1375 young chess players from 33 states came to the Hyatt Regency Columbus in Columbus, OH March 20-23 to contest the 35th annual National High School Chess Championship. The Championship was a seven round Swiss system tournament organized by the United States Chess Federation.

Morgan Griffiths of Eugene, OR, Patrick Mihelich of Carmel, Indiana, and Samson Benen of New York, New York became National High School Co-Champions with scores of 6 � (six wins and one draw) each. Fitch Academy of Mesa, AZ won the National High School Team Chess Championship with a score of 21 points out of a possible 28. South Eugene High School of Eugene, OR and Stuyvesant High School of New York, NY tied for second place with 20 points.

Teammates Davaughn Dixon of Detroit, MI and Larry L. Hooker of Detroit, MI tied for the top individual honors in the Under 1500 section with 6 � points each. Led by Dixon and Hooker, Renaissance High School of Detroit, MI won top team honors in the Under 1500 section with a team score of 20 �. Martell Collins of Detroit, Michigan won the under 1200 section with a perfect score of 7-0. Marion High School of Marion, WI and Southeastern High School of Detroit, MI shared top team honors in the under 1200 section with 21 � points each. Chue Yang of Milwaukee, WI and Alexander Connelly of Oak Lawn, Illinois both achieved perfect 7-0 scores to tie for first place in the Under 900 section. Bayview High of Milwaukee, WI won top team honors in the Under 900 section with a team score of 23 points.

On Thursday March 20, Daniel Rensch of Mesa, AZ scored a perfect 12 out of 12 to win the National High School Blitz Chess Championship. Maine South High School of Park Ridge, IL won the National High School Blitz Team Championship with 36 points. Blitz chess is played with a time control of five minutes per player for the entire game. Later that evening, the team of Kyle Jones and Thomas Kindred, both from Columbus, OH, won the 2003 National High School Bughouse Championship with a perfect score of 12-0. At the 2002 National High School Chess Championship in Louisville, KY, Jones and Kindred had tied for the National High Bughouse Championship with a score of 11-1. Bughouse is a chess variant played with two player teams. For more information about the tournament, please visit http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2003/hs/.

The United States Chess Federation, founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with more than 90,000 members. For more information, please see http://www.uschess.org.