Dandeer (with the black pieces) playing a 90+30 tournament at his club in Hungary in April 2024

Key Stats

What has been your journey with chess so far?

I'm 33 and I got serious about chess at 26, when an adolescent kid beat me up. I got mad and started watching Ben Finegold on YouTube. The fact that I didn't learn anything about it in my childhood hurts me, but I do everything I can to compensate for that. First I played on Lichess, then joined the next-door club, and started going to tournaments regularly. I'm your definition of an adult improver, as everything I learned in chess I learned as an adult. I have 2 kids now, so I wake up every day at 4am to analyse and do ChessDojo stuff.

Why did you join the Dojo?

I was stuck below 1300, and wanted to get better. My long-term goal is to work as a chess coach, either part-time or full-time.

What are your main chess goals?

Keeping my mind fresh is the most important thing. Mentally I experience a lot of growth because of this hobby. I see a lot of players over 70 at tournaments whose minds are still clean. I want to keep playing while I live on this Earth. As of September 2024 my club plays in national second division, and I'm proud to be part of the small squad. I want to play in div. 2 as much as possible, and I want to get to 1800 by trusting the program. I am so thankful for this community.

What is a non-chess fun fact about you?

I refuse to work full-time! Life is too short to work 50-60 hours per week. I work from Monday till Thursday.

Check out one of Dandeer's games: