Chess Earth’s Interview with Justin Storn:

Q: How did you get into chess; start playing chess?

A: My grandfather taught me the game, and then my dad started to play with me. I was a late bloomer physically, I was the smallest person in my grade up until freshman in high school, so although I was athletic, I never took any sports that seriously. Instead, I turned to chess, and it worked out.  With the help of my father, we founded chess clubs everywhere we went, at each school.  I’m referring to the chess clubs we started at Mercer Elementary School, Nagel Middle School, and Turpin High School.  We organized tournaments (with the help of Alan Hodge) and held regular club meetings as well. This helped to develop my chess roots. 

Kevin Storn…Justin’s Dad

Q: You are a Volleyball player: 

A: Yes, I picked up volleyball after the growth spurt.  It’s a lot easier to play volleyball when you are 6 foot… hitting a volleyball straight down – it’s like free therapy. It’s awesome. I began to play in doubles leagues with my dad and sister. And then continued to play in volleyball double leagues with current college roommate. 

Q: Who were the main teachers who influenced you?

You…Robert Chenault. You were my first real teacher, and you really ingrained in me the importance of fast development and castling.  I’ve had a few coaches along the way to point me in the right direction (Shabalov and CCL)…but I’m mostly self-taught. After training with you, I put in the work and developed my game. 

Q: When did you become a National Master?

A: Jan. 20, 2019. It was at a one-day tournament in Toledo and I had to beat a master in my last round to get the title. I have the certificate from US Chess, hanging on my wall at my apartment here in Cleveland.

Q: How long have you been a chess coach?

A: Over 5 years. I’m a certified coach at Chess.com. I teach 2 classes for Thunder Chess Academy (reach out to thunder.chess.academy@gmail.com if you are interested) and I’m also a content creator for Chess Goals and The Chess Goals Website.  I don’t really have the time to take on new students at the moment. I’m focused on my studies at Case Western. 

Juneteen Tournament 2023:  1st-Russell Velasquez,  2nd-Justin Storn,  3rd-Will Sedlar 

Q: Is there time for chess while taking a serious major like yours, Biomedical Engineering?

A: Going to college, I stepped away from chess to focus on school. I don’t get to play as much as I want to. Chess comes during the in-between moments; you know… walking between classes and while eating a meal, for instance, I’ll do puzzles or squeeze in a game if I can. It’s tough to find that balance. There are times when chess is not even on my radar.  At the same time, I try to find time for one or two tournaments a semester. 

Q: I noticed 2 Fishbeins in the Ohio Chess Congress tournament but from two different states.

A: Yes, they’re father and son. The father is “still” stronger than the son, currently. Alex, the father, (2481) won the tournament with 4.5 points. (I’m State Champ because I finished with the highest score from Ohio) and his son, Mitch (2276) tied with me for 2nd place with 4.0 points. 

Q: Tell us about your Ohio Congress performance, capturing the 2023-24 Ohio State Title:

A: I was very exhausted from the tournament and especially during the last round game. I didn’t make the decision to play in the Congress until the day before. It was Labor Day Weekend and I had friends from Cincinnati visiting. Three people were sleeping in my apartment living room, so I stayed up somewhat late with my friends and I didn’t sleep well the night before the tournament.  Also, I don’t own a car, so I didn’t have transportation to the tournament hotel. It’s crazy how the stars aligned, things came together, and I played in the tournament. Shout out to the person who drove me, Matt, who is a player from Case Western’s Chess Club. He’s a 1400 who played up in the U1800 and finished in 2nd place and gained a ton of rating points.  

Q: So you didn’t really prepare for the Ohio Congress?

A: No, I didn’t prepare. Actually, I was going through a bit of a funk with chess. At the Cardinal Open earlier in the year, I had 0.5 out of 3 to start the tournament. It was a mild crisis of confidence, I began to wonder, did I hit my peak in chess?? Do I have time to get any better at chess anymore? It was rough. But I stuck in there and kept fighting and won the last 2 games. This was a huge boost to restore my faith and confidence in my ability, and I carried this attitude into the Ohio Congress. 

What’s funny is, I played the same opponent, an expert Micheal Lin, in the first round, for both the Cardinal and Congress. I had the black pieces in both games. In the Cardinal, he drew me and I went on to lose the next two games. In the Congress, I beat him and went on to win the State Championship. Proving to myself that I could still improve.

Q: I heard the last round game was a hard fight to win State Championship.

A: During the last round, it was very important to focus on the game and not the results. Thinking about the results, the aftermath, becoming the state champ, etc, etc. would have doomed me and got me off track. Instead of thinking about the result, my focus was on the fight right in front of me. If I think about results and let my mind get caught up in all that, I wouldn’t have won the last-round game or State Championship.

When the game started to ramp up and the position became more and more complex, I had to do deep breathing because I felt anxiety seeping in, and I had to handle my emotions. It’s very important to understand and control our emotions, first identifying the emotion, then addressing it. Like I said, I began taking deep breaths. I was giving it everything I had…I poured myself into the game. And my opponent Gajanan Jayade (a future master) made me earn it.  

Q: Did they give you a trophy for State Champ? And how did you find out?

A: Kathy Lin told me. She said, “Congratulations you are the new Ohio State Champion” And I just let out a big sigh and dropped my head onto the table. I was so exhausted. My brain was completely fried. No trophy. They didn’t give me a trophy. But I won $650, and I’m in college, so I need whatever I can get.

Q: How do you handle the emotions and the nerves that come with competitive chess; look at Ding Liren (our current World Champ) admitting it’s too much.

A: Taking the time to look within and understand emotions and understand ourselves. It is so important to address our emotions. Taking steps to calm our emotions. Not allowing those emotions to take over.

Q: Give us your Top 3 GM’s 

A: Carlsen, Kasparov and Fischer.  Carlsen has earned the top spot in history in my eyes.  If Carlsen had to play the old-school GM’s, he would beat them, and I don’t think it would be that close. Today’s generation really has an unfair advantage with the resources and engines we have today. 

Q: Who is one of your favorite chess players? 

A: Richard Rapport is one of my favorite players. He has an innovative style and doesn’t abide by mainstream typical opening theory. He plays whatever he wants and he’s really shifty. 

Q: Has playing bughouse improved your chess?

A: Bughouse definitely helps chess. Bughouse helps to identify weaknesses and teaches weaknesses in general. Especially weaknesses around the king. Once I played in a bughouse tournament and afterward played a normal chess game; I played a bad pawn move in front of my king and my whole body felt the weakness of that move. There are definitely some benefits to bughouse.

Q: Is chess a different game? Is it harder?

A: Chess has changed…can’t say it’s harder. There are great resources to get better at chess very quickly. In today’s chess, you can look up an opponent to see what they play.  For instance, I have an opponent I played in the Chicago Open who blitzed out all his moves. The game ended in a draw and then after the game, we spoke, and he said, “I looked up your games and memorized the computer line for 30 moves”  This guy didn’t understand anything about the position which really peeved me. And to throw salt on the wound he said, “Well now you know not to play the King’s Indian against me.”  Which made me think, that’s a weird comment since I was black and still got a draw. Anyway, on my level and in today’s chess, you got to mix things up and be more flexible. Throw an opponent off book or else you are just going to be playing against the computer. 

Q: What advice can you share with chess players? 

1. Study what you enjoy!! I enjoy studying nuisance in chess positions. For instance, positions that are hard to play practically, but the computer can hold it  – I find it really interesting. Like if you are cold-blooded, you can technically hold on, but realistically that’s incredibly difficult. I enjoy trying to find these kind of positions.
2. Study the ideas behind the openings. My memory is terrible. I messed up on move 7. I’m bad at memorizing things. I developed the Benko gambit with Matt (Chess Goals) and won with it in the last round of the Congress. I enjoyed making the Benko chess course and I enjoyed learning the Benko Gambit. 
3. Learn pawn structures and how to play against them
4. Check out Chess Goals, they have courses that will develop you.

Q: I’ve noticed you’ve always had a strong mindset

A: I believe in myself; I always have a mindset that I think I’m going to win, even when I’m losing. Yeah, in reality, I’m losing but I always feel like I’m going to pull it out, somehow. I’ve won many times in lost positions because of looking for the win or thinking I’m going to win. I have a fighting mentality or something within. 

Q: Do you like Case Western and what about life after college?

A: Once I graduate I’d like to design or fabricate devices that help people That’s why I got into Biomedical Engineering. So far I’m happy with Case Western, I’ve enjoyed my time here, it’s challenging but we will see if I still feel that way when I get through my loans.

Q: Do you have Chess Goals?

A: No…I don’t.  People underestimate how hard it is to get from where I am (roughly 2250) to gain another 100 points (2350). That’s a tough climb and extremely time-intensive. To get to the next level, I would almost have to devote my life to chess. Right now, I enjoy the game. I enjoy where I am.