Nationwide — Meet Jessica Hyatt, the highest-rated African American feminine chess participant ever and the youngest African-American lady to earn the Nationwide Grasp title. At simply 19, she’s already rewriting chess historical past and galvanizing a brand new technology of younger Black women.
Jessica’s journey started in Brooklyn, New York Metropolis, the place she was launched to chess by Chess within the Colleges, a nonprofit that teaches the sport to college students in underserved communities. Her ranking retains rising, and her chess expertise have earned her over $40,000 in faculty scholarships, in accordance with Duchess Worldwide Journal.
As an adolescent, she was already beating older, extra skilled opponents. In 2019, she took dwelling the New York State Scholastic Championship title. By 2023, she grew to become the KCF All-Women Nationals Champion and a five-time member of the USA Nationwide Youth Workforce. That very same 12 months, on the World Youth Chess Championship, she held a draw in opposition to top-seeded Liya Kurmangaliyeva regardless of being rated 1818.
Jessica has additionally made headlines by defeating grandmasters. In 2021, she beat Grandmaster Michael Rohde, and adopted up in 2022 by taking down chess prodigy Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra, becoming a member of a really small group of African-American ladies to ever beat a grandmaster.
In 2024, she was ranked the No. 1 18-year-old woman within the U.S. In June, she showcased her expertise at a simultaneous exhibition hosted by the Detroit Institute of Arts and gained each recreation. Two months later, she grew to become the youngest African American lady to earn the Nationwide Grasp title, only one month after Shama Yisrael grew to become the primary.
However Jessica’s mission extends past private wins. She needs to mentor women of colour and open doorways in a recreation the place Black ladies are nonetheless underrepresented. She goals to show what’s attainable when expertise meets alternative.
