Flash Report: National Elementary Championships Results

2,535 players from 36 states (plus Washington, D.C.) competed in Baltimore, MD to determine the nation’s top elementary school players; New York players and schools win seven championships.

See our recap report on Monday, May 4, which will include photos. In the meantime, see photos and videos on Twitter/X via @USChess and #ElemChessChamps, and on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

The 2026 National Elementary School Championships took place from May 1-3 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. 2,535 players from 36 states (plus Washington, D.C.) participated in this annual event that identifies national champions in four championship sections: K-1, K-3, K-5, and K-6.

We had 386 teams take part, including 104 from New York, which was the state with the most players (over 48% of the field). New York made the most of this representation, winning a combination of seven individual and team championships.

Our full report, with photos and annotated games, will be available tomorrow. Coverage of the first two days of the event is available here.

(Note: Where co-champions are listed, they are in tiebreak order.)

In the K-6 Championship, Winsley Wu (NY), Grant A. Weyman (PA), WFM Aimee Yang (PA), and Steven Liu (MD) are the co-champions, each finishing with 6/7 scores. All four co-champions are in the sixth grade.

The Speyer Legacy School (NY) won the K-6 Team Championship.

In the K-5 Championship, fourth grader Aarav Karthik (MI) is the champion, finishing with a 6½/7 score.

PS 130 The Parkside School (NY) won the K-5 Team Championship.

In the K-3 Championship, second grader Mehmet Yilanli (OH) won his second consecutive spring national championship, finishing with a perfect 7/7 score to add to his 2025 K-1 title.

PS 198 Isador E Ida Straus (NY) won the K-3 Team Championship.

In the K-1 Championship, first graders Aidan Wang (NY) and Isaac Xiong (NY) are the co-champions, each finishing with 6½/7 scores.

Oak Hall Lower School (FL) and The Speyer Legacy School (NY) tied for first in the K-1 Team Championship.

Many other winners in numerous sections below the championship sections were also identified. These winners are properly identified as, “Winner of the <X> section at the 2026 National Elementary School Championships.” For a full list of winners, please click here .

We would also like to thank our sponsors Silver Knights Chess Academy and GT Anywhere.

Our next national event is the National Middle School (K-8) Championship from May 15-17 in Round Rock, TX. The next National Elementary School Championship will be April 30 to May 2 in Columbus, OH. Click here for a full schedule of upcoming national events.

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