Senior Spotlight: Harrison Sanford (12-4)

How did you get so good at chess?

In kindergarten and pre-K, there was this chess coach and he taught for free. I joined the chess club in kindergarten. I was bumped up a grade, so I didn't have that many friends and in the chess club there was no judgement about your background. It was always about chess. So I could make friends there because I was good at chess back then. I quit playing in first grade because I switched schools and my coach wasn’t there anymore. In third grade, my level went from novice to intermediate out of nowhere. I just jumped and got really good. In sixth grade I came to Masterman and that’s when I really kicked off. In the schools I’d been in, there hadn’t been any serious competitive chess within the chess club. Nothing was happening because no one was getting any better. Playing people around your level when you’re at a lower level doesn’t make you improve. I came here and everyone was higher than me. My rating was around 1300 and a lot of the high schoolers were like 1700, 1900, 2000, 2100, which is a huge skill gap. Learning with them, playing with them, I went from 1300 in sixth grade to 1900 by eighth. The more you play, the better you get. It’s simple. I hit 2000 two years ago and I’ve been mostly stagnant due to not playing the game as much and focusing on other things. I’d say most of my improvement came from playing the game, consistently playing it.

What are some of the volunteer efforts you do with your church?

It’s specifically food gathering. We pack food in boxes and ship them out to people. It's a conveyor line type of deal. I’m usually in the middle and I put the cans in. My cousin Moses is at the end and he’s in charge of beans. A few Saturdays ago we hit a record time of an hour and 30 minutes for a thousand boxes shipped.

Are you excited for swim?

Yes. I got Nick and Kenneth to join. Nick was like, “I’ll join if Harrison joins,” because he thought I wouldn’t. And then I tricked him. I can swim, but my stamina is not working well. I’m hoping to bring my stamina up because I get tired just doing basic things. Swimming is one of the best exercises for building stamina, other than consistent running.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I wake up at 6:30, usually my dad walks in and yells at me. I check the time because I can wake up between 6:15-6:40 depending on my mental state before I go to sleep and then based on that time I will either get my clothes out of my drawer or back to sleep. I’m not a morning person at all. I’m not fully functional until about 8:50. Before that, I’m just loose, sort of tired, not really focused. I wake up later feeling a little bit better or at least motivated to move.

What is the best video game?

I hesitate to say it’s Osu! but I play so many video games it’s hard to say. Osu! is pretty good though. It’s one of those games where it’s based purely on technical skill. You don’t have to rely on someone else or luck. It’s all reliant on skill- how your physical and mental abilities can carry you and how far you’re willing to train to get better with it. It’s like sports without the physical exertion aspect of it, which is why I like it so much.

What are your plans for after you graduate?

Probably majoring in education, if not then comp sci. I don’t like kids that much but people have told me that kids like me for some reason, so why not, right? I’m probably going to go to Temple because my dad works there and I get in for free and it’s super simple. I’m going to continue chess but not as seriously. Maybe I'll do a tournament every two months, but not too much because entry fees cost money. I don’t think that much is going to change. I’m hoping to get a teaching job. It won’t be hard because Philadelphia specifically is lacking in black male teachers and finding a spot isn’t going to be incredibly difficult. I also have like three people who have signed up for me to be a chess coach, and coaching chess isn’t that difficult. It’s all about attitude and it’s not that hard. I won’t drop video games. I might write a book.