Absolute Player Bios

Bio from 1997.

I am 43 years old, married, and the proud father of Alexander Ham, my 7 month old son and future world champion. By profession I'm a Senior Credit Analyst for GE Capital in Minneapolis.

I began playing Correspondence Chess around 14 years of age since there was no chess activity in my small southeastern Minnesota hometown. I was relatively successful but dreamed of playing OTB chess. I got my chance will attending St. John's University, MN. Then I discovered I was a failure at OTB chess due to bad nerves and a sense of aesthetics - losing interest when either my opponent or I ruined the game with weak moves. Obvious blunders were less frequent in Correspondence Chess so that became my greatest love.

That passion cooled, however, when the necessities of career advancement and dating took priority, I abandoned competitive chess completely. Still, I continued to study on my own. Surprisingly, I got considerably stronger even though I was not playing! I attribute this to a "mind-shift". My stle, at one time geared toward security first, shifted toward trying to force errors from my opponent with aggressive play. I also began to analyze more methodically and to play the "objectively correct" move, regardless of rish. Therefore in the mid-80's I challenged some master/expert level friends to Correspondence Chess matches and was surprised to earn plus scores over all.

Initially I thought this was a statistical anomaly because my OTB chess skills were still not very high, in spite of defeating Walter Browne in a simultaneous game. Therefore to deterimine my actual level of play, I became an active Correspondence Chess player again. By the time I completed 25 games I had already earned a master's rating! My style continued to evolve as well. Now, due to successes to date, I had greater confidence and actually was out-calculating my opposition. Friendly opponents encouraged me to abandon my conservative opening systems in favor of ones that reached sharper positions. I earned admittance to the 1993 Absolute Championship and finished with an even score, although I had plus scores against the top half of the table. Meanwhile I was still learning and shaping my style to the point where I finished second in the 1994 Absolute Championship.

Presently I am inactive in domestic Correspondence Chess and concentrating upon seeing how far I can progress in the ICCF World Championship. I've already won one qualifying group and should win a second, thus qualifying for a semi-final round. When I can advance no further, I will become temporarily inactive in order to devote my time to being a better father and husband. Still, I dream of returning to domestic Correspondence Chess in the hopefully not too distant future.