About Me More information on chess games, chess strategies and chess analysis can be found at http://MikeSeroveyOnChess.com.
Here is information about Mike Serovey and his chess career. My very first chess tournament was a beginner’s (Under 1200 USCF or unrated) that I played in November of 1974. I was 16 years old then. I lost my first 3 rounds and won the fourth. That win came in only 1 move! I know what you may be thinking, but my opponent did actually show up. I played 1. N-KB3 and he stopped the clock while saying, “Oh no! I can’t take it!” When I asked him why he resigned after only one move he stated that he didn’t know how to defend against that move! Still, he could have tried to. I have had some forfeit wins since this game, but none since about 1980. I began playing chess while a student at Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida in 1974 and continued to play for the chess team there until I graduated in June of 1976. In my senior year of high school I was both first board on the chess team and the vice president of the chess club. I took fourth place in the Hillsborough County High School Chess Championship, which my brother and I helped to organize, and our school ran in 1976. Plant High won the Florida State High School Chess Championship every year from 1973 to 1978. I think that we won in 1979 too, but I’m not sure of that. We won the Southeastern HS Championship from 1973 to 1975 and the Novice Section in 1976. While stationed in Giessen, Germany from 1983 to 1986 I played in several tournaments that were held at the US Air Force Base that was in Frankfurt, Germany. I also organized and directed several chess tournaments in the Giessen community, including the Giessen Area Chess Championships which I won in 1986. I was selected to play in the Fifth Corp Championship of 1985 and again in 1986. In 1986 I was selected to play in the US Army Europe Championship, but my commander (Captain Dale Pierce) would not let me go. Why is a long story. Shortly after my discharge from the US Army I started attending classes at the University of South Florida (USF), and while there I met a USCF Life Master named Tom Stiers. He was playing speed chess for a quarter a game and winning every game! We ended up becoming friends and I eventually ended up taking chess lessons from him. The sad thing is that my USCF rating actually dropped several points as a result of Tom’s lessons! He changed my opening repertoire and created too much confusion in the process. I couldn’t remember what he had shown me and didn’t fully understand the theory behind the moves that he wanted me to play. I also helped Tom run some tournaments in the Tampa and Brandon areas and I ran a few at
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