Imogen Rawlings-Green, Features Editor
@irawlingcourant
This month, sophomore Nate Moor fulfilled a long-held goal of becoming a National Master in chess. For Nate, chess is a passion that runs far beyond the strategies of the game. He also plays to advance his decision-making skills, perfect the craft, and to make an impact in his community.
“I think chess can make an improvement at NCHS. I would love to see the game help students do something that can really improve upon,” Nate said. “I think it would be great for New Canaan to have a competitive chess team like Darien and Ridgefield. Currently, we only have about four or five chess members but I am hoping more will join and improve our competitions.”
“Chess can really bring a foundation of skills and focus yourself on becoming the best person you can. Some people don’t look at it that way but in that perspective, chess can provide really useful life skills and maturity in the way you think and approach a situation. In the outside world, people are often judged on who they appear to be but in chess one is judged solely based on the content of character and skills needed in life such as perseverance and consistency. You will always have setbacks, you will fail a lot, but that’s the road to success and that’s how you keep going – you just keep moving forward,” he said.
Nate started playing chess when he was seven and was all in by age eight. “My dad first taught me how the moves went and I soon started playing competitively in tournaments. By ninth grade, I became very competitive and I started to even beat master level players with titles which are rated around 2300 [out of 3000],” Nate said.
Nate finds encouragement through confidence, self-motivation, and passion. “Generally, you just have to work hard to get to those levels. I tell myself ‘Hey there is nothing around that is going to pull you back as long as you can focus on the things that you can do.’”
Currently, Nate is rated 1712. He has competed in several championship matches and has even won big cash prizes at the Singapore Championships, the 2nd Colonial Open ($400), and finishing with a perfect score in a Yale tournament ($600).
Nate has also competed in the National K-12 Championships in Orlando (representing NCHS in 2019 and Saxe MS in 2018), the 2019 National Junior High Championships in Dallas (representing Saxe MS), the World Amateur Team Championships in New Jersey, the New York State Scholastic Championships in Saratoga Springs, FL, and the Foxwoods Open in Mashantucket, CT.
Additionally, Nate is scheduled to represent NCHS at the National Junior High Championships in Florida, the National Open in Las Vegas, the World Open in Philadelphia, the U.S. Open in St. Louis, the Manhattan Open, and the North American Youth Championships in Chicago.
To further understand the hierarchy of chess, there are four generalized titles according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The first and lowest title is called Candidate Master (CM) for players who achieve a rating of 2200. The second level is FIDE Master (FM) which requires players to reach a rating of 2300. The third level is International Master (IM) which requires a minimum rating of 2400.
The fourth and highest title one can obtain is Grandmaster (GM), which is only awarded to world-class chess players who are rated at least 2600 out of 3000. There are currently 800 million chess players in the world, but only about 1500 of them are Grandmasters which is around 0.3% of all FIDE players.
Nate hopes to one day earn the Grandmaster title. “In the US High School Championships I remember playing Grandmaster Nicolas Checa; I lost to him pretty bad but you learn alot from the games you lose,” Nate said. “Of course you shouldn’t be intimidated by player’s titles, their rankings don’t give them an extra rook or bishop, so you just have to focus on the board and what is in front of you.”
In chess, no matter one’s age or background, a player can achieve a high title all the way up to Grandmaster. “If I go to the Scholastic Championships,players are going to be around my age groups because that is what the tournaments are formulated around,” Nate said. “But you can find a Grandmaster in their 50s or you can find a boy who is a top player like Nihal Sarin who is a 14-year old Indian Grandmaster and world champion.”
A popular new chess show called The Queen’s Gambit broke Netflix’s most streams for the first 28 days with 62 million. According to CNN, the show has helped bring 12.2 million new fans to chess.com, its biggest annual growth since its launch back in 2007. “I have heard of The Queen’s Gambit and it has definitely made an impact everywhere in chess,” Nate said. “It is interesting to see how the show has sparked an interest for people who don’t even play chess.”
With a surge in interest, Nate hopes that the popularity of chess will grow at NCHS. “I think chess could really help students because whether it’s math, history, or the SAT, you’re thinking about how to solve a problem,” Nate said. To solve the problem you’re going to take it step by step, break it down, and keep going. The perseverance part of chess is going to teach you that.”
If you are interested in chess, whether it be playing matches or simply learning strategies, the chess team meets after school every Thursday and is supervised by Librarian Megan Mabee. Additionally, to hear more about student passions, check out the NCHS Courant website where we include a feature story about junior Larson Riccoboni’s passion turned career in photography or junior Sage Fuhrman’s Sweet Krackerz business.
