Celebrity Friday: James Black, Jr., 12: Black Grandmaster?

James Black, Jr., 12, with his elementary school chess coach, Elizabeth Vicary

This is a cool, "good news" story. A 12-year-old Black kid from Brooklyn is one of the best junior chess players in the United States.

The New York Daily News reports:

Already a rising national star at age 12, Bed-Stuy chess champ James Black Jr. wants to become the youngest American grandmaster in the game's storied history.

Black led the chess team from Intermediate School 318 in Williamsburg to national championships in both the K-8 and K-9 divisions in April - and is only seven points away from the 2,200 needed to be named a master by the United States Chess Federation.

"It would mean a lot because I've worked so hard for it," said James. "I've practiced a lot to become a great player."

James wants to beat the record of Ray Robson, a Florida player who became the youngest American elected grandmaster at age 14 in 2009.

He needs to amass at least 2,600 points by continuing to win tournaments and score favorable results against existing grandmasters to receive that title.

This is not exactly correct; my current chess rating is slightly above 2400 points. There are two rating systems, a United States Chess Federation and a World Chess Federation rating. Titles are given by both (I have the National Master and Senior Master titles from the USCF and the FIDE Master title from the WCF). The U.S. titles are obtained by just achieving a particular rating level but the World titles involve specific perfomances (called norms) in tournaments against other higher rated players plus having a minimum WCF rating.

All that being said, a 12-year old with a rating just a handful of points  under the National Master level of 2200 is extraordinary. At that age, I didn't have a rating, although I did become a master by the time I was 16.

Best of luck to James Black, Jr.!