And We're Off!

The 2026 National Middle School (K-8) Championship kicked off yesterday at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Round Rock, TX. With 1,274 players from around the country competing across six sections (including 233 in the Championship section), the competition was fierce, and we’ve already seen some key upsets! Here’s a look back at all the action, and a look ahead to today’s schedule.

Blitz and Bug

Early arrivals to Round Rock were able to warm up with Thursday’s Blitz and Bughouse tournaments.

The team of Elliott Goodrich (NY) and CM Tariq Yue (PA) dominated the Bughouse, scoring a perfect 10/10 to take home the title, while Texans Trevor Tang and Uther Rodriguez finished second with eight points. 12 teams took part.

Goodrich (L) and Yue (Photo by Javier Carrera)

Top honors in the K-8 Blitz were shared by Californians FM Ethan Guo and Jashith Karthi, who both scored 10/12. Nine-year-old Yuntao Liu — rated just 1575! — finished clear third with 9/12 in a sea of masters and experts. Well done Yuntao! Two Texans — Tarun Vinayagaram and Inba Siva Sai — tied for first in the U1600 Blitz with 10/12.

The Main Event

2026 NMS (Javier Carrera)

With eight masters and 28 experts, the 2026 National Middle School Championship is stacked with talent! Most of the top players made it through the first two rounds unscathed, but there were a number of upsets worth noting.

New York’s Somario Blagrove had the game of the day with his Round 2 win over Guo. Here are the key moments with annotations by WGM Sabina Foisor.

There were also a number of upset draws on the top Championship boards, including this game where Austin Zhao (NY) was a bit fortunate to split the point with Benjamin Yu (CA).

Anish Nalakonda (CA) came within one move of scoring his own upset draw, but Maxwell Yang (FL) was able to convert this rook and pawn ending and take the full point.

Round 3 is underway as we go to press, with 38 players (of 232) still perfect with 2/2. Among them are FMs Bryan Lin and Megan Paragua (both from New York) and Yue. Paragua got into a spot of trouble in Round 2, but found some precise tactics to reel in the full point.

For complete standings and pairings for all sections, visit our results page: https://www.uschess.org/results/2026/ms/

Instructive Moments

Sabina Foisor is back leading our Twitch coverage, and she sent a long a number of instructive moments from Day 1. Here are a few of my favorites.

Today’s Happenings

With three rounds of chess today, players are going to be busy! For parents, friends, and players with some downtime, there’s lots to do outside the playing hall.

A simul with WGM Jen Shahade (Javier Carrera)

After her “all comers” simul yesterday, WGM Jennifer Shahade is back for a Q&A and puzzle solving. Find her at 10:30 a.m. in the Crown Palm/Banyan Room.

The Girls Club at the 2026 NMS (Javier Carrera)

The Girls Club is up and running in Zambezi/Nile. There’s a Tandem Simul with IM/WGM Tatev Abrahamyan and WIM Luciana Morales this morning at 11 a.m., a lecture at 3:30 p.m., puzzles at 4:15 p.m., and informal activities all day long. Be sure to drop by!

GM Julio Sadorra in "All Comers" blitz (Javier Carrera)

GM Julio Sadorra speaks on defense in chess at 12:30 p.m. in Crown Palm/Banyan. This is followed by another “all comers” blitz session today at 3:30 p.m. in Kalahari E. Don’t miss out on your chance to flag a grandmaster!