Nate Fewel is no pawn in the world of chess.
He is a 16-year-old champion with purple hair. He's a knight errant spreading the word about a game that turned him from a painfully shy kid into one of the best high school players in the state.Fewel - hoping to spread his fervor to other teens - challenged his North Central High School classmates and teachers to a game last month. Actually, he challenged them to 30 games.
During lunch he took on 14 students and the school's athletic director simultaneously. He beat them all in less than 40 minutes. Then he beat another 15 challengers.
"I knew he was going to beat everybody," said sophomore Adrienne Elliott. "He won because he's rad."
As about 100 students watched, Fewel paced inside a ring of chessboards and players. Onlookers - from athletes to punks - cheered as Fewel stepped from board to board, taking only split-seconds to make his moves.
Two years ago, Fewel knew nothing about chess.
"At first I thought chess was kind of dorky so I didn't do it," he admits. "But then I wised up."
Fewel's father taught him to play. A month later, Fewel entered a chess tournament in Seattle and - to his utter surprise - won his age category.
Fewel was a shy kid who liked to contemplate philosophy. For two weeks he carried around the phone number for the Spokane Chess Club - afraid to ask if he could join. Finally, he called.
Inside the world of chess, Fewel blossomed. He could dress like a punk rocker, talk like a philosopher and play to win.
"Your typical image of a chess player is very straight-laced, with a bow tie, a pocket protector and thick glasses," said Fewel's mother, Kathy. "Nathan doesn't fit that."
Neither did most of the people he played. Over the silence of the chessboard, Fewel faced retired judges, business owners, homeless people and even a few kids as gifted as himself.
He also volunteers his time one afternoon a week to teach people with developmental disabilities to play.
"I've been doing this for 20 some years, and he's already higher-rated than I am," said Kevin Korsmo, a deputy county prosecutor who made friends with Fewel through the chess club.
Two weeks ago, Fewel won the Eastern Washington Open Chess Tournament in Spokane.
Fewel sees chess as a sport. While most athletes stretch their muscles to reach higher levels of performance, he stretches his brain.
"Now I'm able to play the whole chess games in my head," Fewel said. "I can envision the whole game. But I usually have a headache when I'm done."
Playing himself isn't Fewel's idea of fun, and his computer hasn't been offering much competition lately. So when students from North Central's leadership class asked if he would take on 30 challengers in an exhibition, Fewel jumped at the chance.
He hopes the event will inspire other students to learn to play, and perhaps lead to a chess club at the school.
"You don't have to be an intellectual to play chess," he said. "You need the patience and attention span. It makes your brain sharp to play."