My First Chess Tournament

How well I remember my first chess tournament. I remember the night before the tournament when I could barely sleep at all. I was a nervous wreck. I studied and studied what little chess books I had at the time. I had a cheap Novag Solo pocket computer for my training partner. I think it's rating was somewhere around 1200.

My first tournament was held in a town about 40 miles from my home. It was located in a church on the outskirts of town. A rural country setting. I took my wife and kids with me for support. There were about 15 chess players that day. I lost my first game, lost my second, lost my third, and BINGO, drew my fourth game. I was hooked. I didnt lose all my games. I finished the tournament with a provisional rating of about 1167. I was so proud of that rating.

Well after that first tournament about twenty years ago, I continued to participate in various tournaments. My rating has climbed, but I have not played enough over the board tournaments to reach any higher than 1310. My online rating at ChessWorld is 1792, and I would say that I am a high Class C player or low Class B. Chess has been very good to me and there is not a day gone by when I do not think of the game. My goal is to raise my tournament rating to at least 1500 by the end of the year. Chess has become a very important part of my life, and I will do what I can to help promote it.

Kevin

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