My Chess Story

I was born because of chess.

Not many players can make that claim, but it’s true!

My grandparents met because my great-grandfathers played in the same chess club.

I still have the old manual chess clock of my great-grandfather:

I actually didn’t find out about this until my mother told me this story when I was playing tournament chess for 8 years already! Chess is in my genes and I feel naturally drawn to the game.

Let’s go back in time.

When I first started playing chess, I was like many 12-year-olds: Awkward, shy and the opposite of confident.

Chess immediately fascinated me — but I didn’t think that I’d be good at it.

Nevertheless, I joined the chess club. My first match was on the last board as a replacement against an experienced player with ca. 1450 ELO.

Nowadays that’s an easy task, but for me as a beginner this guy was super strong.

No one expected me, a new player, to win. But I did.

This taught me to be confident in myself and in my decisions. It changed the way I viewed myself.

I’ve been trying to improve at chess ever since.

On this website, I want to share my journey of chess improvement with you.

If you have feedback or questions, feel free to reach out to me at jonas@chesstier.com !