2022 National K-12 Grade Championships

Almost 2,500 players compete in National Harbor, Maryland in record-setting turnout

Note: this article is in the process (12/13/2022) of being updated with photos. Check back soon to see more.

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NATIONAL HARBOR, MD: The non-profit US Chess Federation’s 2022 National K-12 Grade Championships featured 2,463 of the nation’s best scholastic chess players competing from December 9th through the 11th at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. This total smashed the previous record of 1,827 players set in 2017. Players attended from 42 states, with the New York contingent leading the way with 939 players, or 38% of the total and accounting for 14 of the championships. Florida had the second-highest representation, with 388 players.

The event determined 13 individual and 13 team champions (plus ties in both) in every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The following players and teams won their grade-level Championship Section (where multiple names or teams are listed, there was a tie for first place, and all are considered co-champions; they are listed in tiebreak order):

(Left-to-right) Alex Sedlock, Mihai Holcomb, Darren Wu, Jack Zhang, Daniel Zhu (photo David Llada)

Oak Hall (photo David Llada)

Kindergarten: HOLCOMB, Mihai, FL; SEDLOCK, Alex, NC; WU, Darren, NY; ZHU, Daniel, BC (CAN); ZHANG, Jack, NC

Team: Oak Hall, Gainesville, FL

Sriansh Katta (photo David Llada)

The Speyer Legacy School (photo David Llada)

1st Grade: KATTA, Sriansh, NC

Team: The Speyer Legacy School, New York, NY

Alice Shen (photo David Llada)

2nd Grade: SHEN, Alice, NY

Team: Oak Hall, Gainesville, FL

Ted Wang (L) and Shawn Xu (photo David Llada)

The Speyer Legacy School (photo David Llada)

3rd Grade: WANG, Ted, WA; XU, Shawn, MA

Team: The Speyer Legacy School, NY

Kyle Dong (photo David Llada)

The Speyer Legacy School (photo David Llada)

4th Grade: DONG, Kyle Qiyu, NJ

Team: The Speyer Legacy School, NY

Roshan Sethuraman (photo David Llada)

5th Grade: SETHURAMAN, Roshan, AZ

Team: Hunter College Campus School, New York, NY; P.S. 10, Brooklyn, NY

Millburn Middle School (courtesy of the subject)

6th Grade: JIANG, Andrew, GA

Team: Millburn Middle School, Milburn, New Jersey

7th Grade: LIU, Eric Chang, TX

Team: Hunter College Campus School, New York, NY

FM Brewington Hardaway (photo David Llada)

8th Grade: HARDAWAY, Brewington, NY

Team: Success Academy Hudson Yards, New York, NY

Rohan Padhye (L) and IM Evan Park (photo David Llada)

American Heritage School (photo David Llada)

9th Grade: PARK, Evan, PA; PADHYE, Rohan, OH ; GUAN, Michael Xukun, FL

Team: American Heritage School, Plantation, FL; Stuyvesant HS, New York, NY

IM Eddy Tian (photo David Llada)

Thomas Jefferson HS (photo David Llada)

10th Grade: IM TIAN, Eddy, NJ; FM CHASIN, Nico Werner, NY

Team: Thomas Jefferson HS, Alexandria, VA; Columbia Grammar & Prep, New York, NY

FM Sandeep Sethuraman (photo David Llada)

Dalton High (courtesy of the subject)

11th Grade: SETHURAMAN, Sandeep, AZ

Team: Dalton, New York, NY

Raghav Venkat (photo David Llada)

Columbia Grammar & Prep (photo David Llada)

Thomas Jefferson HS (photo David Llada)

12th Grade: VENKAT, Raghav, FL

Team: Columbia Grammar & Prep, New York, NY; Thomas Jefferson HS, Alexandria, VA

Many other winners in divisions below the championship sections also brought home gleaming medals for individuals and trophies for teams. Bughouse and Blitz National Championships were also determined. For a full list of top finishers, please go to the following URL and click on “Results and Pairings” in the left margin: http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2022/k12/index.php .

US Chess looks forward to the 2023 spring national scholastics season when the National Elementary, Middle School, and High School events will be held. As US Chess fulfills its mission of “empowering people through chess one move at a time,” our scholastic nationals help us achieve our goals of increasing the use of chess in education; expanding the social, recreational, and rehabilitative applications of chess; and continuously improving our operations and member services.

US Chess Executive Director Carol Meyer stated, “The National K12 Grade Championships brings the chess community from across the United States together under one roof in the spirit of competition and camaraderie, and this year’s record-setting numbers show that there was a pent up demand for a return of over-the-board chess.”