The first rounds of the 2024 National High School (K-12) Championship in Baltimore, Maryland, were full of suspense until the very last seconds of the second round. In the K-12 Open, 43 players boast perfect 2/2 scores, including most of the highest-rated players. The results page can be misleading, though, as several familiar names (including both reigning 12th grade champions) survived serious scares late Friday night. Read on for some dramatic, fighting chess!
The final two rounds of the 2023 K-12 Grade Level Championships in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend lived up to expectations as players of equal levels clashed head to head in over 2,400 games. On the top boards, there were over two dozen games in the final round in which both players were rated over 2000. But, as we know, it’s not the rating that determines the winner, and so it is now (after the tournament) that we can finally reveal the National Champions of each grade.
Today's recap of the first days of the 2023 National K-12 Grade Championships has a lot of content to catch you up. And there's no rest, either, as round three has already concluded and the fourth round is already underway in Orlando. In this recap…
At the conclusion of the marathon known as “Saturday at Nationals” (three games!), some section leaders stand alone, others are perfect along with one other, and three sections have between four and six players knotted at the top of the standings. Let’s dive in closer, and check our team updates as well. 12th Grade
In the end, the favourite prevailed. The top seed at the Biel Master Open, Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, won the strong 10-round tournament. In second place, half a point behind, finished GM Aryan Chopra from India. A group of eight players collected 7 points the best tiebreak score was obtained by GM Liu Yan, Bu’s compatriot, who thus completed the podium. | Photos: Official website