Champions Bracket Finals Set in American Cup

Editor’s note: Today, we continue our reporting on the American Cup with more annotated games and highlights from GM Luka Budisavljevic. Come back on Friday for a recap of the fifth and sixth day of play.

Plus: follow the fifth day of action live beginning at 12 CDT courtesy of SLCC on Twitch and YouTube, featuring commentary from GMs Yasser Seirawan and Christian Chirila along with IM Eric Rosen and WGM Katerina Nemcova.

It wouldn’t be a final four without at least one upset. The Champions Bracket finals are set in both sections of this year’s American Cup, with play beginning at 12:00 CDT today, and while three of the top overall seeds have made it, there is one surprise in the Women’s section.

Tatev Abrahamyan in the World Chess Hall of Fame after defeating Carissa Yip in the blitz playoffs

Tatev Abrahamyan defeated Carissa Yip 3–1 in their Champions semi-final match, and now faces Alice Lee (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Fifth-seeded WGM Tatev Abrahamyan relegated IM Carissa Yip to the Elimination Bracket with a 3–1 victory over the top seed in a match that featured the sort of fireworks one would expect from these two sharp players. On Monday, Yip continued her Exchange sacrifice play from her first match, but Abrahamyan was up for the task:

Carissa seems to enjoy playing a la Petrosian and sacrificing her exchange on the f3/f6 square, but this time it seems scary. Stay tuned for the rest of the game ->https://t.co/yrDEwA8KDl #americancup @chess24com pic.twitter.com/miVVTas8QB
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) March 17, 2025

But just when it looked like Abrahamyan was in position to put Yip away, needing only a draw with the white pieces, Yip fired back:

With momentum on her side, Yip had to be considered the favorite in the blitz playoff. While the first game gave Yip good attacking chances, astute defense from Abrahamyan saw her fight back:

From there, Abrahamyan managed to win the second blitz game without much issue, clinching the match.

Abrahamyan and Yip shake hands after Yip's victory in the second classical game — Photos courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC

Abrahamyan was all smiles after defeating Carissa Yip in their first classical game — Photos courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC

Abrahamyan will face IM Alice Lee, who defeated GM Irina Krush 1½–½ thanks to a tremendous comeback victory on Monday.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Alice Lee at the board during her second classical game against Irina Krush

After winning last year’s American Cup, Lee can add another classical victory over Krush to her increasingly impressive resume. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

In the Open section, it will be top-seeded GM Hikaru Nakamura against second-seeded GM Fabiano Caruana in the Champions Final. While a match between two of the four currently highest-rated players in the world is hardly unexpected, neither match felt like light work.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Nakamura defeated GM Leinier Dominguez 1½–½ in a match many expected to reach the playoff without much fanfare. Instead, Nakamura dealt Dominguez his first classical loss with the white pieces in two years. The last player to defeat Dominguez with the black pieces? Nakamura! Where? The American Cup! Behold, our Game of the Day, with annotations by GM Luka Budisavljevic:

Nakamura continued to make waves even after his game ended, dropping several typically honest bombs during his post-game interview:

"Getting into the Candidates is very tough, winning the Candidates is basically a lottery. I don't think anybody's going to prioritize that over playing Freestyle," says Nakamura about the Candidates Tournament. #AmericanCup pic.twitter.com/9aOmXYYDYP
— chess24 (@chess24com) March 18, 2025

After two hard-fought draws in the classical portion, Caruana needed two sets of blitz games to finally put away GM Levon Aronian 3½–2½ in a tense match that saw Aronian continuously find chances to stay alive.

Aronian drinking water between games of his playoff match against Caruana, who can be seen in the background looking towards Aronian

Aronian didn't make it easy, but Caruana prevailed in the playoffs (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Their third blitz game is a nice encapsulation of the match:

While all eyes today will be on the beginning of the Champions Finals, this is still a double elimination event. The last player standing in the Elimination Bracket will face the loser of the Champions Final for a right to rematch the Champions Final winner in the Grand Final.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Today, Aronian will face GM Wesley So, who eliminated GM Abhimanyu Mishra in their match on Monday. Dominguez will face GM Sam Sevian, who knocked out GM Ray Robson thanks to a 29-move masterpiece on Monday.

Sam Sevian eliminates Ray Robson with checkmate on the board, in 29 moves!https://t.co/EcUWzXwfmk #TheAmericanCup pic.twitter.com/hjVycDOJZf
— chess24 (@chess24com) March 17, 2025

In the Women’s, Krush will face IM Anna Zatonskih, who knocked out WGM Thalia Cervantes on Monday. Yip will face IM Nazi Paikidze, who defeated WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan in their match.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

The tournament continues through Sunday, March 23, with the American Cup Blitz to take place on the 24th. The full schedule can be found here, and all games can be found on Chess.com. Live commentary courtesy of SLCC can be found on Twitch and YouTube, featuring commentary from GMs Yasser Seirawan and Christian Chirila along with IM Eric Rosen and WGM Katerina Nemcova.