2026 National High School (K-12) Championship Preview!

This weekend, March 27 through 29, the US Chess National High School (K-12) Championship takes place in Chicago, IL! This national event features some of the best scholastic chess players in the United States and US Chess is proud to host this exciting event.

Online registration is still open through Thursday, March 26, and on-site registration will be available Friday morning. Over 1,500 players are registered at the time of writing, and all pre-entries can be seen on the event page.

Now, here are a few things you can look forward to at the 2026 National High School Championship!

Special Guest GM Fidel Corrales

Come and learn from GM Fidel Corrales, an established coach whose accolades include appearances in the 2009 and 2011 World Cup, winning the 2023 World Open and a strong finish near the top of the 2024 U.S. Open.

Corrales kicks off his residency Friday at 9:00 a.m. with a 30-board simultaneous exhibition in the Riverside room.

Then, you can attend his Grandmaster Lectures on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and then at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday in the Mississippi room.

If you're a more active learner, you can also try your hand against him at any of his three "Take-on-all-comers" Blitz sessions, which will be held Friday and Saturday from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. and from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday, all in the Riverside room.

Blitz and Bughouse Tournaments

We all know the wildest chess happens during Blitz and Bughouse! Be sure to stop in to see the heart-pounding, fast-moving action. The blitz tournament, taking place on Thursday, April 4 at 5:00 p.m., will have online registration open until 2:00 p.m. CDT and on-site registration from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. CDT.

The bughouse championship requires on-site registration (from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Chess Control) and begins at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday.

Both events will be in the main playing hall (Chicago Ballroom).

Friends and Family Chess Tournament

Not competing in the K-12 but still love to play chess? Join other parents, grandparents, and friends for a special Friends and Family Tournament on Saturday, with the first round starting at 10:30. Four rounds of G/30 games in rated in and unrated sections. Entry fee is only $40 on-site, and online registration is also available. Join the fun!

Watch Live on Twitch

Not going to be there but want to stay up on action? US Chess will be broadcasting live commentary and analysis from our Twitch channel for all seven rounds. WGM Sabina Foisor will make sense of the 64-squares and connect all the critical moves for the top boards. Give us a follow and watch live at www.twitch.tv/USChess. A full streaming schedule will be available soon here.

Top Player Watch

And of course, there will be amazing chess in the playing hall among the 1,500-plus competitors. Two of last year's seven K-12 Championship co-champions are back to defend their titles: New Yorkers IM Tanitulowa "Tani" Adewumi and FM William Safranek. Adewumi enters as the highest-rated player in this year's field and the only player with a US Chess rating over 2500.

But three players over 2400 are close behind him: IM Bach Ngo (FL), FM Bryan Enming Lin (NY), and FM Rose Atwell, who recently crossed 2400 FIDE to become eligible for the IM title. Ranging from high school seniors all the way down to 6th graders playing up, there are 14 more players over 2300 (including Safranek) rounding out the top of this strong field.

We look forward to seeing you in Chicago (or on our Twitch stream) and will be keeping you updated about the 2026 National High School (K-12) Championship on Twitter and here, at Chess Life Online, with daily reports by JJ Lang featuring game highlights from WGM Sabina Foisor.