Jackson Young is some kind of superhuman. He can see into the future. Not with tarot cards, palm readings, or a crystal ball. He can read people’s minds, too. With quick mental calculations and extensive knowledge of his opponent, Young can predict their next move with ease. In every battle of wits he faces, it’s rare he doesn’t come out the victor. But he’s not a comic book hero–he’s the best chess player in Indiana.

     The Noblesville junior won the Indiana Esports Network state championship for online chess on April 14th after 14 weeks of competing in tournaments with NHS’ esports team. He won with a score of 276 points, accumulated over all 14 weeks of play. Young won by a 48 point margin, with second place coming in at 228 points. This title is a long time coming for Young, though–he says he’s been playing for more than half of his life.

     “My dad first started teaching me when I was about five or six,” Young said. “He taught me a couple basic things, and I picked up on it.”

     Young’s father, Joshua Young, says his own passion for chess inspired him to share the game with his young son. 

     “Chess was an important part of my life as a student, and so it was a natural addition,” Joshua said. “[Jackson] showed an interest and an aptitude early, so we started playing when he was quite young.”

     As Joshua and Jackson practiced and played, Joshua says he began to notice Jackson’s growing skill for the game. 

     “It was obvious Jackson had a talent for the game from the beginning, but in chess, like so many things, talent isn’t enough,” Joshua said. “It was the practice, study, and determination that led to his recent successes.”

     Jackson has continued playing chess since his dad taught him all those years ago. On top of winning the state championship title, has worked up to an Elo–chess’ proficiency rating system–of 1470, a feat for a player his age. Due to his naturally high skill level in the game, he says he doesn’t feel the need to commit hours upon hours each day to chess.

     “Nowadays, I usually do the daily puzzle. My motivation for chess kind of comes and goes, like everything else,” Jackson said. “Sometimes I won’t play for like a month or two straight. Other times I’ll play like every day.”

     Despite his fluctuating interest in the game, Jackson has racked up 450 playing hours on Chess.com alone. This doesn’t include the time he spends playing on other sites or on a physical chessboard. All this practice has built Jackson’s strategy for playing the game.

     “The most important thing about chess is seeing ahead—being able to calculate ahead and say, ‘Okay, if I make this move, what’s my opponent going to do in response, and what can I do from there?’ Jackson said. “It’s [about] trying to see ahead in the position, and usually it comes down to whoever can see farthest ahead and get the correct tactic wins.” 

     One of Jackson’s esports coaches, English teacher Adam Zoibi, says he appreciates Jackson’s ability to predict his opponent’s next move.

     “The coolest thing about working with Jackson was just honestly just to sit there and watch his mind process that chessboard,” Zoibi said. “[You can] see how far ahead he is thinking and see how calculating he is in the moves that are upcoming, in addition to the things that are happening on the board at that moment.”

     Another of the esports coaches, resource teacher Matt Craver, says he notices how Jackson’s game has evolved from last season to bringing home the title this season.

     “It seemed like this year there was more study. There was more reviewing his games or moves from last year. I think that really paid off huge dividends for him,” Craver said. 

     Craver says it isn’t just the abilities that won the state title that impress him about Jackson–it’s his ability to translate and communicate the game to teach novices, even Craver himself, how to get to his level.

     “I wasn’t a big chess guy until last year. He helped me get into it. It’s funny because he almost coached me through a lot of stuff,” Craver said. “I think he enjoys helping people get better.”

     Craver isn’t the only person that Jackson has shared his chess expertise with. Freshman and fellow esports team member Collin Magnusen joined the team at the beginning of the season, and he says he knew from the beginning that Jackson had talent. Magnusen quickly built a connection with Jackson over chess.

     “He actually helped me find some good moves to do in some situations,” Magnusen said. “It’s really fun because I don’t have many teammates like that.”

Even while being a leader and mentor for his teammates, Craver says that Jackson always seemed to have his eyes on the prize.

     “Jackson was very good at helping when he had time, but when it came time to  compete, he was focused, and he was playing for keeps.”

     Joshua believes that all of Jackson’s hard work through the years have paid off for him in more ways than just bringing home the gold for the esports team.

     “Jackson and I played many many games across several years before he was able to beat me straight up. There is a valuable lesson in perseverance there, and that just because something doesn’t come easy at first does not mean it’s not within reach.”

     On top of learning the value of perseverance, Jackson says that chess has also gifted him with more practical skills.

     “It’s definitely given me a degree of foresight and planning. That’s one of the main benefits of playing chess is it teaches you to look ahead. That’s definitely a valuable skill,” Jackson said.

     All in all, for the Indiana online chess champion, chess is pretty simple.

     “If you’re good enough, you can mostly wing it,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, chess is just one big puzzle you play against another person.”