MZ is the Wizard of Oz

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore! A delegation of 13 Northern California teenagers traveled to Kansas City on April 12-15 for the National High School Championship. The first item on the agenda was geography: Kansas City is not in Kansas but rather across the river in the state of Missouri. No doubt Michael Zhong will remember that lesson, although most other local players may prefer to forget it.

The National High School Championship is one of the hardest chess tournaments around the country—and this year’s edition was the most challenging ever! A record of 1447 players descended on Kansas City, including two International Masters (from the same school!) and another ten National Masters. The top section, the K-12 Championship, featured 350 players and a ton of competition. At the end of five rounds over two days, the field was narrowed to a whopping 16-way tie for first at 4.5, including local stars NM Sam Shankland (2216) and NM Daniel Schwarz (2229) plus almost all of the other masters. It was clear that a 2-0 score on the final day was needed for first place.

Three players accomplished this score small miracle despite the difficult opposition and the enormous pressure of the moment. IM Alex Lenderman (2471) and NM Alex Barnett (2289) were two of the top three seeds and merely took care of business on their way to the winner’s circle.

The third co-champion was the upstart local player Michael Zhong! Being rated only 2049, Michael had to go to the furthest just to get to the last round. He faced four straight masters in rounds 4-7, drawing in round 4 and then winning the last three games. In round 6, Michael matched wits against defending national champion NM Landon Brownell (2230) in a complex endgame of rook and bishop plus three extra pawns against a queen. In round 7, he was inspired by Mikhail Tal to sacrifice first a pair of pawns and then two minor pieces. Simply put, Michael Zhong raised his game to a level that nobody in Northern California has seen before and brought a national championship home to the Bay Area! Congratulations on becoming the first National High School champion from Northern California since GM Larry Christiansen won in 1973!

You can read the full article by Michael Aigner here. He will compete in the upcoming US Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma.