Best of US Chess 2018 #3: Akira Nakada on the US Chess School

The #3 article in Best of US Chess 2018 is Activate Learning: Nakada on the 38th U.S Chess School by Akira Nakada

Back Row: Akira Nakada (that’s me), Andy Huang, Gus Huston, Wesley Wang, Aydin Turgut, Robert Shlyakhtenko, Eric Li, Emily Nguyen, Annie Wang, Evelyn Zhu Front Row: Vincent Baker, Jason Wang, Logan Wu, Luke Ye, Nastassja Matus, Eddy Tian

Nakada gave US Chess members an insider's look into the 38th edition of the US Chess School, held at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring coaches IM Armen Ambartsoumian, Aviv Friedman and USCS Founder Greg Shahade. The US Chess School also has twitter and instagram pages and you can find videos from the USCS blitz and bullet tourneys on Greg Shahade's YouTube channel.

Finally, after 5 amazing days of meeting new people, making new friends, and learning invaluable information, it was time to go home. We had one last bughouse run before campers started leaving for the airport, which is always the saddest time for me. I asked my mom if I could stay in St. Louis another day to soak in more of the chess environment there, but I had to go, and on the plane home, although I was not as excited as on my journey to St. Louis, I had such a feeling of joy and accomplishment that only the US Chess School brings.

Chess by the pool at the Chase Park Plaza in Saint Louis

The Judges Sound Off

"All the things I want to see in an article: educational, entertaining and fun"- Evan Rabin "I have a soft spot for personal accounts. I love the passion, and energy that comes which comes with the first person view. Therefore it’s not a great surprise I really like Akira Nakada’s account of his experience at the U.S. Chess School."- Grandmaster Denes Boros "The US Chess School is always a great experience for those juniors invited to attend. This article shares some of the lessons taught so the rest of us can learn too. Young readers thirsty for some chess entertainment should check out the blitz tournament videos."- Michael “f-pawn” Aigner

BEST OF US CHESS 2017 COUNTDOWN

2. ???? 3. Activate Learning: Nakada on the 38th U.S Chess School by Akira Nakada 4. Ten Things We Learned from the 2017 U.S. Championships by IM Greg Shahade. (Judging article) 5. GM Hess on the World Cadets: US Team on an Upswing by Grandmaster Robert Hess. (Judging article) 6. The Shaman Sees Checkmate: Teaching Chess in the Amazon by Vincent Roazzi Jr. (Judging Article) 7. GM Rogers on World Cup: Five US Players Still Alive by GM Ian Rogers. (Judging article) 8. Spring Ahead in the Endgame by Bryan Castro (Judging article) 9. In Memory of Dad: Chess, Parenting & Crossing Borders by WIM Dr. Alexey Root (Judging article) 10. Petrosian Wins World Open: ‘Forget About the Draw’ by Jamaal Abdul Alim Judging article