My name is Xiao Cheng (程潇) and I started to play chess when I was 4 years old in China.
Here are some of my fun stories:
- Getting lost in Harbin (哈尔滨) during a chess tournament when I was 8
- Flying to tournaments by myself in the U.S.
- My biggest chess win: 2006 Georgia State Championship
- My costliest lost game in chess: Last round of the 2006 North American Open
I was very active in the Atlanta chess scene between 2001 and 2007, during tis time I achieved FIDE Master (FM) and U.S. Chess Life Master titles.
My tournaments highlights include:
- First in the 2001 K-6 Grade Level Tournament
- Tied for first in the 2002 K-6 Section of National Elementary School Tournament
- Tied for first in the 2002 K-7 Grade Level Tournament
- First in the 2005 SuperNationals K-12 section on tie-break
- First in the 2006 GA State Championship
- Tied for first in 2006 GA Class Premier Section
I got my FIDE rating to 2300 in April 2007, and finally applied for the FIDE Master (FM) title in 2015.
I started teaching chess in 2015. My students individually have raised their USCF ratings by 500-1000 points or more in the past year. Many of them started working with me while learning the rules of the game.