Rachael Li, 16 years old, won the U.S. Women's Chess Championship and $45,000 on her first time participating! chess.com/news/view/rachael-…

Sam Sevian, who was in last place, beat the tournament leader Wesley So in the last round. "I came to fight every game this tournament, and even with the result, I didn't want to stop fighting."

Sam Sevian ends Wesley So's 48-game unbeaten streak by defeating him in the last round! Wesley So now has to play Fabiano Caruana in playoffs on Thursday. chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Sam Sevian finds the brilliant 60.f6!! pawn sacrifice. If the rook takes, a7 wins easily. If the pawn takes, 61.a7 Kc7 then Black's rook no longer has access to the sixth rank. chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Wesley So had reached an equal rook endgame, but 48...Rxg3? is a losing move! If Sam Sevian wins, Wesley will have to play Fabiano Caruana in the playoffs tomorrow! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

White should have played 41.f4 to lock down the black pawns, but after 41.Kc5 it looks like Wesley So has a great chance to draw the game and claim his fourth U.S. Chess Championship title! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Rose Atwell gets the chance to play a brilliant queen sacrifice to win in the last round! If the queen is taking, White checkmates with the rook on h8. chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Fabiano Caruana wins his game on demand! If Wesley So loses (and he is much worse against Sam Sevian), we will have playoffs! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Congratulations to 16-year-old Rachael Li on winning the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in her first time playing it! She is the youngest rookie to win the event in history and earns $35,000 (before any bonuses!).

Alice Lee wins a must-win game with Black, but it likely won't be enough to reach playoffs this year as Rachael Li will at least make a draw! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Rachael Li is almost certainly this year's U.S. Women's Chess Champion as she reaches a dead-drawn opposite-color bishop endgame! Even if Alice Lee wins her game, she also needed Rachael to lose! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Anna Sargsyan goes for an all-out attack by sacrifcing two pawns, but the computer tells us there is no compensation whatsoever! If Alice Lee wins and Rachael Li loses, we will have playoffs! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Sam Sevian has some real pressure against Wesley So, which means tiebreaks are very much possible! chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Fabiano Caruana is conducting an attack against Awonder Liang! He must win this game but also needs Wesley So to lose his game to reach playoffs. chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

Anna Zatonskih repeats moves two times against Rachael Li, but not three—even though she has no chance of winning the tournament! She explains in the confessional booth: "I'm not in the most aggressive mood today, but I was just thinking that maybe repeating the position would be unfair to Alice Lee." A draw would have instantly given Rachael Li the title.

Robson thinks for half an hour before playing 12.c4 and the complications are just getting started! Oparin is one of the two players who can potentially catch Wesley So in the final round. chess.com/events/2026-us-che…

David Anton's win looks set to give 4th seed Novy Bor victory over 2nd seed Alkaloid! chess.com/events/2026-europe…

The final round of the U.S. Championships is about to begin! Will we crown Wesley So and Rachael Li today? chess.com/events/2026-us-che…