Chess Coach Hector Hernandez Wins Lifetime Legacy in Coaching Award

Hector is a former North American Correspondence Chess Champion who achieved the title of Master in 1993. He’s also served as president of the Illinois Chess Association and Chicago Chess Conference and managed the Chicago Latino Chess Championship.

But Hector’s passion is not just playing chess - it’s coaching it. “Coming from a family of teachers, I have a passion for the study and practice of chess,” he shares. “I love to pass on to students what I have learned through long years of study, practice and teaching the game.”

Hector founded the Knight Moves Chess Club in 1989, a community-driven bilingual chess organization at the Lozano Public Library in Pilsen. He ran the club for over forty years.

In 2010, Coach Hernandez became Chess Coach at Saint Ignatius. “This school is a special place,” he says. “The students are bright and they challenge and motivate me to give my best effort every time.” Coach Hernandez has led the team to win nine out of the last eleven titles in the Chicago Chess Conference, as well as two IHSA sectional championships.

Congrats on your award, Coach Hernandez, and thank you for strengthening the legacy of chess at Saint Ignatius and across Chicago.