FM John Curdo

• USCF Rating: 2291
• Openings : -100
• Tactical Ability : +50
• Positional Play : +0
• Endgame Technique : +25
• Speed Chess : 5
• Consistency : 7
• Tenacity : 6
• Overall Aggressiveness : 7
• Against Strong Players : 4
• Against Weak Players : 7

Strengths: John still remains very alert tactically despite his old age. He almost never allows himself to get into time trouble, and plays very good practical chess.

Weaknesses: John's openings used to be very good (tricky) before computers, but now opponents are well prepared for his stuff. Most of his openings are dubious, which is one of the reasons he has trouble against stronger opposition.

Amusing Story:

At a tournament in Marlboro, MA a few years ago, John was playing another strong master on the board next to me. They played for about an hour before they both realized that they had the board setup in the wrong direction! (the h1 square was black, not white) So they just turned the board around and continued playing.

Reason for this song choice:
John keeps on playing chess, even as his strength diminishes.