Leaders Separate From Pack After Five Rounds in Baltimore
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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!
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.