Chess has been a game I’ve been interested in for a while, but haven’t really gotten into much
until recently. Around early 2017 is when my love for chess really grew a lot. I used to live only
a couple hours away from Saint Louis, which is known as the Chess Capital of the US. They had
a really nice chess club there which I would go to in order to get better and learn! Over time I
started to go to the tournaments they hosted as well, and I started to get better.
Throughout 2017 I went to different tournaments, ranging from tiny ones inside random College
facilities, to the giant Chicago Open, complete with a ballroom with 1000 participants vying for
victory in their sections. I met a lot of people and learned a lot of things in that time. I became
friends with Grandmaster Cemil Can AliMarandi, began learning under Grandmaster Javier
Hernandez, and played against the blindfold king Timur Gareyev, as crazy and intimidating as
ever on his, exercise, bike... (hey I got a tie with him though!).
My competitive chess seeking slowed down following Covid, but I still manage
to find ways to play, whether that be on my Twitch Stream, or on Brown Campus, being a member of the Chess Club. Most recently I was a Chess State Champion in 2022, and Brown University Chess Championship Runner-Up in 2024.
