Paitrick, Derek

Derek was introduced to chess by his grandfather, Joe, at the age of six. By the age of ten, he went on to play his first rated tournament at UW-Milwaukee and he joined the Southwest Chess Club.  At seventeen, his rating was twenty points below reaching Expert, but it took three more years to get there.  A woman from the chess club approached him about teaching at an elementary school she worked at and he obliged to help teach a class of kids there for a semester.  Now at the age of thirty-five, Derek has played one-hundred and eighty-two tournaments over his career and knocking on the door of Master.  He is also the co-founder of King's March Chess Educators, a coaching company composed of himself and a fellow chess player, Johnathan Ireland, who specialize in private, custom-tailored lessons for players of all ages.