Samson Dubina is a savvy player and an exceptionally quick learner. At his first tournament, he complied a record of 3-4 and emerged with a USATT rating of 878. In three years he was over 2000, losing only to Mark Hazinski at the AAU Junior Olympics in 1999. Since then it's been steady progress for the tall and lanky young man from Ohio. Wins at the Western Open in Berkeley CA propelled him past 2500 for the first time. Samson is in fulltime training with the Canadians in Ottawa. One of the best-mannered and well-adjusted young men you could ever hope to meet, we caught up with Samson just after the Quaker City Open.