2025 U.S. Junior, Girls' Junior, and Senior Championship Preview

This year’s U.S. Junior Championship, Girls’ Junior Championship, and Senior Championship all kick off Tuesday, July 16, at the Saint Louis Chess Club (SLCC). Stay tuned to Chess Life Online for round-by-round coverage, featuring annotated games and highlights, of each round. Read on below to see what to expect from this year’s tournaments.

The youngest-ever GM claimed his first U.S. Junior Championship, and it might not be his last (courtesy Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Of the ten players competing for a spot in October's U.S. Championship, five veterans are joined by five newcomers in the U.S. Junior Championship. The 2023 champion, GM Abhimanyu Mishra, is back after last year's absence, and he is joined by GM Andy Woodward and last year's runner-up IM Justin Wang at the top of the ratings list. GMs Brewington Hardaway and Kirk Ghazarian round out the top five, with each competing in their second championship.

Of the newcomers, FM Sharvesh Deviprasath enters as the highest rated, followed by IM Evan Park, who qualified from the 2024 U.S. Junior Open. Wild card IM Nico Werner Chasin is joined by IMs Grayson Rorrer and Sandeep Sethuraman to make for a stacked field that includes four grandmasters and five international masters.

2024 Haring Champion Zoey Tang (Photo by Caroline King)

We are guaranteed a new champion in the U.S. Junior Girls' Championship, with defending champion IM Alice Lee not competing this year. But this does not mean we are guaranteed a first-time entrant into this fall's U.S. Women's Championship, as several of this year's field have previously competed in the October championship previously.

Interestingly enough, the top seed in this year's field, WGM Zoey Tang, is not one of them. This is the 17-year-old Oregonian's fourth consecutive year competing, but her first as the highest-rated player. FM Rose Atwell, FM Ruiyang Yan, and WGM Rochelle Wu join Tang at the top, and happen to be the three participants who have previously played in the U.S. Women's Championship.

WFM Rachael Li, WIM Iris Mou, Jasmine Su, FM Megan Paragua, WIM Chloe Gaw, and WFM Laurie Qiu make up the rest of the field. Qiu enters as the wild card and, along with Paragua, the youngest player in the competition. Qiu is also the only newcomer, with Su, Paragua, and Gaw all making debuts last year and Mou compting in her third championship.

Akopian at the 2024 U.S. Senior Championship (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Defending champion GM Vladimir Akopian enters this year's U.S. Senior Championship with a target on his chest, having won last year's event with a round to spare and an impressive 7/9 score. But 2021 champion GM Gregory Kaidanov and 2022 champion (and reigning World Senior Champion) GM Alexander Shabalov are each looking to add a second title to their collection, as well.

The rest of the field is a mixture of active players, such as GM Joel Benjamin, GM Alex Fishbein, and IM Timothy Taylor, alongside players coming back into the fold like GM Alexander Goldin, GM Larry Christiansen (playing his first event of the year), GM Max Dlugy (who is still a very active blitz and rapid player), and GM Igor Novikov (playing in his first event since the 2025 World Senior Team Championship in February).

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