Richard Herbst, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Challenge School, recently tied for first place in the U.S. Chess Federation's National Scholastic K-12 Collegiate Championship.

The three-day tournament in Houston attracted 150 players in the eighth-grade division.

"We played two games on Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday," said Herbst, who won his last game to gain a share of the championship with three others. He finished with five wins and two draws.

He has been playing chess since he was a kindergartner in New Orleans, where he won the city championship for second-graders. He won Colorado state championships in the K-3 (2001) and 4-6 (2003) grade levels.

"When I was in kindergarten my school had a chess club," he said. "I liked it and kept playing. Once I decided I wanted to play seriously, I started getting private lessons and playing in tournaments.

"I like that it's challenging. There's pretty much no luck involved. I like strategy games, and there's a ton of strategy in chess," he said.

He no longer takes private lessons, preferring to improve by playing.

"I play on the Internet Chess Club. Usually I'll play throughout the year, once a day from November to August. When school starts I always take a break because I have more stuff to do.

"On a normal day I could probably get in an hour or so of actual playing. Some days in the summer I could play for hours. It's pretty cool. It's not uncommon to play someone from overseas, from Europe or Australia," he said.

"A lot of people get really good by studying, but it's hard for me to sit down and read a book on chess. I think playing a ton of games makes you better. You can recognize different stuff that your opponent's trying to do."

He won the Blitz (speed chess) national championship in his age group last spring in Nashville and has been consistently ranked between eighth and 20th in that group the past four years.

"When you play tournament chess you have a clock that times the whole game. At nationals we had 90 minutes. You have to manage your time well.

"In speed chess you usually have three minutes for the whole game. In a normal game I take it a lot more seriously. When it's speed chess, I'll just use my instincts," he said.

He carries a 4.0 grade-point average at Challenge School, a magnet school in the Cherry Creek district.

Chess isn't his only game. He plays lacrosse year-round as well as baseball and basketball. His humanities teacher at Challenge School is Brian Langtry, a forward on the Colorado Mammoth pro lacrosse team.

"I wouldn't want to make chess my living. I think I want to get as good as I can be.

"I'm not going to devote my life to it, but I think I'll play it for my whole life," he said.

Richard Herbst

• Favorite Web site: www.chessclub.com (Internet Chess Club)

• Favorite bands: Lynyrd Skynyrd and AC/DC

• Favorite TV show: My Name Is Earl

• Favorite book: The Harry Potter series

• Advice: "Make a goal and stick to it."

• I really like to: "Play sports, chess and hang out with my friends."

Do you know a young person, ages 8 to 18, who's going places? Fax the name, address and phone number and a brief summary of interests and accomplishments to Lifestyles, Going Places, 303-892-5407 or e-mail Spotlight@RockyMountainNews.com. Include your name and phone number.

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