Nashville: Day 1

GM Akobian Simul

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/808476310565597184

Before the 1st round, players had the opportunity to warm-up with a challenging game against GM Varuzhan Akobian. Here are a few highlights from the event.

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809845288726888448 https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809830425346588672 https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809846896797876224 https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809849436591521792

Tournament Leaders

At National Championships with such vast and diverse fields, it is very difficult to stay on a perfect score, even as a top seed in the early rounds. Expectations are high, and ambitious lower rated players are plentiful. Here are the players currently leading their sections:

12^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Joshua Brannon

Total perfect scores remaining: 5

11^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Life Master Ethan Li

Total perfect scores remaining: 17

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809936234093182977

10^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): National Master Albert Lu

Total perfect scores remaining: 13

9^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Fide Master Praveen Balakrishnan, the highest rated player in the entire tournament

Total perfect scores remaining: 10

8^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Aristo Liu

Total perfect scores remaining: 24

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809950291676237824

7^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): National Master Alex Costello

Total perfect scores remaining: 27

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809949926121766913

6^th grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Raghav Venkat

Total perfect scores remaining: 37

5^th Grade

Top seed (with 2-0): National Master Max Lu

Total perfect scores remaining: 39

4^th Grade

The 4^th grade is the largest section of the tournament with 210 players.

Top seed (with 2-0): Arthur Xu

Total perfect scores remaining: 46

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809950785534627841

3^rd Grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Brian Huang

Total perfect scores remaining: 43

2^nd Grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Erick Zhao

Total perfect scores remaining: 38

https://twitter.com/USChess/status/809936736616849408

1^st Grade

Top seed (with 2-0): Steve Wongso

Total perfect scores remaining: 27

Kindergarten

Top seed (with 2-0): Dhruva Patil

Total perfect scores remaining: 13

With three rounds today, the number of perfect scores will narrow down immensely. Who will remain?

For complete standings and more information, visit the National Grade K-12 Championship Page. Follow our Twitter coverage or join the conversation using the Official Hashtag: #K12ChessChamps