Two Perfect Scores on Sunday in Atlanta

Vignesh Panchanatham

Two perfect scores remain in the Open section after five rounds of the National High School Championships. IM Kesav Viswanadha will face off against FM Vignesh Panchanatham on Board 1 tomorrow, Sunday.

Kesav and Vignesh are both from the California area and have a long and friendly rivalry with each other.

There are still four other players nipping on their heels with 4.5/5. Let's talk about some of these fresh faces:

NM Michael Wang (2249 USCF): Michael goes to the same school as Vignesh Panchanatham. It's no wonder that their team is currently sitting in first place.

NM Daniel He (2268 USCF): Daniel is one of a few strong identical twin duos at this year's High School Champs. Daniel won his game to move to 4.5, while his brother Samuel drew with top seeded IM Andrew Tang in Round 5.

Samuel also beat IM Greg Shahade in a one minute game between rounds.

NM Gabriel Sam (2229 USCF): Gabriel drew with top seeded IM Andrew Tang to start the day and followed it up by winning his next two games. In round 5 he had an equal position when in his words "I was really lucky, he just blundered a piece." If this "luck" keeps up, Gabriel may find himself as National Champion.

NM Benjamin Moon (2266 USCF): Benjamin won a tough game in Round 5 against the sensation of Round 4,

Alice Dong, who had just come off an upset victory over #2 seed FM Kapil Chandran.

In the following position, can you find Alice's winning move vs. Kapil?

Show Solution

...Bg2+!