GM Wesley So and WIM Rachael Li are the new U.S. chess champions. So captured his fourth American chess crown, while Li became the youngest player to win the title on her debut.
The 2026 U.S. Chess Championship and the 2026 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship were 12-player, single round-robin tournaments with classical time controls, held from October 9 to 22 in Saint Louis. The Saint Louis Chess Club has long been the driving force behind the U.S. Chess Championships, hosting the nation’s most prestigious chess events and showcasing the country’s top talent. The 2026 edition brought everything under one roof, uniting U.S. Chess with the Saint Louis Chess Club to create a seamless experience for players, fans, and the broader chess community. The Open event featured a $250,000 prize fund, including $55,000 for first place, while the Women’s event offered $152,000, with $35,000 for first.
In the Open event, top seeds and rating favorites defending champion Fabiano Caruana and So got off to a strong start, sharing the lead after Round 4 with 3/4 points. In Round 5, Caruana suffered a defeat at the hands of Andy Woodward but struck back in the next round to catch up with So. However, after So made a decisive push in Rounds 7 and 8, defeating Ray Robson and Woodward, the fate of the title appeared sealed.
Heading into the final round a full point ahead of Caruana and Grigory Oparin, So needed only a draw against Sam Sevian to win outright, but his opponent had a different agenda.
After Caruana did his part, defeating Awonder Liang with a crushing attack, and Oparin drew with Robson, all eyes were on the Sevian–So game, in which Sevian (White) emerged with an extra pawn in a rook endgame.
So put up a stubborn defense and had a chance to escape with a draw on move 48, but he missed this opportunity and ended up in a lost position. The rest was smooth sailing for Sevian, who scored a full point, inflicting the only defeat on So in the tournament.
With this result, Caruana and So tied for first place with 7/11 points each. To determine the champion, a tiebreak consisting of two rapid games and two blitz games (if necessary) was played the following day.
In the first topsy-turvy rapid game, So, playing with the black pieces, had every chance but let his advantage slip away, and the game ended in a draw. With the colors reversed, So grabbed the initiative early on and converted his advantage convincingly to secure the title.
The Women’s event turned into an exciting race between Alice Lee and Rachael Li. Lee started right out of the gate with four straight victories in Rounds 2–5 and appeared to be on her way to the title. However, Li defeated Lee with the black pieces in a Queen’s Indian Defense, catching up to her in the standings.
Their paths diverged in Round 9 when Lee suffered another defeat at the hands of Irina Krush, while Li ground down Nazi Paikidze in a drawish knight endgame. Going into the final round a full point ahead of her main competitor, Li secured a comfortable draw in her game against Anna Zatonskih to clinch the title.
Lee won her final-round game against Anna Sargsyan and finished a half-point behind the champion, while Krush took third place to complete the podium.
Photos: Saint Louis Chess Club / Crystal Fuller and Lennart Ootes