On Chess
Introduction
Ever since I learned to play chess when I was 7 years old, I have always been fascinated by this complicated game. In high school, the thought even crossed my mind to just become a chess player, possibly a grandmaster. But my father advised me to concentrate on my studies, which in hindsight was excellent advice. From time to time, I still join chess tournaments, and as my mental exercise, I usually play 1 or 2 10-minute rapid games at chess.com almost daily, where I get to play excellent players from all over the world. My handle at chess.com is EdselAPena. My USCF profile and rating is available on the US Chess rating page.
Some highlights of my chess hobby
- Winning the 2011 SC Blitz Championship. National Master Philip Lamby, a German mathematician from Aachen, Germany who was a post-doc at the Department of Mathematics, University of South Carolina during the early years of the decade from 2010–2019, and I reached the tie-break stage of the blitz championship and had to play a tie-breaker to decide who becomes champion. We drew the first few games of this tie-breaker series. The final deciding game was recorded by David Grimaud and posted on YouTube.
- I also tied for the SC Chess Championship in 2013 (with Benjamin Caiello, who eventually became a National Master, and Ernest Nix Jr.). The crosstable of this championship tournament is available online.
- I retired from competitive chess in 2016. However, in November 2025, I decided to join the SC Senior Chess Championship held at the Columbia Chess Club. Surprisingly, I won this championship to become the SC Senior Chess Champion for 2025–2026. I tied for first with National Master Mark Hoshor, but since Mark is from North Carolina, I became the SC Champion. The crosstable of this tournament is here.
- I have also advised the USC Gamecock Chess Club for many years (until 2019). Gamecock Chess Club.
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Some game scores from SC tournaments that were posted on the internet can be found in the links below
(though you need to search through the list of games).
- Pena-T. Aliyev (2006, 32nd Snowstorm Tournament). Timur Aliyev is a National Master and won the SC Championship several times. He hails from Azerbaijan and got his PhD degree in Engineering from the University of South Carolina.
- Pena-C. Mabe (2006, 32nd Snowstorm Tournament). Chris Mabe is a National Master and won the NC Championship several times, as well as other tournaments.
- Pohl, Klaus vs E. Pena (2006, Columbia Open). The late Klaus Pohl was a Senior National Master and was one of the most decorated SC chess players, having won the SC Championship many times (thirteen times!). Since his passing, the SC State Chess Championship has been named after him.