I've seen a few blogs about people trying to reach a certain rating level and will chronicle my journeys in playing chess somewhat along those lines. I first learned to play chess at about 30 yrs old, just as I was starting my family in 1988. I got a few books, learned the basic moves, and some tactics and strategy and started playing in some USCF tournaments. I scored a huge upset over a 2159 rated player in my first tournament (really a fluke as I was losing badly), but generally saw my rating settle into the 1400 range after getting an established rating (your rating is provisional during your first 25 games, based primarily on the ratings of your opponents, then a different rating system kicks in.)
I was in the Air Force at the time and moved to Germany just a year after starting to play. I found there were no active clubs, so I got a basic tournament directors certification and started a chess club (Kaiserslautern Military Community Chess Club), in order to have a way to play in tournaments while I was there (3 years). I organized about 20 tournaments over 2 years and as the tournament director, I often didn't get to play if there was an odd number of players as I didn't want people who traveled any distance from having to sit out with a bye. I also rarely got to play someone near my rating level so didn't have a lot of success and got frustrated in my lack of progress. So when I moved back to the states in 1992, and kid #3 was born, I felt is was time to retire. As computers came into prominence, I'd periodically get a chess program to play against, planning one day to return to active playing.
As my youngest was getting ready to graduate from high school, a business trip to the St. Louis area gave me the opportunity and start playing again after 20 years. So this journey starts with a 52 yr old (re)learning to play chess the right way and seeing how far I can progress.
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