First Moves

Time is running out as I jump out of the Uber and into the dojo. I push my Pawn to c5. Then I sit down and hit the clock. My opponent rubs his chin, thinking calmly, as I sweat, breathing heavy, frantic. He moves - Nf3. Response. Hit the clock again. Accelerate. He resumes his position. The sweat stops, but my heart keeps its beat. I’m here. Playing to win. I’m Mustapha Diomande. And I’m going to be a grandmaster one day.

Let’s slow it down a bit now. Here’s a little about me. I’m 22 years old, turning 23 in January. I'm a super senior studying psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. I am also the Chess Club president of my school. My current chess rating is 1857 USCF. I know I’m not exactly a prodigy, but I stick fast to my goal of becoming a grandmaster. I expect that to happen in 10 years max. And even if I can’t achieve that, then at least I want to help others get there themselves. So I decided to start writing this blog to help others as interested in this hypnotic game as I am and to give them a rough guide of how to succeed. I hope that this can help someone out there become truly great. But not too great, because then I’ll have to beat them when I become World Champion. Sorry. This is tough love.

If you want to just skip the inspirational bs and get straight to the meat, then head here to my next post: [link to your next blog]. But if you’d care to hear about how I came to be where I am today and know why in the world you should even be listening to this maniac, then please read below. Here I’m going to tell you about my journey.

I was nine - or maybe ten - when I first learned how to play. I believe it was either Christmas or my birthday (the days are only 12 days apart) when I got my first chess board. I actually got my first two chess boards that day. Two of my uncles got me the exact same gift. I was instantly excited. I grew up competitive. On our regular family game nights playing Uno or Connect Four, I remember being driven to be the best. Losing only made me want to win more. And so it was the same with chess.

My uncle (the one who bought me the glass set, that is) taught me the rules by beating me over and over again. But I was getting better. He soon stopped playing with me altogether. Either he got bored, or - what I believe to be the real reason - he realized that I was on the verge of beating him and didn’t want to suffer such a blow to his pride. I eventually took to Yahoo Chess to test my skills. I kept losing at first, but I bounced back quick and stayed at around 1100. I was hooked. I told my mom I now wanted to become a grandmaster. She laughed but told me that it was going to happen.

I kept at it. By the time I was in 6th grade, I was researching the games of Bobby Fischer and trying my damndest to play like him. But I couldn’t. And I started playing less and less. And then I stopped entirely.

I finally got my own phone when I was 17. After downloading the prerequisite apps that were necessary to talk with all my imaginary girlfriends, I soon stumbled across another kind. Chess apps. I smiled. I remembered how competitive I used to be and thought, “Why not?” And I downloaded one. Soon, I was back on the hook. I began downloading more and more. I downloaded free chess books. Emmanuel Lasker and Paul Morphy. I read a couple bytes. Then I played engines. I lost, of course. But I couldn’t figure out why exactly.

One day, while training for track, I ran past a sign that was advertising a chess camp in my city of Gaithersburg, Maryland. I thought about it, but just kept on running. Time went on. I kept running until one day I busted my back and couldn’t run anymore. I kept playing chess on my phone - and trying to get the girls - but that was about it. And then I graduated.

Summer was lazy. Hot room with nothing to do. I decided it was time to do something. I called that chess camp. “You know this is only for kids, right?” I heard on the other line. “Of… of course, thanks. I was calling for my little cousin. Thanks.” I hung up. Embarrassed, but not deterred. I also found out there was a chess club playing at my local mall. I went the next day. But it was closed. The storm from the night before must have knocked out the power. Shit. It took me a week to try again.

And there I found my first real opponent. Call him K. He had just finished a game. And then he finished me. He crushed me repeatedly. And I left. And came back to meet the same fate on a daily basis. Goes without saying that I didn’t win much that summer. But the more I lost, the more determined I would become to win the next time. And so I kept playing.

I mean, I could beat the elementary school aged kids that were playing there as well as the noobs at UMES where I had started college, but I was still in need of a real, honest victory.

During the fall I attempted to make a chess club at UMES, but to no avail. I would constantly play and read chess books until my 1100 rating started coming closer to 1300 on chess.com. I began reading COH Alexander along with the Yasser Seirawans series. Eventually, I heard from people at the chess club about some big-time chess tournaments and I decided to go look for one online. And that’s how I found the Fells Point Chess Club. I went there, pistol cocked, but it was for no use. Boris crushed me in the first round. He was 2100, so I could understand. But then I got my ass handed to me by a 1500 in even less time. I was pissed but not deterred. I later played a 2000 rated player, WB, in some unofficial games there. I lost four times, but won one. I was ecstatic. This was my moment. I then went back into the ring and beat Doug. My first official victory in a chess tournament. A feeling came over me. A feeling of power. Of wonder. Of passion. He was only about 900, but still. I had won.

Coming down from the high, I realized that I really fucking sucked. And I vowed to get stronger. I vowed that I would not return until I had a somewhat decent rating.

After the fall ended, I headed back home to Gaithersburg to test out my new skills. My old rival walked in and we clashed. And I had now finally taken down Goliath. We shook hands, he stood up, and left the chess club. I was in shock and did not know what to think. One thing was for sure though: my skills could be developed as long as I played and studied. That spring I decided that I would go to UMBC to take my skills to the next level. And I went and studied hard. The summer of 2014 saw my chess.com rating soar between 1450 and 1500.

I started school at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the fall. I was better. I started beating most of the club members. I was where I wanted to be and I had found myself progressing. I would finish the year up at around 1600 on chess.com, which seemed like a huge deal to me. Tactics training really got me going. My vision was sharpened. I made them my greatest strength. In the winter, I headed back to Lakeforest mall once again. Players who once seemed to be two steps ahead of me then, now seemed to be missing obvious threats. Players whose attacks beforehand seemed impossible to stop became easily parried. And then I ran past another sign. This time online. A chess tournament. I registered. Weeks past. Then I rushed out of work and into that Uber. My mind racing. My heart beating. Ready. For the challenge.