Adam Weser, an 8-year-old student at Cantiague Elementary School in Jericho, could be the next Bobby Fisher.

Weser was named the National Elementary Chess co-champion at a competition held in Dallas, Texas this past weekend. He went 7-0 in the tournament and so did another contestant. The two boys never met in the tournament so although they were both undefeated, they were both named co-champions.

During his last round, Weser had a match against the number one seed, an opponent that was deemed unbeatable. Weser prevailed in just over an hour and in only 26 moves. His other matches took over three hours.

"My son has gotten so much better this past year," said Bonnie Weser, Adam's proud mother. "He really prepared for this and he did it."

Weser practices every day, takes lessons with a master chess instructor, studies chess books and tactics, plays chess on the computer and he also plays on-line. "He plays my husband [Matthew] whenever he can," said Bonnie.

On the flight home from Dallas, after playing chess all weekend, Weser still had chess on his mind. On the plane ride Weser found three other boys from the tournament and they played chess the entire flight home. "They played all night and he cannot get enough of it," said Bonnie.

Weser has participated in many competitions in the past that helped prepare him for this national title. Last fall, Weser tied a senior master, with a 2,450 rating, at a simultaneous chess exhibition. The senior master plays multiple opponents at the same time.

In December 1999, Weser was named the New York City co-champion for kindergarten through third grade. The New York City Scholastic Chess Championship was held at the Marriott World Trade Center on Dec. 28, 1999. He tied for first place with a perfect 5-0 score.

In March, Weser won the New York State championship at Pace University in Westchester. He was named the New York State champion for kindergarten through third grade. Weser placed second out of 88 people in his section which consisted of second and third graders, winning five out of six rounds. He was given the title of New York State Champion because the first place finisher was not a New York State resident.

Weser has participated in numerous chess tournaments, both scholastic and adult, with much success. He has 29 trophies, and has won prize money from adult tournaments, which he regularly competes in.

The next big event for Weser and his family is in December. "We are going to be in Orlando, Florida for the National Grade championship where Adam will play kids in his grade," said Bonnie.

Weser does not participate in kids tournaments, other than those that are at the state, city or national level, because participants are not rated high enough to give him a fair match. He participates in the adult tournaments now. "He does great against the adults," said Bonnie. "He wins a lot and he has been beating adults regularly. He beat a 60-year-old man a few weeks ago who is rated higher than Adam."

Weser's father, Matthew, taught him how to play chess when he was only 4 years old and Weser started competing in tournaments when he was 6. "Now Adam beats my husband, but they still love to play," said Bonnie.

Although Adam's father has always been interested in chess, he got more involved once Adam started beating him. "My husband does not compete because he does not want to take the spotlight away from Adam," said Bonnie. "Since Adam is competing in adult tournaments, there is a chance that they would be competing against each other."

Weser is presently ranked 8th in the country for his age group and he has a rating of 1,341. "To be above a 1300 at his age is quite phenomenal. There are only seven kids in the country that have a slightly higher rating than him," said Bonnie.

Five-year-old Erica Weser is her big brother's number one fan. She travels all over the country with her brother to support him during his matches. Adam helps his sister as she is learning chess right now as well.

This recent championship for Weser means a nice culmination of city, state and national titles. After taking a two month break from chess to go to sleep-away camp this summer and participate in other activities that he enjoys, Weser will be right back to chess again preparing himself for future matches.