Leaderboards Take Shape Entering Final NES Leg in Baltimore

While professional players shudder at the thought of playing more than one classical chess game in a day, the 2,500-plus kids in Baltimore for the 2026 National Elementary School Championships couldn’t be happier to get in three games in a single day yesterday.

The crowd outside the Baltimore convention center. (Photo by John Hartmann)

Between rounds, practically every table in the skittles room had a chess board on it, and lines to play blitz against special guests enveloped the playing area. There’s nothing as infectious as the energy of these children. If they could play even more chess in their sleep, they would!

Saturday Highlights

As if three rounds weren’t enough chess, Saturday was crammed start-to-finish with events from our special guests.

The changing of the guard: Elshan Moradiabadi and Danny Rensch squared off between their blitz sessions. (Photo by John Hartmann)

We were treated to a lecture from guest WGM Katerina Nemcova, two sessions of blitz from guest GM Elshan Moradiabadi, and a blitz session from the face of Chess.com, IM Danny Rensch.

Do you think the players recognized the face of Chess.com? (Photo by John Hartmann)

When we say that our guests take on all challengers, we mean all! Spectators were treated to a Rensch – Moradiabadi match, and those who stayed to the end of Nemcova’s session got to watch her take on 2025 National High School (K-12) Champion GM Nico Chasin in a wild King’s Indian Defense!

We did say "all" challengers! WGM Katerina Nemcova ended her blitz session with an intense game against GM Nico Chasin. (Photo by JJ Lang)

Players who still didn’t get enough chess stayed after Nemcova’s simul to play your humble reporter in an impromptu blitz session, too. They kept me busy until 9 p.m., and would have gone on longer if I didn’t have to run and get dinner. Several kids won on time, but I wanted to give a special shoutout to third grader Taylor Liu (CA), who thoroughly outplayed me and impressed me.

Taylor Liu asked what he won for beating me in a blitz game. How about a photo on Chess Life Online? (Photo by Caroline King)

In the Girls Club Room, guests WFM Laura Smith and Rochelle Ballantyne gave a fantastic lecture on board vision to a totally engrossed and full audience.

Just like pawn chains, the key is having a strong base! (Photos by Caroline King)

Between prize giveaways, nail-painting, and Mother’s Day card-making, the girls even competed in an architectural challenge to see who could stack the highest tower of chess pieces.

The girls' answers to why they love the Girls Club Room are always heartwarming! (Photos by Caroline King)

Individual Blitz and Bughouse winners received their awards yesterday between rounds. Be sure to check out yesterday’s report, which has now been updated with photos of the winners and their awards.

Sunday Events

This morning, IM Danny Rensch will be signing copies of his memoir Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life. Rensch is the Chief Chess Officer (CCO) and co-founder of Chess.com, and the 1998 National Elementary School Champion. His book describes his upbringing in an abusive cult – and how chess ended up saving his life. Disclaimer: this book contains mature themes and language not intended for young audiences.

Then, this afternoon at 1 p.m., US Chess Ambassador WGM Jennifer Shahade will be signing copies of her new book Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life.

Shahade is a three-time national champion, and her new book takes lessons from chess to show how thinking more like a chess player can enhance your life outside of chess. From building mind palaces to crafting decision trees, she reveals the most useful strategies from the ancient game that we can use in our daily lives.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to play blitz against any of our special guests, today’s the day! Stop by the table in Hall E before 10:30 a.m. to get in line to play GM Elshan Moradiabadi, and come back before 2:30 p.m. to get in line to play WGM Katerina Nemcova. Each session will last two hours.

Our two guest grandmasters will also be giving lectures in Hall E today. Nemcova is up at 11:30 a.m. while Moradiabadi closes out the weekend at 3:30 p.m.

Finally, don’t forget to stop by the Girls Club Room. Today’s events include a blindfold exhibition with special guests WFM Laura Smith and Rochelle Ballantyne at 11:30 a.m., a human chess game at 3 p.m., and a closing party immediately after.

K-6

The K-6 Championship is the only section with a clear leader entering the final day of action. WFM Aimee Yang (PA) took care of business on Saturday to maintain a perfect 5/5 score.

Aimee Yang leads the K-6 Championship by herself. (Photo by Caroline King)

Below is her fifth-round game, where she navigated a dynamic position with grace, balancing attack with defense. All of today's annotations are once again courtesy of WGM Sabina Foisor.

Six players trail Yang by a half-point with 4½/5 scores. Of them, fellow Pennsylvanian Grant Weyman has the best tiebreaks, thanks in part to the 1844-rated player’s two wins yesterday over players rated over 2100.

Grant Weyman is tied for second after scoring 2½/3 against higher-rated opponents. (Photo by Caroline King)

While one of these upsets was more tactical in nature, the other came from outplaying a higher-rated opponent in a rook-and-pawn endgame, which is very impressive.

This morning, Yang is Black against Winsley Wu. Wu and Weyman drew in Round 5, and his win from Saturday morning is very instructive:

Winsley Wu (L) is also in the pack of players tied for second. (Photo by Caroline King)

In the team standings, The Speyer Legacy School (NY) leads Success Academy Midtown West (NY) by a half-point.

K-5

In the K-5 Championship, two players remain perfect with 5/5 scores, but they’re not the pre-tournament favorites. In Round 5, the higher-rated players combined to go ½/3 on the top three boards of the section!

Aarav Karthik (L) and Raben Goel lead the K-5 Championship after their impressive wins Saturday night. (Photos by Caroline King)

The newly crowned K-6 Blitz winner Viyaan Krishna Doddapaneni yielded a draw to Aayansh Pramanik in an intra-New Jersey contest, while Gurugrahan Gurumoorthi (WI) and Advik Manchanda (TX) lost to Aarav Karthik (MI) and Raben Goel (NJ), respectively. Karthik and Goel’s victories are below:

Karthik and Goel are currently competing head-to-head to determine the shape of this afternoon’s championship race. Doddapaneni and Pramanik are joined by four other players a half-point behind the leaders with 4½/5 scores. This group includes fifth graders Jayden Li (NJ) and Elizabeth Zhou (NY) as well as fourth graders Kai Lan (TX) and Samanyu Alluri (MA). Li’s draw was particularly enlightening:

PS 130 The Parkside School (NY) currently leads the field by a full point in the team standings.

K-3

Here’s a fun one. In the K-3 Championship, three players remain with 5/5 scores. Max Mulholland (NY) has the white pieces against Mehmet Yilanli (OH) on Board 1, while Mark Xu (NJ) will try to keep up (or outrun!) his co-leaders on Board 2.

Mulholland (R) — Mehmet Yilanli (L) and Max Mulholland (R, standing) are currently playing head-to-head on Board 1. (Photos by Caroline King)

Yilanli and Mulholland entered the section as two of its highest-rated players, with Yilanli being the only player rated over 2000 (despite being only in second grade). Both have been impressive so far:

Mark Xu is the third player tied for the lead in the K-3 Championship section. (Photo by Caroline King)

But Xu is atop the standings thanks to an upset over New York’s Sebastian Goodrich in Round 5:

For those keeping track of scholastic chess dynasties, yes, Sebastian is the younger brother of Elliott Goodrich, a national master in the seventh grade. Goodrich’s PS 77 Lower Lab School (NY) currently has a half-point lead over Mulholland’s PS 198 Isador E Ida Straus (NY) in the team standings.

K-1

Finally, three players also lead the K-1 Championship with 5/5 scores. Ojas Daftuar (CA) is White against Benjamin Robert Frye (NY) on Board 1, while Melody Zeng (FL) will try to keep pace from Board 2.

Ojas Daftuar (L) and Robert Benjamin Frye were two of the three co-leaders in the K-1 Championship after Saturday's fifth round, and they are paired against each for Sunday's sixth round. (Photos by John Hartmann)

In a neat parallel to the K-3 Championship standings, Daftuar and Frye are two of the section’s highest-rated players while Zeng has outperformed her rating. Only a kindergartener (albeit a kindergartener on Gainesville’s formidable Oak Hall Lower School team), Zeng entered the event with a 968 rating yet reeled off three consecutive victories over players rated above 1000.

Melody Zeng of Oak Hall Lower School in Gainesville, FL essayed three straight wins over higher-rated players en route to a share of first place entering the final two rounds. (Photo by John Hartmann)

Thanks in part to Zeng’s performance, Oak Hall takes a full point lead over The Speyer Legacy School into Sunday’s games.

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