Checa, Peng and Yu Among Contenders At National High School Champs

The National High School Championships are set in Schaumburg, Illinois, outside Chicago, from March 15-17. Heavy-hitters in the seven round National event include GM Nicolas Checa, Olympic medalist Jennifer Yu, IM Praveen Balakrishnan as well as last year's Champ David Peng. Top seed Checa (pictured above) got his GM title just in time for Chicago.

Find full lists of pre-registered players here.

The last two rounds will be broadcast on twitch.com/uschess with WGM and Women's Program Director Jennifer Shahade and GM Mesgen Amanov. Find Mesgen's popular CLO articles here. Special guest GM Jeffery Xiong will also do a spot on the livestream, make a visit to the girls club room and give a lecture on Sunday morning. Xiong is coming off a big win in Saint Louis, and will return to the chess capital right after Chicago for the US Chess Championships. We appreciate his visit during such a busy time.

Jeffery Xiong, Photo IM Eric Rosen

Vladimir Georgiev will fill out the Grandmaster duties, starting with a simul on Friday at 9 AM. IM Eric Rosen is the official photographer for the event, and will take over the US Chess social media feed on Sunday using the hashtag #HSChessChamps. The Girls Club Room is also back, with special guests including WIM Carolina Blanco, Shahade and Xiong. WCM Stephanie Pitcher, who was recently elected to the Utah House of Representatives, will video conference in.