Third Annual ChessKid Online National Invitational Championship

The 2014 ChessKid National Online Invitational Championship will take place live on ChessKid.com TV and will feature 30 of the nation's best and brightest young players. Included in the field are four national masters, a senior master, and many USCF National Schaolastic champions and World Youth medalists.

New for this year is a "6 and Under" section. Although five of the six players have turned seven since qualifying, the lone six-year-old has a peak rating above 1600!

The event, which is an officially recognized national championship by the USCF, will consist of five sections of six-player round robins. Games will be Friday June 6 to Sunday June 8, 2014 and will feature live commentary from ChessKid.com Director of Content FM Mike Klein and Vice-President IM Danny Rensch.

This tournament was envisaged as way for top American youngsters to face their peers in a rare round robin format. The online capability greatly reduces costs that families would incur to have their children be challenged in a far away event.

All players receive free one year Diamond Membership to Chess.com, one year Gold Membership to ChessKid.com, a free t-shirt, hoodie, hat and wristband. The top three finishers will receive a custom engraved plaque and the winner of each section will be awarded a $300 scholarship to be used for lessons with a top trainer.

Below is a complete list of players and pairings. Ages and ratings in the tables are current and not necessarily the same as at the time of qualification.

6 and Under

# Name Rtg Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts State
1 Raphael Manahan 1295 7 CA
2 Andrew Chen 1435 7 NJ
3 Arthur Xu 1368 7 IL
4 Lucas Foerster-Yialamas 1575 6 NY
5 Anshul Gokul 1154 7 GA
6 Vishnu Vanapalli 1515 7 NC

8 and Under

# Name Rtg Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts State
1 Justin Wang 1839 8 TX
2 Benjamin Medina 1845 9 NY
3 Atreya Vaidya 1866 9 TX
4 Winston Ni 1826 9 NJ
5 Andrew Tang 1761 8 TX
6 Chinguun Bayaraa 1842 8 CA

10 and Under

# Name Rtg Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts State
1 Kevin Chor 1943 9 AZ
2 Ajay Krishnan 1931 10 CA
3 Kevin S. Yang 2001 10 CA
4 Daniel Levkov 1893 10 NY
5 Anthony Ge 1944 10 CA
6 Alexander Costello 1942 10 CA

12 and Under

# Name Rtg Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts State
1 Praveen Balakrishnan 2294 11 NJ
2 John M. Burke 2271 12 NJ
3 Ruifeng Li 2409 12 TX
4 Marcell Szabo 2140 13 WA
5 Albert Lu 2250 13 CA
6 Michael Wang 2216 12 CA

Girls 13 and Under

# Name Rtg Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts State
1 Anupama Rajendra 1976 14 WI
2 Camille Kao 1887 12 TX
3 Emily Nguyen 2051 11 TX
4 Chenyi Zhao 1665 10 CA
5 Julia Sevilla 1823 12 CA
6 Priya Trakru 1910 13 TX
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All games will be played on Chess.com with a time control of G/90+30 second increment. Games are USCF rated and many players will be playing at their local chess clubs for added exposure. All games and commentary can be watched live at Chess.com TV or ChessKid.com TV. Further rules and regulations can be found here.
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Ten different states are represented. California leads the way with 11 participants, including 66 percent in the 10 and Under section. Texas constibutes seven players; New York and New Jersey each bring four.
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Highlighting the highest-rated in each section, Lucas Foerster-Yialamas of New York City is also the youngest in the 6 and Under group. He plays under the name "ThirstyDonkey" on ChessKid.com and won the K-1 section at the 2013 USCF K-12 Grade Nationals, scoring a perfect 7-0.
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Here he shows that he's too young to just shake hands in an equal ending - Lucas only knows how to play for a win:
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The 8 and Under section is tightly compacted. Atreya Vaidya of Plano, Texas leads the way, but four of his five competitors are within 40 rating points.
Atreya once won $300 in a chess tournament before his 5th birthday. He is a ChessKid Online Nationals veteran - finishing third last year in the same section. Here he is at last year's World Youths, showing the same sort of endgame tenacity that Lucas manifested.
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Kevin Yang is one of three boys from the San Diego, California area in the 10 and Under section. He recently became an Expert, thanks in large part to a great performance at the 2014 National High School Championship.
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Kevin Chor has also been above 2000 and was a 2013 Pan-Am Youth Gold Medalist. He finished second place in the 2013 ChessKid Online National Invitational.
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Here Kevin earns a wild win at the World Youths:
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Ruifeng Li, also of Plano, Texas, leads all players at 2409!
He has a World Youth Silver Medal to his credit and recently even got the chance to play world #15 GM Wesley So.
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Continuing the theme of endgame perseverance, how about this 126-move win!
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Finally we come to the Girls 13 and Under Section, where Expert Emily Nguyen of Austin, Texas leads the pack. She will look to rebound from last year's last-place finish in the same section (she was the second-to-last seed last year). 
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She led this year's National Elementary Championships (K-6 section) after five rounds, eventually finishing 6th. Here she shows good understanding of playing against the isolated queen pawn.
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**Update - Camille Kao has replaced Joanna Liu in the Girls 13 and Under section.