Jeffrey Ashton

I don't really talk about how I'm a National Master in chess.  I'm not sure why not.  Maybe it's modesty... but I don't think I'm that modest.  When people ask me about my chess level, I tell them I'm 2265. I am very careful, because I don't like it when people round up.  Recently I've noticed that people who come to Panda Chess Academy are surprised to know that I'm good at chess. And when I say recently, it's probably more like "within the last 6 years."  I realize that kids see me as like one of those dads who volunteer to coach an elementary school soccer team. I used to play elementary soccer and baseball, and it never occurred to me until now that those dad-coaches probably weren't athletes.  But yes, I'm a National Master. And I do remember being a kid, I really wanted to be a master. I got that goal in 70 tournaments (pretty sure it's like 60's, but again, I don't want to exaggerate). The number of tourna