GM-Elect was a treat to watch at Foxwoods. The young man showed a lot of discipline and even beat one of my favorite players GM Hikaru Nakamura. Here is an interview that speaks to how he did it and includes some interesting details about his chess coach.

Source:USChess

Robert Hess’s Spring 2009 streak began with the SPICE Spring Invitational (March 16-22, Lubbock, Texas), where Robert scored his second GM norm. A week later in Nashville, Robert swept the High School Nationals 7-0, leading his team, Stuyvesant to a National title. A couple days after that, Robert was off to Foxwoods where he defeated GMs Ehlvest and Nakamura on his way to norm #3. Between catching up on schoolwork and preparing for the 2009 U.S. Championship (May 7-17, Saint Louis), GM-elect Robert Hess talked to CLO about his philosophy on chess openings, confidence and his relationship with coach GM Miron Sher.

Jennifer Shahade (JS): Triple Congratulations on behalf of CLO and USCF for your earning your two norms and a National Championship title in just 3 weeks. Did the High School Nationals prepare you for your fantastic result in Foxwoods?

Robert Hess (RH): Not really – at the Nationals I did not play my best chess. I believe it was the SPICE tournament that brought up my Foxwoods result. (My coach) Miron Sher always told me that if I played in successive tournaments, I would achieve a great result.

JS:What was your best game from Foxwoods?
RH:My game with Black against Nakamura was a very clean game.