About Me
National Master Craig Clawitter
- I've been playing chess competitively since May of 2000 and teaching adults and juniors chess for over 20 years!
- I played High School Basketball, Water Polo, and Swimming before a basketball injury sent me to the chess board in 2000.
- I became a National Candidate Master (USCF rating > 2000) in 2003 and a National Master (USCF rating > 2200) in 2007.
- I represented Southern California in the Denker High School Championships in 2002 by winning the Southern California High School Championships (just 2 years after playing in tournaments!).
- I actually won a recreational blitz match against a very young Fabiano Caruana (he was 10 years old at the time) at that 2002 US Open/Denker High School Championships in Cherry Hill, New Jersey!
- In 2018, I qualified and competed in the very strong Southern California Chess Championships, held in July in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. This was the 6th year I've qualified for this distinguished tournament. The previous years I qualified were 2005, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, & 2018.
- I've worked for several companies that teach chess to juniors in the Southern California area since 2002. Our best students have gone on to be NMs, FMs, IMs, & recently a GM!!