K-12 Grades Day Three: Will Round Six (of Seven) Be One for the Ages?

At the conclusion of the marathon known as “Saturday at Nationals” (three games!), some section leaders stand alone, others are perfect along with one other, and three sections have between four and six players knotted at the top of the standings. Let’s dive in closer, and check our team updates as well.

12th Grade

IM-elect Gus Huston will try to break the spell that IM Max Lu holds over him (along with five draws, Max is 3–0 lifetime against Gus in standard rated games). They are the only two perfect scores among the high school seniors.

Seniors Max Lu and Gus Huston are ready to square off for the ninth time over the board. Can Gus "break the spell?"

Not as close is the team race, as Dalton has sprinted ahead of Stuyvesant by two points (13/15 to 11/15). Sitting in third with 10/15 is the lesser-known Florida school, John Ferguson High School.

11th Grade

IM Nico Chasin leads a group of four players at 4½/5 on a Sunday when the hungriest junior (or maybe the one with the fewest AP classes to study for!) might have the advantage.

Chicago master Avi Kaplan (L) held top-seeded Nico Chasin to a draw in round five, and the two now lead a pack of four players tied for first (photo Caroline King)

Stuyvesant (12½/15) leads Columbia Grammar Prep School (CGPS) by just a half-point. Hunter looms two points off the lead with 10½/15.

10th Grade

Top seed FM Bach Ngo has a full handful (five) co-leaders at 4½/5 going into round six.

After a fourth-round draw with Evan Yin, Bach Ngo (R, against William Wu) is back atop the standings, leading a group of six players (photo Caroline King)

With a 12/15 score, Livingston HS (NJ) and American Heritage School (FL) hope to maintain their lead over powerhouse Stuyvesant (NY), which sits in a close third a half-point back with 11½/15, but any of the three could earn the coveted title of National Champion by day’s end.

Ninth Grade

IM-elect Brewington Hardaway is among a half-dozen freshmen who have surrendered only a draw after five games.

The match of the century! Or, at least, the day. Brewington Hardaway (L) came out on top after a 107-move struggle against Erick Zhao (photo Caroline King)

The 107-move battle between Zhao and Hardaway lived up to the hype. Both players were in time trouble as early as move 25, and this is truly a three-result game until the end.

CGPS (12½/15) is a full point ahead of Stuyvesant (11½/15), who has the upset-minded Buccholz HS of Florida (11/15) and Bob Jones HS of Alabama (10½/15) tailgating in their rearview mirror.

Eighth Grade

Third-seeded master Nikash Vemparala and Will Moorhouse (both perfect at 5/5) are likely slugging it out over the 64 squares as you read this update (check the stream!). However, they know that a peaceful finish could allow as many as three players to catch them before the final round begins.

Top-seeded Eric Liu (Front left) was held to a draw by North Carolina's Nirav Natha, allowing Will Moorhouse (back right) to leapfrog in the standings after upsetting second-seeded FM Brejeth Chakrabarti (photo Caroline King)

Just a point separates Hunter (11½/15), Success Academy Midtown (11/15) and Lincoln MS of Florida (10/15).

Seventh Grade

Master Andrew Jiang has played (and won) on the top board for five straight games, leaving him ahead of six players by the slimmest of margins. A determined opponent or a careless mistake, and we could see a game of leapfrog at the top of the leaderboard.

Andrew Jiang is alone atop the seventh grade standings (photo Caroline King)

Like the eighth grade section, team standings are tight! Top-scoring Millburn MS of New Jersey (12½/15) leads CGPS by a half-point with Speyer another half-point back in third place.

Sixth Grade

After round six, there will no longer be two perfect scores at the top as Kyle Wang and Oliver Ohly face off Sunday morning on board one of their section.

Kyle Wang will face his toughest challenge yet in round six (photo Caroline King)

Success Academy Midtown (11½/15) leads Hunter (11/15) by a half-point.

Fifth Grade

WIM Megan Paragua and Tariq Yue (each with 5/5) lead 4 players who sit at 4½/5.

Speyer (12/15) is in front in the fifth grade team competition, but PS77 Lower Lab (11½/15), Dalton and Oak Hall (each with 11/15) and two teams at 10½/15 are nipping loudly at their heels!

Fourth Grade

Three perfect scores top fourth grade: Linxi Zhu, Santhosh Ayyappan, and Ryan Ratcliff. Zhu displayed impressive positional understanding on the white side of a Sicilian Najdorf, playing for thematic strategic breaks until his opponent gave him a more direct opportunity for a tactical finish.

Linxi Zhu leads a group of three players atop the standings in fourth grade (photo Caroline King)

Like Speyer’s fifth grade team, the fourth graders also lead with a 12/15 score ahead of a tight field containing Oak Hall, Dalton, Anderson, and PS77 Lower Lab.

Third Grade

Sasha Schaefer stands alone at 5/5, but seven players at 4½/5 are hoping for a Sunday stumble by the leader.

After upsetting the top seed in round four, Elizabeth Zhao (R)'s streak ended against Sasha Schaefer, who now leads the third grade section (photo Caroline King)

Oak Hall (13½/15) has a comfortable lead over PS77 Lower Lab and Hunter (both at 11/15).

Second Grade

Ian Singh’s perfect score not only has him sharing the lead with Aiden Li, Sriansh Katta, and Zhihan Xu, but it is also a huge reason that Speyer has a seemingly insurmountable three-point lead.

Aiden Li (L) shares the lead in the second grade section, along with Srianth Katta (back left) and two others (photo Caroline King)

I have seen large leads like this disappear in a single round, so check back for my Flash Report at the conclusion of the event tonight to see if they cruised to victory or cracked under the pressure that Sundays can bring at US Chess Scholastic Nationals.

First Grade

Pre-tournament top-seed Darren Wu has company at the top, as Mustafa Muhammad, Emily Tang, and Rajiv Honmurgi also have perfect scores.

Darren Wu (R) has company atop the first grade leaderboard (photo Caroline King)

The team race could come down to the final game as Oak Hall and Speyer lead at 11/15, but Trinity (NY) and PS77 Lower Lab are just a point behind at 10/15.

Kindergarten

Two players rated in the 700’s (Suraj Jani and Matthew Wang) are hanging tough with 1363-rated Mehmet Yilanli, but there will surely be two challenging games on Sunday for these underrated prodigies.

Mehmet Yilanli outrates his competition by several hundred points, but will face his toughest and most underrated tests today (photo Caroline King)

Youth powerhouse team Oak Hall (12/15) is up by a field goal over Trinity (NY) which sits on 9/15. Dalton and Speyer (8/15 each) are looking to make a final-day push.

Make Room in the Trophy Case!

For those keeping score, Speyer is on top by itself in the team standings in three grades, Oak Hall in two, and the two powerhouse schools share the lead in another section! PS77 Lower Lab looks strong this year in four grade sections, with the usual NY suspects ready to grab more than a single title should they get hot while the leaders misstep.

Friends & Family Tournament

Jackie Liu (brother of player Nick Liu) won all four games and a $200 gift certificate in the rated Friends & Family tournament. Combined, the brothers won the trophy for top Brother/Player Team. An undefeated 3½/4 gave Sakthi Sivasamy 2nd Place and a $140 gift certificate, plus, with help from her son Rithin Jehin, they won the Mother/Player trophy. Full results here.

photo Jay Stallings

Note: As the section finish, use the Winners tab instead of Standings.

Away from the board on Saturday

Girls Room

The most happening spot outside the tournament hall was definitely the Girls Room. Every seat was taken in a tandem simul by GM Irina Krush and WIM Carolina Blanco in the late morning, pizza for the teen girls at lunch time, and a life-sized chess game in the afternoon.

Krush Blanco group — GM Irina Krush and WIM Carolina Blanco led a busy day of activities in the Girls Room, including a game of "human chess" and a tandem simul where Krush and Blanco alternated moves. (Photos courtesy Kimberly Doo)

Krush Blanco lesson — GM Irina Krush and WIM Carolina Blanco led a busy day of activities in the Girls Room, including a game of "human chess" and a tandem simul where Krush and Blanco alternated moves. (Photos courtesy Kimberly Doo)

The Altons (Krista and Arthur) continue to bring their positive energy and encouraging words, while Kimberly Doo greets with a smile and is quick with a camera. Many girls consider the Girls Room the highlight of the weekend.

Safe Play History and Vignettes

US Chess Director of Operations Ranae Bartlett worked with Managing Editor Melinda Matthews to create an engaging and interactive presentation to help attendees better understand this important new initiative.

First, a history of the development of this program was laid out clearly in a slide show. Then, a flow chart explained the process of dealing with a possible safe play violation. Finally, a series of vignettes tested the attendees’ familiarity with the definition of a safe play violation.

Dr. Martha Underwood assisted with explanations. The team was quick to thank the art department of US Chess (Art Director Natasha Roberts and Graphics Assistant Nico Esaltare) for their help in making the presentation attractive and pleasing to the eye. Committee member Brian Yang also contributed to the creation of the presentation.

Coming approximately 6-7pm Eastern on Sunday – FLASH REPORT with final results!

Quick Links

All coverage on Chess Life Online

Twitch (rounds five through seven)

Twitter hashtag #K12Grades