Sole Leader After Round Seven
Wesley So jumped into the sole lead at the 2026 U.S. Chess Championships after a turnaround win over Robson in round seven.2 So fought back from a worse position to defeat Robson.10
A sole leader is the one player ahead of everyone else in the standings. So took that spot with a tough win over Robson.2 Wesley So also stayed the only unbeaten player, on five points.10
Key Points at a Glance
- So jumped into sole lead after round seven.2
- In the women's section, Rachael Li and Alice Lee shared the lead on 5.5 points.10
- By round nine, Li was alone in front in the women's championship.
- After round 10, So led on 7/10 and Li led Lee by a point.11
The Open Section Chase
Fabiano Caruana and Andy Woodward both drew their games and followed So on 4.5 points.10 Awonder Liang lost to Grigoriy Oparin in just 27 moves after uncharacteristic tactical oversights.10
The round once again produced five decisive games, meaning five games had a winner.10 Fatigue appeared to be a major factor in the tactical mistakes as the event approached its final leg.10
Women's Section Race
Rachael Li and Alice Lee shared the women's lead on 5.5 points after confident victories.10 Irina Krush won a topsy-turvy game against Carissa Yip and jumped into sole second with five points.10
Thalia Cervantes overextended the position and lost to Anna Sargsyan while trying to win.10
How the Race Developed Later
Sixteen-year-old Rachael Li took the sole lead of the women's championship by defeating Nazi Paikidze in round nine. Li then had 7/9 points, a full point ahead of Alice Lee and Irina Krush, who shared second place on 6/9.
Round 10 in Saint Louis on Tuesday left both sections a single round from the finish.11 In the open section, So drew Hans Niemann in under an hour and led on 7/10, a full point clear of Fabiano Caruana and Grigoriy Oparin.11
Inside the Quick Draw
So and Niemann played a theoretical Nimzo-Indian, a named chess opening with well-studied lines, that went quickly into an endgame after mass trades.11 Mass trades means both sides swap many pieces, and an endgame is the late stage with few pieces left. So described the plan for the closing stretch as removing games from the tournament.11
The chasers could not close the gap.11 Caruana tried the Scandinavian Defense as Black against Jeffery Xiong in search of a win.11 Oparin drew Abhimanyu Mishra.11
In the women's section, rookie Rachael Li beat Rose Atwell and led Alice Lee by a point.11 Lee won too and stayed alive.11
The Trend Line
So went from five points after round seven to 7/10 after round 10.10,11 Li went from 5.5 points after round seven to 7/9 after round nine.10
What to Watch Next
Both leaders carried one-point leads into the last round.11 So's was over Caruana and Oparin, and Li's was over Lee.11 The standings set up a simple question: could the chasers make up a full point in the open section and a single point in the women's?11
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