The Climb
I started playing chess at age 12, jumping from 800 to 1700 on Chess.com within a single year by treating improvement as an iterative study. Over years of tournament play, reaching a 2328 rapid and 2213 blitz peak on Chess.com, along with 1887 USCF and 1813 FIDE over the board, I experienced firsthand the wall every serious improver hits: memorizing opening books and grinding random tactics stops moving the needle. That wall is exactly what I now help my private students break through.
Pedagogy & Structured Thought
With over two years of experience in mathematics education, I’ve seen how structured learning frameworks transform complex problem-solving. In my coaching, when students struggle, the issue is rarely raw intelligence—it is almost always an unstructured problem-solving routine.
My background in competitive strategy games reinforced this principle. The most valuable insight I learned from strategic coaching was simple: stop obsessing over short-term results, and evaluate the decision-making process that produced them.
The Core Thesis
Anyone can study an engine line or memorize an opening book. What truly sets elite players apart is mechanics: building plans, recognizing threats, and the conscious habit of verifying moves before touching a piece.
As your chess coach (mechanic), I turn cognitive due diligence into second nature—so you stop playing hope chess and start crushing your opponents.