2397 young chess players from 41 states competed in the 2003 National Elementary Chess Championship held May 8-11 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, TN. This was the largest National Elementary Chess Championship ever held. The previous attendance record was 2138 players set at the 2002 National Elementary Chess Championship held in Portland, OR. The Championship was a seven round, Swiss system tournament with seven sections. The scores of the top four players from each school in each section are combined to create a team score.

Fabiano Caruana of New York won the K-6 Individual Championship by scoring 6 � out of a possible seven points, and Oakhaven Elementary School of Memphis, TN won the National K-6 Team Championship with a team score of 19 � points. Marc Tyler Arnold of New York, Patrick Tae of Tennessee, and Marcanthony Parrino of New York became National K-5 Individual Co-Champions by scoring 6 � points each, and PS 116 of New York, NY won the National K-5 Team Championship with a team score of 22 � points. Parker Zhao of New York and Justin Karp of New York became National K-3 Individual Co-Champions by scoring 6 � points each, and Hunter College Campus School of New York, NY won the National K-3 Team Championship with a team score of 21 points. Matthew Owen of Connecticut won the National K-1 Individual Championship with a perfect score of 7-0, and Americo Paredes Elementary School of Brownsville, TX won the National K-1 Team Championship with a team score of 20 � points.

Jonathan Evans from Michigan achieved a perfect score of 7-0 to win the K-6 Under 1000 section, and Zachary Lane Elementary of Plymouth, MN won top team honors in the K-6 Under 1000 section with a team score of 21 � points. Boris Xu of Georgia earned a perfect 7-0 score to win the K-5 Under 900 section, and PS 31 of Brooklyn, NY won top team honors in the K-5 Under 900 section with a tremendous team score of 24 points. Adam Jiang of Idaho, Clayton Brock of Washington, and Seb Baker of Washington each scored 7 points to tie for first place in the K-3 Under 800 section. Led by Brock, the team from the Evergreen School of Shoreline, WA took top team honors in the K-3 Under 800 section with a team score of 22 � points.

Kyle Rieb of Washington won the National K-6 Individual Blitz Chess Championship held on May 8 with a score of 11 out of a possible 12 points, and Burk Elementary School of Gilbert, AZ won the National K-6 Blitz Team Championship with a team score of 30 points. Parker Zhao of New York won the National K-3 Individual Blitz Chess Championship with a perfect 12-0 score, and King�s Way Christian of Vancouver, WA won the National K-3 Blitz Team Championship with a team score of 31 points. Blitz chess is played with a time limit of five minutes per player per game. Twin brothers Alex and Mark Heimann of Pennsylvania won the National Elementary Bughouse Championship with a perfect score of 12 out of a possible 12 points. Bughouse is a chess variant involving two-player teams. The next National Elementary Chess Championship will be held April 2-4, 2004 in Pittsburgh, PA.

The U. S. Chess Federation (USCF) organizes the annual National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship. Founded in 1939, it serves as the governing body for chess in the U. S. The non-profit organization seeks to extend the role of chess, promotes the study and knowledge of chess, and provides national ratings for members who want to play in rated tournaments. The USCF has over 90,000 members, of which more than 50 percent are youth 19 and under. For more information visit the USCF�s website located at http://www.uschess.org.

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.