Dover chess player reaches Expert rating, top 3% in U.S. And he wants more.

DOVER — Some nights the 30-minute drive home from his weekly chess match brings angst, while other nights it brings euphoria.

For Claude Fried of Dover, all of these experiences have paid off. The 33-year-old chess player recently crossed the 2,000 rating barrier, putting him in the U.S. Chess Federation's Expert category and among the top 2.9% of players in the country.

Fried sees this as a stepping stone to reaching the highest ranking possible.

“I’ve wanted the title of Master (rating of 2,200) since I started playing seriously in 2012. That’s what has driven me to Expert,” he said.

New Hampshire has only 13 players rated 2,000 or above, and Fried has made his mark in local chess circles.

“Claude has definitely made excellent progress over the past few years,” said longtime New Hampshire Chess Association President John Elmore, himself an Expert and regular opponent of Fried. “He is one of the few players who manage to study chess and make progress despite the burdens of adult life.”

Chess progress has come via unusual path

Chess is like most skills, the more you do as a young person, when the brain is receptive to learning, the easier it is as an adult, players say.

Fried grew up in Westchester County, New York, learning chess at a young age, but not seriously pursuing it until he had graduated college in 2012 and was living in Dover. Despite not playing regularly as a youngster, Fried has successfully progressed.

“There wasn’t much computer chess in those days, and I preferred to be outside more than inside. But after college I was drawn to chess and its aesthetic beauty,” he said.

He played his first tournament in 2013, in Portsmouth. Pre-coronavirus pandemic, there were regularly chess tournaments in the city. Fried remembers his games from that experience like it was yesterday.

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“I had a great win in round three, but lost in round four,” he said.

Fried played regularly for three years, getting his rating over 1,900 by the end of 2016. Chess then went to the back burner as other parts of his life became priorities. During the pandemic, he resumed his training with vigor, and since 2021 he has tried to play in as many tournaments and rated games as possible. As it implies, rated games are ones that get counted toward the player’s USCF rating, with game results being submitted to the national organization after play.

Fried admits frustration has boiled over at times

The Newburyport (Massachusetts) Chess Club meets on Monday nights and hosts monthly four-week tournaments. Fried is a regular, getting in close to 50 rated games a year there. With weekend tournaments, he puts his yearly total of face-to-face, over-the-board games at more than 60.

“I remember the second game back from my hiatus. I hung a bishop. Just hung it," he said, using terminology for leaving a piece on the chess board unprotected. "And I had plenty of time on my clock to see the blunder. But didn’t. I was distraught and smashed my set to the ground afterward, broke it, then drove home screaming at myself because I was so angry.”

As the self-coached Fried notes, chess isn’t an athletic event where the player can channel physical frustration into the game itself. The player needs to remain calm, keep the mind working and try to work out of any predicaments.

“Then there are nights when I drive home after a great win and feel invincible. That’s the type of game chess is.”

Fried speaks fondly of the camaraderie at the Newburyport club.

“We will often work together and analyze a game afterward. We all have a mutual appreciaton of the game.”

25 hours a week devoted to chess

More often than not, Fried has driven home in a positive state of mind. In the past two years his rating has climbed the 100 points needed to eclipse the magical 2,000 mark. For those unfamiliar with chess and its rating system, a 100-point gain for a 2,000-ish player is difficult to achieve. The best U.S. grandmasters (2.500 minimum ranking) in the world hover in high 2,800 USCF range. A 100-point fluctuation is unheard of that that level.

In the course of a week, Fried will devote an average of 25 hours to chess. The math tells us that would be about 3.5 hours per day. Every day.

“The more I know, the more I don’t know, if you see what I mean,” he said. “I see it as exciting, there is a lot to learn. I try to be self-aware and humble enough to spot weaknesses in my game without shame.”

Working with Dover students brings him joy

Fried’s love of the game extends beyond his own play. He’s become a coach for the Dover High School chess team where his wife’s triplets, Ben, Erik, and Josh Larson, are key members. He currently works in information technology project management for New York University, but was a New Hampshire music teacher in his early days after college.

“It’s a natural segue for me. I missed the student interaction since I’m now on a computer all day.”

In March, the Dover team hosted a community chess event, which brought in more than 100 people. Fried spent the time mingling with players and families, but also taking the time to play and instruct.

Dover had two teams in the April state scholastic tournament. Fried was available to players as they finished their games, going over them and providing immediate feedback. In June, he did an after-school session that was enthusiastically received. With the Dover team planning for more events this year, the students will be leaning on Fried even more.

“I love it. I try to bring my passion for the game to the students.”

Joseph Grassi, 17, from Barrington, is a member of the Dover High chess team. He caught the chess bug last year and is trying to work his way up the ladder.

“He (Fried) has helped my thought process by reiterating basic principles,” Grassi said. “Being around a player as strong as Claude, has given me new insight into how to study, improve, and bounce back from failure.”

Grassi recently finished first in his section at the Putney Summer Series tournament and tied for fourth at the New Hampshire Scholastic Team Championship.

The next tournament for both Fried and Grassi will be the Manchester Open on Aug. 6. This is a first-time event run by 22-year-old Joseph Truelson. Having lived in both Minnesota and Seattle, Washington, Truelson is now a New Hampshire resident and brings with him a 2,260 Master rating that puts him atop the Granite State list.

“Being new to the upper New England area, I have thought there weren’t enough local tournaments for players,” Truelson said. “If players want a rated tournament they often have to travel to Boston.”

The Manchester tournament is a one-day event where four rated games will be held. Truelson is hoping to attract about 60 players and make it a regular stop on the New Hampshire chess calendar.

Chess popularity on the rise after pandemic and Netflix show

Fried is one of 109,000 members of the US Chess Federation. This a record number. When the pandemic first hit, the membership number had crashed from 97,000 to 52,000, but the popularity quickly brought the numbers back, and then some, according to Daniel Lucas of the USCF.

Beginning in March, 2020, people were shut inside and looking for television series to watch. "The Queen’s Gambit" became Netflix’ most-watched series that November. Many in the chess world credit that series for the chess boom.

Elmore, the longtime state chess federation leader, gives back to the community by being the tournament director at scholastic and local events (such as the New Hampshire Open). He agreed with the “Queen’s Gambit effect,” noting the state has seen an increase in tournament participation, both at the scholastic and adult levels.

During the pandemic, chess was easy to play online, either at a laptop or phone due to sites such as chess.com and open-sourced lichess. The chess.com app was the most popular free IOS download in the world during the first week of February 2023.

Fried said he has played 28,000 online games since 2016, all at various time controls. Some are fast, one-minute games (Bullet), some are 90 minutes. The Manchester tournament is the next stop as Fried pursues the Master title.

“I’m trying for it. Hopefully I have a strong year.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dover NH chess player Claude Fried rated Expert, in U.S. top 3%