Chess, a game going back to ancient India, helps to provide qualities of patience, tactics, and forward thinking in order to be successful at the game. The game requires an ability to recognize patterns, memorization of variations, and type of play against different opponents.
Having learned this game before I even went to elementary school, I quickly picked up on it reaching the level of USCF expert and won a number of championships as follows:
- Four time Scholastic Chess Champion for Northern California in 1st Grade for K-3 (1989), 4th Grade for K-6 (1992), 6th Grade for K-6 (1994), and 12th Grade for K-12 (2000)
- Two time US National Scholastic Bughouse Chess Champion with William Surlow in 5th and 6th grade (1993 and 1994)
- Two time Scholastic Chess Grade Champion for California in 7th Grade (1995) and 11th Grade (1999)
Additional successes include:
- Tied for 2nd place for US National Scholastic K-5 (1993) and K-6 (1994)
- Eleventh place for Denker Tournament (2000) against other state scholastic champions
- Tied for 2nd place for US National Scholastic High School quick chess (1998)