National Elementary School Championships Break Attendance Record in Baltimore

The 2026 National Elementary School Championships are underway in Baltimore! With a record-breaking 2,500+ participants, this tournament will be one to remember.

With all the chess, special guests, and side events, the biggest challenge is remembering to step outside of the sleek, spacious Baltimore Convention Center to take in stunning views of the harbor.

Danah Denice of Heidnseek Entertainment, LLC performed the national anthem at the opening ceremony. (Photo by Caroline King)

Left: US Chess Director of Events Pete Karagianis during the opening ceremony. Right: US Chess Director of Programs DeVaughn Croxton and Executive Director Fred Abousleman. (Photos by Caroline King)

Croxton and Abousleman — Left: US Chess Director of Events Pete Karagianis during the opening ceremony. Right: US Chess Director of Programs DeVaughn Croxton and Executive Director Fred Abousleman. (Photos by Caroline King)

Read on for a recap of yesterday’s events, commentator WGM Sabina Foisor’s highlights of Friday’s best games, and more!

Special Events

With four special guests joining us all weekend, every day is packed with special events. Yesterday, GM Elshan Moradiabadi and WGM Katerina Nemcova kicked things off with a 30-board tandem simul, followed by IM Danny Rensch’s lecture. Moradiabadi and Nemcova both hosted All-Comers Blitz sessions, as well.

WGM Katerina Nemcova during her first of three blitz sessions. (Photo by Caroline King)

US Chess Ambassador WGM Jennifer Shahade hosted a 30-board pop-up simul that was simply mesmerizing. Some chess players play to win, but Shahade had an additional goal in mind.

WGM Jennifer Shahade signing copies of her new book, Thinking Sideways, before her pop-up simul. (Photo by Caroline King)

Oftentimes in these exhibitions, games are decided by adjudication. The schedule is full, and these kids have rounds to get to! But Shahade made it her mission to whirl around the boards, aiming to actually finish as many games as possible. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired from watching somebody else play chess.

If reading this is giving you FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), fear not! We have three more All-Comers Blitz sessions today: Moradiabadi at 10 a.m., Rensch at 3:30 p.m., and Nemcova at 5 p.m. Nemcova and Moradiabadi are also giving lectures today at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. Check out the full schedule of guest events here.

Also, our sponsor Silver Knights Chess Academy is on site all weekend providing free game analysis courtesy of two of their fabulous coaches (Epiphany Peters and Nebraska’s own Will Osborne). There was always a group of kids waiting for a turn to get some feedback, and if you watch the coaches work their magic for even a few seconds, you’ll see why.

Peters — Silver Knights' coaches in action. (Photos by Caroline King)

Osborne — Silver Knights' coaches in action. (Photos by Caroline King)

Other events on today’s schedule include: Silver Knights’ “From Munchkin to Master: Taking the Next Steps” talk at 9:30 a.m., the Friends & Family Tournament beginning at 10:30 a.m., the Scholastic Meeting at 2:15 p.m., and the Chess in Education Discussion at 3:30 p.m.

Plus: Don’t forget to swing by the Girls Club Room. Today’s highlights include a tandem simultaneous exhibition at 11:30 a.m., a lecture at 3:30 p.m., and the always-adorable human chess game at 4:15 p.m.

K-6 Championship

In the K-6 Championship section, 32 of the 163 players made it through the first two rounds unscathed. Interestingly, all but four of the co-leaders are sixth graders. They know this is their last chance at earning the title of Elementary School National Champion!

This is an incredibly competitive section featuring many talented, underrated players. In the very first round, the top seeds were pushed to their limits on the board and on the clock, with Board 1 being one of the very last games to finish in the entire playing hall.

On the top board of the first round, Yang – Varfolomeev was an intense battle that set the tone for a competitive day of chess. (Photos by Caroline King)

But top-seeded WFM Aimee Yang kept her composure, landing a great tactical blow:

Liu – Saravanan was another tense battle in the K-6 section.

Liu – Saravanan was another tense battle in the K-6 section.

On Board 3, CM Steven Liu similarly found himself facing stiff resistance:

After so many close, competitive games in the first round, an upset on one of the top boards felt inevitable Friday evening. Indeed, in Round 2, Takki Tanaka (NY) pulled off a 342-point upset on Board 7 in a very interesting, entertaining game:

K-5 Championship

42 of the 219 players in the K-5 Championship section still boast perfect 2/2 scores. The top of the leader board is a healthy mix of grades four and five. Viyaan Krishna Doddapeneni (NJ) entered as the section’s highest-rated player, but for much of Friday evening, it looked like Isaac Varous (NY) was going to get at least a draw off of him despite the 463-point rating gap.

Isaac Varous (L) took advantage of one error by his higher-rated opponent to take a dangerous initiative on the top board of the K-5 section. (Photo by Caroline King)

Instead, Doddapeneni mounted a furious comeback, showing the heart of a champion:

Nobody said it was going to be easy! Viyaan Krishna Doddapaneni essayed a fantastic comeback. (Photo by Caroline King)

In the same round, a 442-point upset appeared to be brewing after Kate Stripunsky (NJ) navigated her way into an excellent position against Aayansh Pramanik (NJ). But give a strong player attacking chances, and the game’s character can change in an instant.

K-3 Championship

In the K-3 Championship, 43 (out of 207) players remain on track for the elusive 7/7 finish. The section’s highest-rated player is Mehmet Yilanli (OH), who is only in second grade and already has a couple national titles under his belt. His closest competitor, Devansh Vellanki (MA), kicked things off with an entertaining finish:

Devansh Vellanki (L) against Jacob King. (Photo by Caroline King)

Following the same pattern as the other sections, games were very competitive from the very first round, as the next game exemplifies:

In Round 2, the biggest upset of the section’s top boards took place on Board 5 when Jerry Liang (NY) pulled off a win as a 358-point underdog.

Also of note are Lavin Donadi (NJ) and Francis Zhou (NY) who are the only first-graders with perfect scores even though they’re “playing up” a section!

K-1 Championship

Finally, 37 of the 175 players in the K-1 Championship are two-for-two. The highest-rated among them is Ojas Daftuar (CA), who is already rated 1772. Impressive? Yes. Inspiring? Also yes. Terrifying? Extremely yes.

More Instructive Moments

If you’re not watching Sabina’s commentary for this event, you better have a really good excuse. In addition to her notes from the above games, I wanted to share a couple more examples of the kinds of interesting positions she’s been finding in real time, ranging from the spectacularly tactical to the invaluably instructive:

Side Events

The first national champions of the weekend were crowned during Thursday’s side events. In the morning, New Jersey’s Albert Li and Jayden Li teamed up to earn the title of National Bughouse Champions with a 9/10 performance.

Bughouse winners Albert and Jayden Li. (Photo by Caroline King)

Then, in the K-6 Blitz Championship, the Garden State’s run continued as Viyaan Krishna Doddapaneni went 10½/12 to win the tournament by a full point. The Speyer Legacy School (NY) was the top team, finishing with 24½ points. The closest competitor was five-and-a-half points behind!

K-6 Blitz winner Viyaan Krishna Doddapaneni. (Photo by Caroline King)

The K-3 Blitz Championship saw a tie at the top between two third graders: Sebastian Goodrich (NY) and Johann Jayabarath (SC). Goodrich took first on tiebreaks. A half-point behind them was the aforementioned first grader Daftuar, who finished in clear third with 9½/12. Goodrich’s PS 77 Lower Lab School was the top team, finishing with 24 points.

K-3 Blitz winner Sebastian Goodrich. (Photo by Caroline King)

Finally, in the K-6 Blitz Under-1400 section, Connecticut’s Ethan Ing was the only player in any section to complete a clean sweep, finishing with a perfect 12/12 score. It’s worth mentioning that Ing is only in second grade.

K-6 Under-1400 Blitz winner Ethan Ing. (Photo by Caroline King)

PS 11 Sarah J. Garnet (NY) eked out a narrow win in the team standings, finishing ahead of Whitby School (CT) by a half point!

Three rounds today!? Hide!!! (Photo by Caroline King)

Today’s the marathon triple-round day, with games at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. (except for K-1 sections). Be sure to follow WGM Sabina Foisor’s commentary live on Twitch, and drop by the chat to say hello!

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