Arcticon_Tiger

Wait, you can put chess diagrams in profiles now? OK; here's a Mate in 17! (White to move)

In case you're wondering where I got that, it's straight out of my opening repertoire. I'm slowly building a reputation for winning games before a move is played by out-preparing my opponents - partly because I do my homework, but also maybe because I have "opening" traps in positions well after the move numbers have gone into double figures (see above). Genuinely had an opponent from my club recently allow me to get a perfect setup out of the opening just because I wouldn't be expecting it! No wonder then that roughly half the lessons I give are on openings? (I don't particularly expect it to stay that way; then again, if someone wants to buy a lesson pack on one opening, who am I to argue?!)

In case you're wondering, like a normal person, things like who I am, where I'm from, and what my chess history is: I'm Alisdair. I'm an Aberdonian now living in Dundee (the things we'll do for marriage, eh? ) I've been interested in chess since the age of 5 but didn't get to pursue it (at all) until I was 12. I've been playing ever since, although there was a 10-year hiatus from OTB chess which wasn't exactly deliberate. I can't remember when I last played a boring game of chess (do they even exist?), although my memory isn't very good. Thanks to chess, and the other mind sport (bridge), I have built up extensive experience in coaching, spanning about 20 years. I can share two quotes that sum up what I see as my capabilities: "One day, you'll be able to beat me, and if that day never comes, I haven't done my job right!" That comes from my first ever coach, and it's an ethos I share. The other: "Give me a keen student over natural talent any day". If you want to improve, and are prepared to put in the work it takes to get better, the sky is the limit.