FM Braden Bournival

• USCF Rating: 2370
• Openings : +0
• Tactical Ability : +50
• Positional Play : -50
• Endgame Technique : +50
• Speed Chess : 7
• Consistency : 9
• Tenacity : 4
• Overall Aggressiveness : 5
• Against Strong Players : 3
• Against Weak Players : 9

Strengths: My greatest strength is probably my consistency and ability to calculate long lines well.

Weaknesses: I have many, but my biggest weakness is my inability to survive when getting into bad positions. I tend to get discouraged and just resign myself to losing rather than fighting and trying to make the best moves. This doesn't happen very often against lower rateds since I am very consistent, but against the stronger opponents who are capable of getting better positions I collapse quickly.

Amusing Story:

I started playing chess when I was 15 and made master (2200) in only 2.5 years. The way I made master was quite funny, after having a good result I found myself at exactly 2199, needing only 1 more point. There was a scholastic tournament not far from my house the following weekend, so I entered and played 1 game against a 1000 and withdrew. I remember the kid I was playing visibily shaking because I was so high rated.

Reason for this song choice:
This song is about Owsley Stanley who was the first to produce LSD in large quantities. The song details his rise to fame and then his eventual fall from grace. I can relate to this song because of my rise and fall from the spam world.