house I knew that something must have gone terribly wrong very quickly, because Mike would have never endangered someone on the ground if there had been any way for him to crash/emergency land in an open area; during his final conversation with the air traffic controller, Mike mentioned that there were "three souls"--not just three people, but "three souls"--aboard the plane and I believe he did everything he could both to protect those souls and the souls on the ground. It is unbearably sad to think about Mike's final moments but I smile when I think of all the good times I had playing in his tournaments in the late 1990s/early 2000s and when I think of the many pleasant conversations we had in recent years at the Columbus Open and at Kings Island. The 2012 Kings Island tournament--where I tied for first place in the U2100 section--is the last time that I saw Mike. I don't remember all of the specifics of our last conversation--how was I to know that it would be our last conversation?--but I remember him smiling, as always, and I remember that he congratulated me for how well I was playing. I also know that I regularly made a point of telling him how much I loved his Country Day tournaments and he always reciprocated by telling me how much he appreciated that I attended them more regularly even than many players who actually lived in the Cincinnati area. It is so important to tell the special people in your life why they are special and I am glad that I made sure Mike knew how much I enjoyed the way that he organized those events. I had a special moment recently at the Dayton Chess Club when Riley Driver publicly acknowledged my devoted participation in club events, a gesture that truly touched me, and just like I appreciated what Riley did for me I hope that Mike really understood the sincerity of my praise.

We all have to cherish every day because life can end in an instant. If someone has made a positive impact on your life, thank that person as soon as possible because you may not get another chance to do so.

Rest in peace, Mike; you will always be remembered for your joyful nature and for the many lives that you touched.