Local student wins national chess championship

Monday, Dec. 1, 1997 | 11:41 a.m.

Hummel, who was the pre-tournament favorite in his 120-person section, probably never had an inferior position, as he destroyed all opposition to finish with the only 6-0 score in his section. Accompanied to New Jersey by his father/ coach and good-luck charm Paul, Patrick added this title to the '95 6th Grade title in Syracuse, N.Y., and the 7th Grade crown he earned in Terre Haute, Ind., last year.

Hummel added to his laurels in Parsippany by tying for first place in the National Scholastic Blitz championship held prior to the main event. Competing against players from seventh through 12th grades, Patrick also swept this event with a perfect 5-0 score. Due to the large turnout for this event, Matthew Hoekstra of New Jersey also finished with a perfect score. Hoekstra managed to defeat Hummel in the one-game playoff, relegating Patrick to a fine second-place finish. Blitz Chess is the same as regular chess except that each player is allowed only five minutes to complete the entire game.

A record 1,200-plus players from 43 states participated in the 13 sections of this annual Scholastic Championship sanctioned by the United States Chess Federation. The tournament consisted of six games, each of which could last up to three hours, over three days.