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It's always nice to start a new chess year with a rush of momentum from the one just past, so we focus this week on some of the big winners from December, traditionally a very crowded time on the global chess calendar.
The 2023 North American Junior U20 Championships were held from December 19 through 23 in Dulles, Virginia. Organized by Capital Area Chess with approval of US Chess, Confederation of Chess for America (CCA), and FIDE, the nine-round tournaments (Open and Girls) crowned outright winners in each section.
The final two rounds of the 2023 K-12 Grade Level Championships in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend lived up to expectations as players of equal levels clashed head to head in over 2,400 games. On the top boards, there were over two dozen games in the final round in which both players were rated over 2000. But, as we know, it’s not the rating that determines the winner, and so it is now (after the tournament) that we can finally reveal the National Champions of each grade.
At the conclusion of the marathon known as “Saturday at Nationals” (three games!), some section leaders stand alone, others are perfect along with one other, and three sections have between four and six players knotted at the top of the standings. Let’s dive in closer, and check our team updates as well. 12th Grade
The 2023 World Youth Championship concluded Friday, November 24, in Montesilvano, Italy with six new world champions. With sections for players under ages 18, 16, 14 (and corresponding Girls sections), every section saw an outright winner, although tiebreaks still impacted overall podium standings.