Room for One More? Junior and Senior Championships Underway in St. Louis

Junior and Senior Championships Underway in St. Louis

Can we squeeze a few more boards in? The 2026 U.S. Junior and Senior Chess Championships began Tuesday, July 14, in St. Louis with its largest — and most inclusive — field yet.

(Grand)Master of Ceremonies Yasser Seirawan presiding over the drawing of lots in St. Louis. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Crystal Fuller)

The freshly renovated Saint Louis Chess Club (SLCC) has long hosted the U.S. Junior, Girls’ Junior, Girls’ Junior, and Senior tournaments. But, since its inception in 2023, the U.S. Senior Women’s Championship had taken place separately from the three other U.S. Invitationals.

In a banner year for U.S. Senior Women’s chess — including a gold medal at the FIDE World Senior Team Championships — 2026 marks the first year that the Senior Women’s event joins the Invitationals club.

Prizes — Photo courtesy SLCC/Crystal Fuller.

Spectators should be delighted to have five more games to follow each day. Indeed, in Round 1, the Senior Women’s event was the only section to treat fans to five decisive results.

Overall, 14 of the 20 games produced a winner. The 70% win rate is a nice reminder of why these events are one of the highlights of the American chess calendar, with a diverse array of the country’s best players across multiple generations competing over nine rounds for a combined $285,000 prize fund.

For the first three rounds, enjoy 2017 U.S. Women’s Champion WGM Sabina Foisor’s annotations and commentary below.

Senior Women’s Championship

We’ll start with the newcomers to St. Louis! The fighting spirit in the Senior Women’s tournament was exactly what we’ve come to expect over the past three years, but that doesn’t mean the winners were all predictable.

Our first game of the day comes from the tournament’s first clash of gold medalists. WFM Ivona Jezierska prevailed over WIM Beatriz Marinello in a sharp King’s Indian Defense.

As Sabina writes, “This was a very interesting, topsy-turvy game that could have gone either way. It reminds us that, when we're in an advantageous position, we must make sure we don't let things slide.”

The two-time defending champion, WFM Natalya Tsodikova, also got off to a winning start against Diana Lanni after the latter’s costly blunder:

Joining Jezierska and Tsodikova atop the standings are WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia, WFM Olga Sagalchik, and Jennifer Skidmore Smith.

Belakovskaia turned a complex rook-and-pawn endgame against WFM Chouchanik Airapetian into a clear win that will show up in a future Wednesday Workout.

Sagalchik was able to convert a rook-and-pawn endgame, as well, against WIM Alexey Root in another position with tactical value.

Finally, Skidmore Smith’s win over Catherine Dodson was a game so sharp it could fill up an entire tactics worksheet.

Diana Lanni, also in her first Senior Women's competition, studies her competitors' games. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Austin Fuller)

In Round 2, Jezierska – Smith is the only pairing between Tuesday’s winners. As many as four players could race out to 2/2 starts, creating some separation from the field.

Senior Championship

Defending champion Alex Fishbein catches up with some familiar foes at the opening ceremony. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Crystal Fuller)

Three players share the lead in the Senior Championship: GMs Vladimir Akopian and Joel Benjamin, and IM Stuart Rachels.

xt r1 seniors — Graphic courtesy of SLCC.

In our second game of the day, Rachels essayed a nice win as Black against GM Alexander Goldin, although the game was not without its chances for White:

Benjamin was able to bring home the full point after GM Gregory Kaidanov overestimated Benjamin’s attacking potential:

Readers will have to wait to see Akopian’s win against GM Igor Novikov. With the latter’s king exiled to the f7-square early on, it’s no surprising this game became so tactically rich.

Fishbein Kraai — Fishbein and Kraai catch up before the game. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Austin Fuller)

The defending champion, GM Alex Fishbein, found himself in a bit of hot water against GM Jesse Kraai, but the sensei was unable to find the right way forward:

Finally, the draw between GM Alexander Shabalov and Alexander Onischuk saw a repetition before move 30 in an equal position.

Shabalov and Smith — Friends and family catch up with the competitors before the day's games. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Austin Fuller)

Today, Benjamin – Akopian gives two of the co-leaders a chance to break away from the pack, while Rachels faces off against Kaidanov.

Girls’ Junior Championship

We were one board away from another section delivering five decisive results.

xt R1 girls' juniors — Graphic courtesy of SLCC.

But defending champion WGM Zoey Tang was unable to make anything out of her slight advantage against FM Megan Paragua:

Rachael Li made a statement in her opening round victory over Rose Atwell. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

IM-Elect Rose Atwell was a pre-tournament favorite, coming off a strong summer and her selection for the Olympiad team. But she’ll have to play catchup after WIM Rachael Li clawed back from a shaky, but double-edged, opening to score the upset.

Fei Su — Jasmine Su (R) won her game against newcomer Irene Fei to join the leaders. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Austin Fuller)

FM Jasmine Su’s win as Black against newcomer CM Irene Fei saw her join the leaders thanks to a better understanding of color complexes:

Mou and Wu — Iris Mou (L) catches up with a familiar opponent, Rochelle Wu, before winning their head-to-head encounter. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Austin Fuller)

WFM Aimee Yang and WGM Iris Mou also won their games — against WIM Chloe Gaw and WGM Rochelle Wu, respectively — to join the leaders. At age 12, Yang is already making the most of her Girls’ Junior debut.

Today, Yang has a chance for a major upset against Paragua, while Tang will try to win as Black against Mou. The Su – Atwell matchup is also important for the standings.

Junior Championship

The Junior Championship was the least “bloody” of all the sections, but not for lack of trying. IM Evan Park and IM Bach Ngo are the two leaders, which is particularly impressive considering the field includes five GMs.

xt R1 juniors — Graphic courtesy of SLCC.

Bach Ngo is competing in his first Junior Championship, but already enjoys a share of the lead. (Photos courtesy SLCC/Crystal Fuller and SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Bach Ngo is competing in his first Junior Championship, but already enjoys a share of the lead. (Photos courtesy SLCC/Crystal Fuller and SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Ngo also made the most of his St. Louis debut with a win over GM Nico Chasin:

Park won a complex minor piece endgame against IM Alice Lee. Lee is making her debut in the Junior Championship after previously competing in several iterations of the Girls’ Junior.

Finally, IM Tanitoluwa Adewumi had some chances against former champion GM Abhimanyu Mishra, but the latter’s defense proved too stout:

In the other two games, GM-Elect Liam Putnam drew GM Andy Woodward and GM Kirk Ghazarian drew GM Brewington Hardaway in relatively balanced games.

Today, Park and Ngo will each have their early leads challenged. Park is Black against Hardaway, and Ngo is Black against Woodward. It’s early, but this seems like the most wide-open tournament of the bunch!

Quick Links

Official Website

All Coverage on Chess Life Online

Live Games on Chess.com

Follow live commentary from SLCC on Twitch or YouTube