Response to Comment

When was the last time you participated in a tournament?

The last individual event I played in was in March 1995. I did alright at it - 2 wins, a draw with one of the players who tied for 2nd place, and a loss to the winner. I even picked up 8 rating points for my trouble.

After that, the only event I have participated in was the 2000 Amateur South Team Tournament (with JMR and DAS) in February 2000. There I suffered three losses - although I am somewhat consoled by the fact that all three of them were to higher rated players, with ratings of 1965, 1740 and (just barely higher than me) 1557.

The USCF hasnt had a tourney update on you in quite some time.

The information on the USCF website is complete and accurate for the period covered, Nov 91 to Feb 00. Interestingly, the site you mention is brand new (this very month). Before that, all you could get was the rating information but not the event history. I think that's quite a good enhancement.

Is your rating still 1499?

My official rating is still 1499. The tournament I'm playing in tomorrow has a best Under-1500 result prize, so I'm hopeful I can win that.

When I got the 1499 rating (Feb 2000), I hadn't played in a tournament in 5 years. Furthermore, I hadn't played ANY chess at all for 3.5 years between June 1996 and December 1999. So I think it was accurate at the time; it might even have been a slight overstatement.

But, recently, I've been playing a lot of chess (quite a lot actually in the last six months or so), so I think I'm in pretty good shape now. If I had to guess, I'd say my actual playing strength (as opposed to my official rating) is probably a little higher than my official rating, maybe as high as 1590 or so. My only concern is that my opening repertoire is rusty from being exposed to only one opponent.

The GCA has a nifty calendar of events in your area. (You probably knew that.)

I was familiar with the GCA calendar. However, some events (e.g., the Georgian Peach Open) are not listed. I think you have to be affiliated with the GCA to get posted.