Robert Hess (chess player)

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Robert L. Hess (born 1991) is an American International Master of chess. As of April 2008, his FIDE rating is 2454.[1] He achieved his final norm for the International Master title at the 2007 Cannes Open,[2] and was subsequently awarded the title by FIDE.[1]

Hess achieved a grandmaster norm at the 2008 Foxwoods Open, held on April 19, 2008 through April 23, 2008 at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.[3] In that tournament, Hess scored 7-2, tying for first with Grandmasters Alexander Shabalov, Yury Shulman, Julio Becerra, and Alexander Ivanov.[4] Hess won his first two games against masters, then played seven consecutive games against grandmasters, against whom he scored four wins, two draws, and one loss.[5][6] His performance rating for the tournament was approximately 2770 USCF.[7] Chess journalist Jerry Hanken called Hess's achievement "one of the greatest performances by an American teenager since the heyday of Bobby Fischer!"[5]

Hess is a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York.[8] In the 2007-08 school year, he was a sophomore and the co-captain of the school's junior varsity football team, on which he was a starting linebacker.[9]

[edit] Notable Games

Hess-Alexander Ivanov, 2008 Foxwoods Open[10] 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.h4 d5 5.e5 f6 6.f4 h5 7.Bd3 Kf7 8.Qe2 Nh6 9.Be3 Bg4 10.Nf3 Nf5 11.Qf2 Nd7 12.Bd2 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Qb6 14.Na4 Qc7 15.Rg1 e6 16.O-O-O Rag8 17.Rg2 Bf8 18.Rdg1 Be7 19.Nc3 Qd8 20.Ne4 dxe4 21.fxe4 Nh6 22.f5 Ng4 23.fxe6+ Kg7 24.Rxg4 hxg4 25.Rxg4 Nf8 26.exf6+ Bxf6 27.e5 Rh5 28.exf6+ Qxf6 29.Rf4 Qxe6 30.d5 Qxd5 31.Rf7+ 1-0

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b FIDE rating card for Robert L. Hess
  2. ^ Jerry Hanken, "Shulman Wins, But Hess Wows", Chess Life, June 2008, at pp. 16, 20.
  3. ^ Hanken, pp. 22, 23.
  4. ^ Hanken, p. 23. Shulman (who handed Hess his only loss) and Ivanov (whom Hess beat) had the best tiebreaks. Shulman was declared the Foxwoods Open Champion after winning a playoff game against Ivanov. Id., pp. 17-18.
  5. ^ a b Hanken, p. 21.
  6. ^ Hess' results at 2008 Foxwoods Open
  7. ^ Hanken, p. 20. FIDE and the USCF maintain separate rating systems. Although both use the Elo rating system, a player's rating may be higher under one system than the other. Many players are rated by USCF, but not by FIDE, or vice versa.
  8. ^ Hanken, p. 20.
  9. ^ Hanken, pp. 20, 22.
  10. ^ Hess-Ivanov, Foxwoods Open 2008

[edit] External links

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