I drew an NM in a classical tournament to set a new OTB high

As somebody in their early 40s, I've been struggling to improve as an adult improver since I got back into chess as an adult around 7 years ago.

I've put considerable effort into trying to improve and increase my ratings, both online and over-the-board, with mixed results. Mid 2019 though early 2020 was a particularly tough time for me, as my rating actually steadily declined by 200 points.

Honestly, for the amount of effort I've put into trying to improve, my results are disappointing. But it's really tough to improve as an adult.

A couple of weeks ago, I played on team BC in the 2025 British Columbia vs. Washington match. Each team had 7 players and it was a 5-round team swiss event with 90+30 time control, both CFC and FIDE rated.

Feel free to watch my post-game analysis videos from each round (including some bonus footage) below:

2025 BC vs WA. Match Round 1: Tyler Cruz vs. Sofia Byelashova
https://youtu.be/8QvIFiFLE4Q

2025 BC vs WA. Match Round 2: NM Josh Sinanan vs. Tyler Cruz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezfrVNIMpR0

2025 BC vs. WA Match Venue and Accomodation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9544xHkpio

2025 BC vs WA. Match Round 3: Tyler Cruz vs. Jackson Rish-Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njwQ6TNY_oI

2025 BC vs WA. Match Round 4: Darya Byelashova vs. Tyler Cruz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7frNK04JuU

2025 BC vs WA. Match Round 5: NM Vignesh Anand vs. Tyler Cruz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EV1lPPEUUA

42 and Improving: New CFC High & FIDE Rating Increase
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuU7L62Uels

In round 5 I drew a national master from the US and ended up finishing clear first on team BC and winning $450. The prize money was nice (it paid for my AirBNB and entry fee), but the real prize was drawing an NM in a classical time control and increasing both my CFC and FIDE ratings.

In fact, I now have a new CFC rating high of 1782 (my performance rating in the tournament was 1885), and my new FIDE rating is 1789.

So what is the point of this blog post? I just want to encourage other adult improvers to never give up. Even as an older player, it's still impossible to improve with hard work and perseverance. I know I'm not very strong - I'm not even near 2000, but the struggle is real these days with competition being so fierce. Getting near 1800 FIDE is no small feat, and I am going to enjoy this accomplishment before I donate a lot of it back :P

So to those older players out there struggling, just stick with it. Put in the hard work! Don't give up!