Biography

Nephtali Diaz is one of the world’s leading experts on Bughouse, as he has won over a half-dozen national Bughouse tournaments including the most competitive ones in the United States (most recently the 2013 U.S. Team East Bughouse Championship).
He is co-author of Bughouse Chess, the only book on the topic collaborated by an elite group: the world’s strongest bughouse players, and has been hired to give standing-room-only national Bughouse lectures for the annual National Open and Cajun Chess tournaments, to name a couple. He will also be lecturing at the 50th annual American Open in late 2014. Please feel free to download a free 40+ page preview of his book here. In mid-January, 2013, he was featured in a lengthy interview with the U.S. Chess Federation, which you may be read here. Aside from being a Bughouse specialist, Neph is also involved in an extensive variety of hobbies & interests that keep him very busy including chess, trumpet, ping pong, piano, singing, dancing and is a full-time currency trader who has co-admined a forex trading forum.
As an experienced Chess & Trumpet instructor, Mr. Diaz is here for you, as he has the tools necessary to make you a better player since he has taught, mentored and improved over 500 students from all around the greater Houston area & around the United States.

Mr. Diaz, a resident of Houston, Texas, has been a member of USCF (governing body of U.S. chess) since 1995, is approaching 250 local, state, & national chess tournaments in which he has competed, and has been ranked as high as top 7% of all U.S. chess players, and is currently ranked in the top 5% in the state of Texas (as of April 2015). He has not only given lectures in his specialty variant, but also chess lectures at various venues not only around the Houston area, but also in different parts of the country at different chess camps. Mr. Diaz has competed in the National Open event every year since 2003 and has had many strong results, including 1st place finishes there and other large tournaments, most recently winning the 2013 Houston Open with an undefeated 4.5/5 performance. See the Chess tab for more.

Trumpeting is another activity that puts a smile to his face. Currently, he is the trumpet masterclass instructor at many Houston-area schools and has privately worked with a myriad of students who have all shown improvement under Neph’s direction. He is the Trumpet instructor at Music and Arts and plays with his professional small combo group (consisting of trumpet, trombone, sax, piano, and bass guitar) at various events upon hire, and has been the sole wind instrumentalist at his church for many years. Neph is often hired to perform for various groups, and has subbed in for the Galveston Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a member of one of Houston’s longest running big bands, comprised of professional musicians who have been invited to perform all around Houston, and has even performed with them internationally. Most recently, Neph was able to win a musical instrument talent audition to be one of six featured instrumentalists for a very popular game show in Asia. For more info on either chess or trumpet, please click on the appropriate tabs at the top of this page.

For a visual representation of all the activities in which Neph is involved including the videos from the 2013 U.S. Team East Bughouse Championship, please visit his YouTube channel and if you’d like to contact him, just click here.

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