Mariano Sana, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (I am exactly five years GM Alexey Shirov 's senior), living in the US since 1995. Since summer 2009, I am an associate professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University: http://as.vanderbilt.edu/sociology/.... Previously, I was at Louisiana State University (2003-2009).My published academic work can be seen here: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/Mar....
My avatar comes from a cartoon of mine drawn by a friend. My username, besides the pasta, is my cat's name, inspired by this cartoon: http://www.condenaststore.com/-sp/F....
My first tournament was at age 12 in 1979 in Argentina, and in that first stage of my chess life I played until the early 1990s. I finished 8th in the Argentine junior championship in 1985. So, I was good enough, but not great. (That same evaluation is apt today.) Unfortunately, no game scores survived from those years.
I started to play again when I finished grad school in Philadelphia in 2003. I play between zero and five tournaments a year.
I won the Louisiana State Championship in 2007. My playing wasn't that great, but I was mentally well prepared, slept well, and had a touch of luck. I played the Swiss gambit... Lost the first game and then won six in a row. This was my last round win, where I got lucky after playing the opening pretty terribly: J Rousselle vs M Sana, 2007.
More recently, I won the under 2200 section of the US Open in 2014. Again, Swiss gambit. Lost the first one, then won five in a row. Then I lost game 7, but won games 8 and 9. My last round win was featured as a Tuesday puzzle: K Gulamali vs M Sana, 2014. (I think this is my best game since I started to play again in 2003.)
I'd say that I am essentially a good but inconsistent player. For years I've been hovering around 2200. On a good day, well rested and inspired, I can collect an FM or IM scalp (T Bartell vs M Sana, 2009, R Burnett vs M Sana, 2012, M Sana vs C Blocker, 2014, M Sana vs R Burnett, 2015). But on a bad day, I can play horribly and lose against whoever is sitting in front of me, losing tons of rating points at once.
I hold the title of National Master. My FIDE rating is 2132. Whenever I have a really good tournament, it is not FIDE rated!
When I was a teenager I studied briefly with IM Jaime Emma, who was Argentine champion in 1978. Mostly, I studied alone, but I didn't study much. I also attended group classes at my club, taught by FM Mariano Varga (there's no game of his in this database). He was a great coach, actually.
In the summer I am likely to hit the road and play an open tournament or two. In particular, I like the World Open and the US Open. I also like to play the city championship here in Nashville. If you see me at a tournament, feel free to say hi. I am a friendly fellow!
When I post comments on this website, I always disclose if I am checking with my engine. Since I often do not, I may post flawed suggestions.
My participation on this website goes through ebbs and flows. It can be addictive and distract me from work, so I need to regulate that!
On August 9, 2014, I had my 10th year anniversary on chessgames.com. Cheers!
IMPORTANT: Please do not post politically partisan or angry comments on my forum. Social commentary is welcomed if presented in an analytical and respectful way. (Although, as a general principle, I think those topics have a better home in other pages of this website.) Thank you.
Kibitzing
