The first person to be featured in the “Profile of Special Chess Player” is National Master Michael Aigner, qualifier for the 2007 US Championship. He was nominated by Duncan Oxley. Thank you Duncan and Congratulations Michael!

Here are a few things about Michael courtesy of Duncan:

Mike is a well-known scholastic coach and has trained many great up and coming juniors. From his “fingernotes” on ICC:

NM Michael Aigner, Life Master, USCF 2308, FIDE 2269

fpawn(FM) watch: 40 FIDE points needed (lost 14 at American Open, lost 9 at North American Open)

Shared 2nd overall at 2006 US Open! Qualified for 2007 US Championship! Multiple top U2300 and U2400 prizes in Las Vegas and Reno.

Coach of 2006 CalChess K-12, K-8 and K-6 State Champs and other top kids. Chess students include ten players rated over 1800 USCF and 17 juniors ranked in the top 100 of the country for their age. Two are currently ranked #1 in the nation for their age. One student even attained the coveted rank of USCF master. Students gain an average of 150 USCF rating points annually.

Quote of the month: “The greatest skill in chess is not allowing the opponent to show you what he can do.” — Garry Kasparov
OTB HIGHLIGHTS wins: GMs Yermolinsky, Blatny; IMs Bhat, Kraai, Murzin, Palos, Shipman, Vigorito, WGMs Baginskaite, Paehtz ..

draws: GMs Sadvakasov, Kiriakov, Wojtkiewicz, Fedorowicz; IMs DeGuzman, Donaldson, Ganbold, Paschall, Rey, Sevillano, Taylor, Zak .. dinner with GM Kasparov

Mike is also a graduate of Stanford University!

I don’t know what more to say… He’s a truly special person!

–Duncan Oxley

Here is Michael’s website. “So far I have expounded on academics and chess, neglecting to mention my disability. I was born with short arms and short legs. Although I scoot or hop around at home, I use a power wheelchair to get around in the real world. However, I try my best each day to not dwell on my disability but rather on my abilities. Hence, do not expect to read much more about my disability here on this webpage :)”

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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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