My Life in Chess – My Chess Legacy in Florida – Larry Storch

Hardback – 320 pages

Teaser My Life in Chess – My Chess Legacy in Florida – Larry Storch

Chess has been a lifelong passion, bringing both rewards and heartaches.
Began chess journey in 1974 at age 23; played continuously until retiring from OTB play in 2017.
Over 43 years, built lasting friendships and rivalries, won numerous championships, and led teams to major victories.
Book shares highs and lows of chess career and the challenge of balancing it with family life.
Not a professional player — career as an educator required grading papers and raising children.
Earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and became both a USCF chess master and original Life Master — a “double master’s degree.”
Titles include: Club Champion of the Orlando Chess Club and five-time Central Florida Chess Club Champion.
Achieved success through relentless study and determined play, becoming one of Florida’s most feared players.
Mentored talented young chess players, including Miles Ardaman and Daniel Ludwig.
Served as president of the Central Florida Chess Club, leading it to unprecedented success.
Book includes 121 fully annotated games, featuring personal thoughts, strategies, opening secrets, home preparation, creativity, and resilience.
Recognizes inspirational players from early OCC days (Mikel Petersen, Scott Mayer, Frank Redway, Mark Ryan) and CFCC era (Mike Spedale, Nick Schoonmaker).

Larry Storch is a Life Master and a five-time Central Florida Chess Club Champion. He also won the Orlando Chess Club Championship twice. In addition, Larry and his teammates have won the United States Amateur Team South tournament five times. This is the story of his 43-year tournament career. It tells of the tournaments he played, and the rivalries and friendships made over the years. It also details his struggle to achieve the original Life Master title while working full-time and raising a family. The book tells of the battles of a veteran chess player getting older while opponents became younger. Finally, hanging up his rooks in 2017, Larry continued as its President, to steer the Central Florida Chess Club through the COVID years to be the dominant chess club in the state of Florida.

SKU 9789493435094 Categories Biography, English, History, Languages

My Life in Chess – My Chess Legacy in Florida – Larry Storch

€45.00

In stock

Description

In this book I would like to tell the story of my chess journey where I rose to become the Orlando Chess Champion and later its president. I will detail the creation of the Central Florida Chess Club and how as its president it became the most successful club in Florida. I will detail the wars waged to become Central Florida Chess Club champion and the rivalries that were formed. I will also share stories from the U.S. Amateur tournaments which my team won five times. I will detail the struggle to become a USCF original Life Master while raising a family and teaching full time. Mostly, I will show some of the wonderful games I played, some with very important opening preparation, and give the reader insight into the battles waged over sixty-four squares. I hope you find the games and their stories as stirring as I do.

Larry Storch, August 2025.

Chess has always been more than just a game to me; it’s a world of rewards and heartaches. I started my chess journey in 1974 at 23 and played continuously until retiring from OTB play in 2017. Over 43 years, I made lasting friendships and rivalries, won countless championships, and led teams to victory in major tournaments. After thumb surgery in June 2024 kept me home for four months, I finally compiled my experiences into a manuscript. My book details the highs and lows of my chess career and balancing it with family life. I was not a professional player; As an educator, I had papers to grade and children to raise. My goal in both chess and education was to be the best I could be. I earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership for my job, and worked hard to become a master, then an original Life Master in chess (you might say, I had a double masters degree). I was the Club Champion of the Orlando Chess Club and a five-time champion of the Central Florida Chess Club. How did I do it? Through relentless study and determined play, I forged myself into one of the most feared players in Florida. I also used my experiences to tutor young, talented chess players from Miles Ardaman to Daniel Ludwig. After my playing days were finished, I steered the Central Florida Chess Club as its president to unparalleled success.

Along with the stories of the tournaments I played are 121 completely annotated games. These games are the backbone of my career and contain my thoughts and strategies along with opening secrets I used to defeat my opponents. They show home preparation and creativity and resilience. The reader will get rewarded with games that carried me forward for 43 years.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the players who inspired me over my long career. From the early days of the OCC with Mikel Petersen, Scott Mayer, Frank Redway, and Mark Ryan through the middle years of the CFCC when players like Mike Spedale and Nick Schoonmaker contributed significantly. A special thank you to my wife, Shaune Storch, who always supported my chess career, and to John Nardandrea and Robert Persante, two of my best friends in the game. Finally, thank you to Wayne Strickland who never stopped badgering me to write this book.

Sincerely,

Larry Storch, Spring 2025.