Saint Louis to host America’s chess elite
Press release by the Saint Louis Chess Club
The nation’s top chess players are set to compete in America’s most prestigious events – the 2025 US Chess Championship and the 2025 US Women’s Chess Championship. Hosted by the newly expanded Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC), each field will feature 12 elite players competing over the board from Oct. 12–24 for a total prize fund of more than $400,000.
“The US Championship and US Women’s Championship represent the pinnacle of American chess, featuring our nation’s very best players in competition”, said Grandmaster (GM) Yasser Seirawan, chief commentator and spokesperson for STLCC. “With the return of tournament play at the newly renovated STLCC, new Hall of Fame inductees and an entire month of chess and cultural events, this year will be truly historic for Saint Louis and the game”.
About the US Championship
Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.
The U.S. Championship is one of the strongest national championships in the world by average rating. First held in 1845, it has crowned legends of the game, including the late World Champion Robert James “Bobby” Fischer, four-time US champion Yasser Seirawan, and current world number two Hikaru Nakamura. Since 2009, the Saint Louis Chess Club has proudly hosted every edition of the event, awarding millions in prizes and cementing its role as the premier destination for American chess.
The 2025 field will once again bring together the nation’s strongest players, including defending and four-time champion GM Fabiano Caruana, three-time champion GM Wesley So, and a slate of rising stars ready to test their skills against America’s best.
| No. | Title | First | Last | Location | Invitational Rating* | Qualification Method |
| 1 | GM | Fabiano | Caruana | Saint Louis, MO | 2825 | 2024 U.S. Champion |
| 2 | GM | Levon | Aronian | Saint Louis, MO | 2786 | Rating |
| 3 | GM | Wesley | So | Excelsior, MN | 2783 | Rating |
| 4 | GM | Hans | Niemann | Weston, CT | 2777 | Rating |
| 5 | GM | Ray | Robson | Saint Louis, MO | 2730 | Rating |
| 6 | GM | Awonder | Liang | Madison, WI | 2727 | Rating |
| 7 | GM | Sam | Sevian | Holden, MA | 2725 | Rating |
| 8 | GM | Sam | Shankland | Walnut Creek, CA | 2707 | Rating |
| 9 | GM | Grigoriy | Oparin | Columbia, MO | 2698 | Rating |
| 10 | GM | Abhimanyu | Mishra | Englishtown, NJ | 2657 | Wildcard |
| 11 | GM | Andy | Woodward | McKinney, TX | 2611 | 2025 U.S. Junior Champion |
| 12 | GM | Dariusz | Swiercz | Saint Louis, MO | 2595 | 2025 U.S. Open Champion |
*Invitational ratings are taken from the US Chess July Invitational Ratings List
Wesley So won the national championship three times already, in 2017, 2020 and 2021 | Photo: Lenart Ootes
About the US Women’s Championship
The US Women’s Championship remains the premier showcase for America’s top female players. Since first being hosted in Saint Louis in 2009, the event has elevated women’s chess in the United States
The 2025 edition will feature a competitive field led by the highest-rated American player, defending and three-time champion International Master (IM) Carissa Yip, chess prodigy IM Alice Lee, and eight-time champion GM Irina Krush.
| No. | Title | First | Last | Location | Invitational Rating* | Qualification Method |
| 1 | IM | Carissa | Yip | Saint Louis, MO | 2485 | 2024 U.S. Women’s Champion |
| 2 | IM | Alice | Lee | North Oaks, MN | 2444 | Rating |
| 3 | GM | Irina | Krush | Brooklyn, NY | 2421 | Rating |
| 4 | IM | Anna | Sargsyan | Saint Louis, MO | 2402 | Rating |
| 5 | IM | Tatev | Abrahamyan | Saint Louis, MO | 2385 | Rating |
| 6 | IM | Anna | Zatonskih | Bochum, Germany | 2346 | Rating |
| 7 | IM | Nazi | Paikidze | Las Vegas, NV | 2345 | Rating |
| 8 | WGM | Atousa | Pourkashiyan | Sunrise, FL | 2330 | Rating |
| 9 | WGM | Thalia | Cervantes | Saint Louis, MO | 2324 | Rating |
| 10 | WGM | Jennifer | Yu | Ashburn, VA | 2322 | Rating |
| 11 | FM | Rose | Atwell | Valencia, CA | 2310 | Rating |
| 12 | FM | Megan | Paragua | New York, NY | 2276 | Wildcard |
* Invitational ratings are taken from the US Chess July Invitational Ratings List
15-year-old Alice Lee, one of the biggest rising stars in US chess | Photo: Lennart Ootes
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
How to watch the US and US Women’s Championships
The 2025 US Championship and US Women’s Championship will consist of 11 rounds of classical chess in a round-robin format and will be streamed live daily at 12:20 p.m. CT. Coverage will feature play-by-play and analysis from the world-renowned commentary team of GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Katerina Nemcova. Fans can follow all of the action live on STLCC’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.
Chess legends to be inducted into US and World Chess Halls of Fame
The month of October will not only crown new national champions but also celebrate the induction of the 2025 US Chess Hall of Fame honourees and the newest class of World Chess Hall of Fame inductees. National Master Bruce Pandolfini and Grandmaster Irina Krush will be inducted into the US Hall of Fame, and Grandmasters Pia Cramling, Vlastimil Hort and Jan Timman will be inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.
October Championships bookended by legendary Clutch Chess events
Two landmark Clutch Chess events will frame the US Championships with both history and high-stakes excitement. The festivities kick off with Clutch Chess: The Legends (Oct. 7–11), where former world champions Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand face off in a $144,000 Chess960 exhibition match, marking the first event in the Club’s enhanced facility.
The month concludes with Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown (Oct. 25–30), featuring world number one Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in an 18-game rapid double round-robin competition for $412,000 in prizes, including daily win bonuses and a Champion’s Jackpot – bookending the US Championships with both historic significance and the highest-level contemporary competition.
Visit saintlouischessclub.org or follow the Saint Louis Chess Club social channels for more information on event details and ticket information.
