Jessica Hyatt earns National Master title!
Jessica Hyatt can now add National Master to her name after waiting a long time to celebrate this moment. This past weekend at the FIDE Premier at the Marshall Chess Club, the 18-year-old Brooklyn native was able to push her rating to 2200 for the first time. In 2019, Hyatt won the New York State Scholastic Championships and was the 2023 KCF All-Girls Nationals Champion. She participated in the 2023 World Youth Championship (under-18) in Montesilvano, Italy.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Hyatt
If you did not see Jessica on the Disney Channel, you may have heard about her earning a $40,000 scholarship for college expenses, both when she was just 15 years old. The Daniel Feinberg Success in Chess Award will go toward her college expenses. Hyatt was honored in June by the Detroit City Chess Club and was an inspiring presence amongst the girls at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She talked about her rise in chess and conducted a simultaneous exhibition and according to organizer Kevin Fite, was overwhelmed at how she was received.
Jessica Hyatt giving a lecture on her journey.
Jessica playing 27 girls in a simultaneous exhibition hosted at the stunning Detroit Institute of Arts.
Windsor Polk (right) pleaded with her grandfather to go on the Detroit excursion with her new role model. Photos by Catherine Martinez/Detroit City Chess Club
Photo by Kimberly Mitchell/Detroit Free Press
Starting with a rating of 350 at Success Academy, she has been playing at Marshall since she was nine, and it has become her club home. As a recent graduate of Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts in Manhattan, her attention has been focused on incremental improvement and the pursuit of the master’s title. She has kept up a brisk pace of tournaments, playing several times a week. Her tournament record shows that she has been very consistent, never experiencing wild swings.
Jessica was a “special honoree” at the Liberty Science Center and played GM Abhimanyu Mishra in an exhibition blitz battle on May 2nd, 2022. Exciting!
Video by Liberty Science Center
The beauty of Jessica earning the title prior to going off to college is the demands on her time will change. She will attend the University of Massachusetts and focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). Chess seems to be a stepping stone for many scholastic players as it definitely boosts the student profile as far as university recruiters are concerned. To say you are a National Master at a university gives one a unique asset. It will most likely open up internship and career opportunities for Jessica. Her mother and biggest supporter Loy Allen must be exceedingly proud.
Congratulations Jessica, and all the best in your collegiate journey!
Photo by Kimberly Mitchell/Detroit Free Press
