I learned to play chess as a small kid from my father, I was maybe 5 years old at the time ( I still have my first set that my parents bought for me!). Playing with my father and my brother was a regular form of entertainment in our family home. My interest in the game grew and I kept playing whenever I had a chance. It has been easier to do since I moved to New York, which is a major chess center, with many strong players, clubs, parks and leagues to play in. I regularly play in tournaments organized at the Marshall Chess Club , I’m also an organizer of the weekly Brooklyn Speed Chess Meetup Group , which meets for casual play and study sessions. The group has become such a success that we managed to create two teams which compete in New York’s Commercial Chess League. I’m a contributing writer to a popular chess blog, brooklyn64 .Some of my recent personal chess achievements include winning prizes in the Fide Monday tournaments at the Marshall, second place in my rating group at the Empire City Open tournament, and the 5th best individual score in the 2011/12 season of the Commercial Chess League. Teaching chess seemed to be a natural consequence of this process as I have always enjoyed discussing the game as much as playing it, so when a friend of mine asked me to teach some of his students that he wasn’t able to, I was happy to do it and since then I have enjoyed helping my students discover the secrets of this game. I give classes to groups and individuals of all ages and playing levels, you are invited to contact me to arrange the free introductory lesson. I look forward to seeing you across the board!