Caruana looking to get fourth title in a row
Fabiano Caruana started his campaign in emphatic style, defeating Grigoriy Oparin in just 27 moves. The defending champion is aiming to win four consecutive US titles. His first-round pairing was an awkward one, as Oparin has long served as his second. Caruana later noted that facing a close friend and collaborator was uncomfortable but ultimately unavoidable.
The trickiest part of playing a long-time teammate is often the opening, but Caruana managed to surprise Oparin as early as move six with the unexpected 6.bxc3 out of a Nimzo-Indian Defence.
From there, he established a strong centre and advanced his kingside pawns, creating a powerful attack. A timely sacrifice brought the game to a swift conclusion, giving Caruana a perfect start in his quest for a historic fourth straight national title.
23.Rxg6+ fxg6 24.Qxg6+ Kh8 25.Rg1, and there is no satisfactory defece against the threats along the g-file: 25…Bg4 26.Rxg4 Rf7 27.Bg3 and Black resigned.
White is ready to play Bg3-e5+, with decisive effect.
Grigoriy Oparin has often worked as Fabiano Caruana’s second | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The day’s other decisive result in the open section came from Levon Aronian, who avenged his recent loss to 15-year-old Andy Woodward at the FIDE Grand Swiss. Aronian identified Woodward’s 22.Bd1 as the turning point of the game, a decision he described as unfortunate from his young opponent’s perspective.
By that stage, Woodward was already almost an hour behind on the clock, and had only seconds remaining when the critical mistake came.
Andy Woodward | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The remaining encounters were drawn, though several contained notable moments. The clash between Sam Sevian and Sam Shankland was largely uneventful, while the game between Wesley So and Hans Niemann followed a line previously seen in a blitz encounter between So and Alireza Firouzja at Norway Chess. Niemann later explained that So may not have remembered the line fully, allowing the position to simplify quickly into a draw.
The So–Niemann game also stood out for a rather unusual reason: sunlight from a skylight in the newly renovated Saint Louis Chess Club shone directly into the players’ eyes. Chief Arbiter Chris Bird intervened, holding an umbrella over the board to block the glare so that play could continue.
Chief arbiter Chris Bird holding an umbrella indoors! | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Elsewhere, Dariusz Swiercz obtained an extra pawn against Ray Robson, but the 71-move game eventually ended with bare kings. Awonder Liang, who recently crossed the 2700 rating mark, achieved a promising position against Abhimanyu Mishra, but the 15-year-old defended tenaciously to extend his unbeaten run in classical chess to 68 games.
Woodward 0-1 Aronian
Commentary by GM Karsten Müller
Standings after round 1
All games
Three decisive results in the women’s section
The women’s section saw even more fighting play, with three decisive results out of six games. Irina Krush, who had been inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame on the eve of the tournament, demonstrated her enduring strength with a commanding win over 16-year-old Alice Lee, the second-highest-rated player in the field.
Krush’s performance was highlighted by the spectacular 19.e4, a knight sacrifice that tore open the position around Lee’s king.
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She later explained that retreating would have allowed her opponent counterplay and that she chose the sacrifice in keeping with the basic principles of active development. Although Lee held a time advantage at one point, she was given no chances thereafter.
Irina Krush | Photo: Lennart Ootes
It was also a memorable day for Atousa Pourkashiyan, who defeated Carissa Yip, the 22-year-old aiming for her fourth title in five years. Pourkashiyan, who is playing while pregnant, said afterwards that she felt happy with the result but acknowledged that the game had been highly complicated. She pointed to 36…f4 as the moment she realised she had the upper hand.
Although the struggle continued for some time, Pourkashiyan maintained control until the end.
Atousa Pourkashiyan | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The third win of the day came from Anna Sargsyan, making her debut at the Championship. Originally from Armenia and now studying at Webster University, she recently transferred to the United States Chess Federation. She admitted that when she first arrived, she had intended to retire from competitive chess, but soon found herself unable to resist entering tournaments. Against 16-year-old Josiah Atwell, she took advantage of a tactical error to launch a decisive attack beginning, eventually breaking through to victory.
The remaining three games were all closely contested and might easily have been decisive. Two-time champion Nazi Paikidze let her advantage slip against Thalia Cervantes Landeiro, while 12-year-old Megan Althea Paragua displayed impressive defensive skill to hold a draw against Tatev Abrahamyan. Another two-time champion, Jennifer Yu, was pushed to the limit by four-time winner Anna Zatonskih, but managed to escape with a draw after a marathon 100-move game.
Anna Sargsyan | Photo: Lennart Ootes
