Absolute Player Bios

Bio from 1994.

Richard is 40, and has been playing chess since he learned the moves at summer camp in 1960. Richard is married, with a four-year-old daughter whom he predicts will be an Expert by age 10! Richard spent nine and a half years in the Air Force, and now buys and sells photographic equipment.

He has always had a fascination with chess, but when he started playing postal chess he discovered that he could strive for "truth" in chess. The ability to put more time into a game is the equalizer that brings the level of play up a few notches. He has played in three USCF Absolutes, putting hours, and sometimes days, into each move. Postal chess has given him an appreciation of the hidden possibilities in a position.

Currently Richard is playing strictly by computer and modem on the USAT Network under the auspices of APCT. Although the time limits are similar to postal chess, you do not have delays of the mail which bog postal chess down: no stamps, lost cards, writing errors, or repeat cards. He notes, "It is much simpler, and I find the conditions more to my liking."