Player of August: Daniel Clarke

How and when did you get interested in chess?

My parents introduced me to the game when I was around 4 years old. I don't have a huge amount of memories about what attracted me to the game back then, but it remained one of my biggest hobbies throughout my whole childhood.

I stopped playing around 18, and only recently started playing again a couple of years ago.

What in chess does attract you most?

I'm a competitive person by nature, so the competitive one on one, non random aspect of the game has always been a big draw for me.

I'd say what I enjoy about chess has changed over time. Nowadays, I appreciate beautiful, creative chess ideas and chaos on the board. My younger self would've hated the unclear nature of such positions.

How often do you play chess?

Pretty much every day in some shape or form. Sometimes it's just a quick blitz game online during a commute. Over the board rapid games are my favourite way to play.

How do you train chess?

I try to review every game I play – even if briefly. Rapid or longer games I'll look at without an engine first. I also follow some educational creators online. In some ways, I'm completely relearning the game, as I never had access to proper coaching when younger. I just played a lot.

I recently explored coaching to try to identify and remove some of the bad habits in my game that have stuck around from childhood.

Do you have a favorite opening or variation?

Not really. What opening I play depends a lot on the parts of my game I'm trying to improve.

I tend to stay away from openings that have been proven to be fundamentally unsound. Other than that, I'll happily play anything that can lead to an interesting and imbalanced position.

Your chess goals, or do you play mainly for fun?

A big part of chess these days is fun, as I don't have unlimited time for the game, but I'm still playing to improve and trying out new things (especially online) – even if that leads to some less than perfect results in the short-medium term.

Experiences from chess competitions

I played in many competitions as a child from around the age of 8 onwards: school tournaments and leagues, local chess leagues and tournaments, cross-county tournaments and so on. Nowadays, I play in the JSM and some local tournaments.

Your most memorable or instructive chess game?

Probably most memorable win was against a WFM in a rapid otb game.

Most memorable and perhaps also instructive loss was as a child – where I had a clearly winning position up a minor piece against one of my main "rivals" towards the end of a local chess tournament. I got so excited and crumbled under the pressure as he slowly but surely equalised, and converted the endgame. It was a good lesson in how a game is never won if you don't have the skill to convert it. He's a GM now though... so maybe I can be excused for losing!

Do you admire some chess player?

I admire the subtle positional play from players like Karpov and Capablanca. I wouldn't say my style is similar to theirs at all, but that's why I admire their play so much – it's a part of chess where I still have a lot to learn.

Have chess skills helped your everyday life?

Most probably! My work requires a lot of logical thinking, so I'm sure that chess skills translate to the day to day in some way.

Activities you expect from a chess club?

Active players and opportunities to play competitively, internal tournaments, coaching.