Flash Report: National Middle School Championship Results

Almost 1,300 players from 30 states competed in Round Rock, Texas to determine the nation’s top middle school chess players

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Round Rock, TX: The 501(c)3 US Chess Federation’s 2026 National Middle School (K-8) Championship took place from May 15-17 at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. A total of just under 1,300 players from 30 states competed. This tournament was formerly known as the National Junior High School (K-9) Championship until becoming the National Middle School Championship in 2022.

The individual K-8 Champion is:

• IM Bryan Enming Lin, 8th Grade, Hunter College Elementary and High School, New York, New York (7/7)

Lin tied for second in the K-8 Championship section of SuperNationals VIII last year. 

In the team championships, the K-8 Champion is:

• Hunter College Elementary and High School (21½/28)

  • Team members are:

    LIN, Bryan Enming (7.0,2446)
    FANG, Arabella (5.5,2047)
    VARMA, Anay (4.5,1742)
    GOTO, Kenji (4.5,2005)

Lin and Fang were paired against each other in Round 7. While it is highly unusual for teammates to be paired, Lin was the only player with a 6/6 score and Fang was the only player with 5½/6, making the pairing unavoidable. 

Many other winners in multiple sections below the championship section were also determined. These winners are properly identified as, “Winner of the <X> section at the National Middle School Championship.” For a full list of winners, please see here: https://www.uschess.org/results/2026/ms.