2026 U.S. Chess Championship: So and Liang Lead After Two Rounds in St. Louis
The 2026 U.S. Chess Championship and U.S. Women's Championship are underway at the Saint Louis Chess Club, bringing together 12-player fields in each event for an 11-round classical round robin. After the opening weekend, Wesley So and Awonder Liang have begun with back-to-back wins in the Open, while Megan Paragua and Thalia Cervantes lead the Women's Championship with perfect scores. The final rounds continue through late October, with live games and a full calendar of side events in St. Louis.
The field, format and prize fund
The Open Championship features GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Wesley So and GM Levon Aronian among the leading names, with the Women's Championship featuring GM Carissa Yip, IM Alice Lee and GM Irina Krush. Both events use a single round-robin format with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move from move one. The combined prize fund is $402,000, while the Saint Louis Chess Club has described the total as more than $400,000. For a different kind of probability reference, the roulette odds calculator compares payouts and house edge across European, American and triple-zero wheels.
Results through two rounds
In round one, Wesley So defeated Sam Shankland on his 33rd birthday, Jeffery Xiong beat Sam Sevian, and Awonder Liang took down Hans Niemann. The Women's Championship produced four decisive games, including a queen drop by Irina Krush in a better position that allowed Rachael Li to win; Anna Zatonskih, Thalia Cervantes and Megan Paragua also started with wins. In round two, So beat Xiong and Liang beat Sevian to stay perfect, while Fabiano Caruana earned his first win by beating Grigoriy Oparin after 73 moves and sits a half-point behind the leaders. On the Women's side, Paragua defeated Carissa Yip, Cervantes defeated Li, Alice Lee beat Jennifer Yu, Anna Sargsyan beat Tatev Abrahamyan and Krush bounced back against Rose Atwell; the only draw was Nazi Paikidze versus Anna Zatonskih. Paragua and Cervantes lead with 2/2.
How to follow the live games
Each round begins at 1 p.m. ET / 19:00 CEST / 10:30 p.m. IST. Live games and standings are available through Chess.com's championship coverage, and the Saint Louis Chess Club broadcasts commentary on its YouTube and Twitch channels. Round 3 was scheduled for Sunday, October 11, with the same 1 p.m. ET start, and subsequent rounds continue through the published schedule, which includes two rest days over 13 calendar days.
Practical notes for visitors
The Saint Louis Chess Club is located at 4663 Maryland Avenue in St. Louis. If you are planning to spend time in the city between rounds, keno payout tables can help you check winning combinations for 1–10 spots before you play. The Saint Louis Chess Conference also runs October 22-24 at Chase Park Plaza and opens with the closing ceremony of the championships; Garry Kasparov will deliver a keynote, and student registrations are discounted by 60%.
Casino economics and other off-board reading
For broader casino industry economics and policy, US Casino Journal publishes explanatory reporting on how casinos compile revenue and measure economic impact. No public data from the organizers ties the chess events to hotel or casino occupancy changes, but the publication is a useful starting point for understanding the gaming landscape in the United States.
What to watch in the coming rounds
The Open remains wide open with So and Liang at 2/2 and Caruana half a point back; the next few rounds will determine whether the leaders can separate or the field bunches. In the Women's Championship, the bottom two seeds have set the early pace, but past champions such as Krush and Yip are still in contention. Round 3 and the games that follow will continue to shape the standings, with live coverage in the afternoon ET each round day. Check the official schedule before traveling, because round dates and rest days can shift if tiebreaks are required.