US Chess / ChessKid Online Elementary Championship Winners Released!

The recently concluded US Chess / ChessKid Online Elementary Championship was a tremendous success. The immediately popular event drew just over 2100 players from across the country to compete for bragging rights, rating points, and unique prizes - including replica US Team jerseys, group lessons with top Grandmaster coaches, and top-20 plaques to the placewinners.

The fantastic turnout led the event to be split into multiple groups in both the K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 sections. The sections were split evenly to ensure both were equally strong in terms of rating.  “The event exceeded our expectations in terms of participation and smoothness,” said FM Mike Klein, ChessKid’s Chief Chess Officer. “ChessKid was very happy to work with US Chess and create a marquee event for elementary-aged kids to satisfy their competitive urges. After all, kids have been watching, playing, and learning chess at home for many months and it was time that they used their skills!”

The tournament was a first-of-its-kind collaboration between US Chess and ChessKid and also featured a live stream hosted by FM Mike Klein and guest analyst GM Ben Finegold.

California and Oregon topped the list of states in terms of section winners with two apiece: Zoey Tang (OR) won the 6th grade section outright while Austin Tang tied for first with Erin Bian (WA) in the all-Pacific Northwest first place group of the 4-5A section. Meanwhile, Riaana Tanna (CA) tied with Sivavishnu Srinivasan (CA), Manish Kashyap (NJ) and Evan Fan (OH) for top honors in K-1A with 6.5/7 points.

Rounding out the winners were:

4-5B: Nathaniel Mullodzhanov (NY)
2-3A: Joshua Meng (CT)
2-3B: Benny Le (GA)
K-1B: Scott Escalera (IL)

The Chief Tournament Director was NTD Glenn Panner, from Illinois, who met the challenges of an online event of this size admirably. The tournament also featured a weekend photo contest using the hashtag #USChessKid. The winners were enthusiastic!

A full list of standings can be found here. (Updated as of 9/1/2020.)

Congratulations to all of the players and parents who participated in the inaugural event. We look forward to seeing you all back at the board soon!