Chess4Life Chess Coaches

Tim Campbell

began playing competitive chess in high school when he discovered the beauty and complexity of the game. He joined his school’s chess team, taking what little skill he had at the time, combined with his enthusiasm to learn. He quickly fell in love with the game, taking any opportunity to play and study with his close friends, eager to understand the game more and more. After high school, Tim started playing correspondence chess online daily, unaware of the opportunities he had to play over the board. When he saw an advertisement for a tournament at the Seattle Chess Club, he took his friend over to check it out. This opened his eyes to the world of chess in Seattle, and he has been playing whenever possible ever since. His current playing strength is somewhere between 1700 and 1800.

While coaching at Chess4Life, Tim is studying chess and saving up money for college. He plans to become a teacher, though he often debates whether he wishes to teach at an elementary school or to teach high school math. He has been working with children since around 13, when his godparents had their first child. Since then, most of his jobs have focused around helping kids, including tutoring, teaching gymnastics, and now chess.

Tim is an avid proponent of game analysis as a tool to help improve at chess. Having analyzed every tournament game he's ever played, Tim always loves to see what he missed in a game, learn what he could have improved, and delve deep into long tactical lines. He is currently in the process of analyzing the 1700+ games he has played online since 2006.

Outside of chess, Tim enjoys numerous hobbies, which change frequently, including Ultimate Frisbee, movies, video games, reading, and philosophy. He loves to try new things, and is always up for a challenge. Always a cheery and silly person, Tim loves to have fun above all else, and uses this to inspire him and his students in his teaching.

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