2025 United States Chess Championship
| US Chess Championships 2025 | |
|---|---|
Fabiano Caruana, the defending champion, secured his fourth consecutive title at the 2025 Championships | |
| Venue | Saint Louis Chess Club |
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Dates | 11–25 October 2025 |
| Competitors | 12 |
| Winning score | 8 points out of 11 |
| Total prize money | $250,000 |
| Champion | |
| Fabiano Caruana | |
The 2025 edition of the United States Chess Championship took place at the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri from 11 October to 25 October 2025. As with every United States Chess Championship tournament since 2014, it was a round-robin tournament.[1] Twelve players were invited to compete. Besides the reigning US champion, these included the winners of the US Open Chess Championship and the US Junior Championship. The remaining players were chosen by highest invitational rating, or were selected by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) as wildcards.
The twelve qualifiers were Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Levon Aronian, Awonder Liang, Samuel Sevian, Ray Robson, Grigoriy Oparin, Andy Woodward, Abhimanyu Mishra, Sam Shankland and Dariusz Świercz, all of whom are grandmasters.
Fabiano Caruana won the tournament, finishing half a point ahead of runner-up Wesley So.
Participants
All statistics are as of October 2025 in FIDE ratings.
| Player | Age | Rating | World ranking | Qualification method[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabiano Caruana | 33 | 2789 | 3 | 2024 Champion |
| Wesley So | 31 | 2756 | 8 | Rating |
| Hans Niemann | 22 | 2738 | 15 | Rating |
| Levon Aronian | 42 | 2722 | 23 | Rating |
| Awonder Liang | 22 | 2710 | 30 | Rating |
| Samuel Sevian | 24 | 2698 | 33 | Rating |
| Ray Robson | 30 | 2664 | 52 | Rating |
| Grigoriy Oparin | 28 | 2661 | 58 | Rating |
| Sam Shankland | 34 | 2654 | 63 | Rating |
| Abhimanyu Mishra | 16 | 2651 | 68 | Wildcard |
| Andy Woodward | 15 | 2590 | 187 | 2025 US Junior Champion |
| Dariusz Świercz | 31 | 2577 | 229 | 2025 US Open Champion |
Organization
The tournament was a twelve-player, round-robin tournament, meaning there were 11 rounds with each player facing the others once. The tournament winner will become the United States Chess Champion.
Regulations
- The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game. There is a 30-second increment starting on move one.
- Players are not allowed to draw by agreement.
- The event is a 12-player round-robin, where every player plays once against every other player on the field.
- Players get 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.
- The player with the most points at the end of the last round wins the event.
Tie breaks
While there was no tie for first place, such a situation would have been addressed as follows:
If two players tie for first a two-game 15+10 rapid match will take place. If there remains a tie, a single armageddon game will occur.
If three or four players tie for first a single round-robin in the 15+10 rapid time control will take place
If two players remain tied, they contest a two-game 5+2 blitz match. If the tie persists, an armageddon game decides the winner.
If three or more players remain tied, they contest a 5+2 round-robin.
If more than four players tie for first players will contest a 5+2 round-robin. If the round-robin ends in a tie, a series of armageddon games decide the winner.[3]
Prize money
The event featured a $250,000 prize fund, distributed as follows:[1]
| Place | Cash prize (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1st | $55,000 (+$7,000 winner bonus) |
| 2nd | $43,000 |
| 3rd | $35,000 |
| 4th | $25,000 |
| 5th | $20,000 |
| 6th | $14,000 |
| 7th | $11,000 |
| 8th | $10,000 |
| 9th | $9,000 |
| 10th | $8,000 |
| 11th | $7,000 |
| 12th | $6,000 |
Results
Standings
Fabiano Caruana won the tournament with a score of 8/11.
| # | Player | Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano Caruana | 2789 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 2 | Wesley So | 2756 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 7.5 | |
| 3 | Levon Aronian | 2722 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 6.5 | ||
| 4 | Samuel Sevian | 2698 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 6 | |
| 5 | Hans Niemann | 2738 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | |
| 6 | Andy Woodward | 2590 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | |
| 7 | Grigoriy Oparin | 2661 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5 | |
| 8 | Awonder Liang | 2710 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 5 | |
| 9 | Ray Robson | 2664 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4.5 | |
| 10 | Sam Shankland | 2654 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | |
| 11 | Dariusz Świercz | 2577 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 4 | |
| 12 | Abhimanyu Mishra | 2652 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 4 |
References
- ^ a b c "2025 U.S. Chess Championships". uschesschamps.com. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
- ^ "Fields set for 2025 US Chess Championships". ChessBase.com. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
- ^ "2025 U.S. & U.S. Women's Championships Regulations & Schedule of Events" (PDF). saintlouischessclub.org. Retrieved 2025-10-03.