Page 11 - Annotated Games News Today

JUAN DOLIO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Disco music filled the small conference center as the audience impatiently munched on dried macarons and downed tropical-colored fruit punch, all breathlessly awaiting the arrival of Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic. It’s not often that the president of a country makes a live appearance at an event where most participants are silent!

Editor's note: This story first ran in the June 2023 issue of Chess Life Magazine. We have republished Gledura's article below, and included several fully annotated games that were not in the print edition. Members can access the print version of the article here and also read GM Christopher Woojin Yoo's annotations of his game against GM Abhimanyu Mishra.

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A memorable weekend came to a close on Mother's Day in Baltimore, MD, as the final two rounds of the National Elementary School Championship concluded and national champions were crowned.

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If turnouts were ratings, the 2023 National Elementary School (NES) Championships would be sitting at board three in the K-6 Championship, board two in the K-5 Championship, and board one in the K-3 Championship. With 2,118 registered players, the tournament would even outrank this author by a few points. Which is to say: that's a lot of kids here in Baltimore, MD!  

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Update 05/10/2023: The tournament has concluded, and GM Peter Svidler finished in clear first with 4½/7 after drawing his last two games. Mishra lost a heart-breaking queen-and-pawn ending against GM Boris Gelfand in the final round, finishing in a three-way tie for second with GMs Gukesh D. and Nils Grandelius.  

It should not be surprising when an eight-time Russian champion is leading a tournament. Especially when three fourths of the field aren't even 30 years old. And yet, GM Peter Svidler's standing atop the leaderboard of the 28th annual TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament still counts as something of an upset.