Round 7: So Surges Into the Lead

GM Wesley So traveled an unlikely route into first place at the 2026 U.S. Championship in Round 7. A terrible position blossomed into a winning one in a span of 11 moves, allowing him to defeat GM Ray Robson and grab the lead with 5/7. Lurking a half-point back are GMs Fabiano Caruana and Andy Woodward, both of whom drew in Friday’s seventh round of play. So faces Woodward in today’s Round 8.

The Women’s Championship is becoming a sprint to the finish, with IM Alice Lee and WIM Rachael Li both winning to share first with 5½/7. Meanwhile GM Irina Krush continues to push forward, and after defeating IM Carissa Yip she stands a half-point back at 5/7.

Open Championship

The Open suffered an early shakeup when GM Awonder Liang, who was tied for first place after six rounds, lost the thread and stumbled into mate against GM Grigoriy Oparin. His position was already unpleasant, as our annotator WGM Zoey Tang notes, but the final error surprised both the commentators and, judging by his reaction, Liang himself.

With the leaderboard reset and the tension rising, it certainly looked like So would also lose, but GM Ray Robson let a tremendous advantage slip way in his habitual time pressure.

photo SLCC / Ootes

From move 32 to 43 his position went from winning to losing, and while the ensuing same-colored bishop ending was twisty, So cashed in his extra pawn for the full point and sole possession of first place.

GM Levon Aronian won the third decisive game in the Open, his advanced a-pawn proving too strong for GM Sam Shankland to overcome.

photo SLCC / C. Fuller

The ever-quotable Aronian discussed his struggles in the tournament thus far with the Saint Louis broadcast crew, describing his difficulties with the noon start time and how he gets to “support the young guys; they beat me and they’re happy!”

The remaining three games were drawn. GM Fabiano Caruana could not break GM Hans Niemann’s Nimzo-Indian, while Woodward and GM Sam Sevian shared the point after a complex battle. GMs Abhimanyu Mishra and Jeffery Xiong showed their knowledge of modern theory in the Tarrasch Defense and played to kings and pawns.

The key matchup in Saturday’s Round 8 has So taking White against Woodward, while Caruana plays Black against tailender Sevian. Other pairings include Shankland – Niemann, Xiong – Robson, Liang – Mishra, and Aronian – Oparin.

Women’s Championship

After her Round 6 win over Lee upended the table, Li continued her winning ways by defeating FM Megan Paragua.

photo SLCC / C. Fuller

Li’s attack on Paragua’s king started right out of the opening, and she converted it to a growing material advantage and eventual full point.

Lee rebounded after her Round 6 defeat, surviving a dodgy position against IM Rose Atwell and then crashing through on the queenside.

photo SLCC / C. Fuller

GM Irina Krush was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame last year, and she showed all of her experience in defeating the off-form IM Carissa Yip.

photo SLCC / Ootes

Krush met Yip’s King’s Indian Defense with the Petrosian Variation, taking the game into more technical waters. After Yip managed to generate typical KID complications. time-trouble took another victim: her 37. ... Qe1+, played with just seconds on her clock, was all Krush needed to gain a decisive advantage.

The fourth decisive game of Round 7 went to IM Anna Sargsyan, who took down Round 6 co-leader WGM Thalia Cervantes. Sargsyan recovered from opening difficulties to absorb White’s attack and then win with her powerful queenside pawns.

photo SLCC / C. Fuller

The game knocked Cervantes, who was a co-leader after six rounds, back to fourth place with 4½ points.

At the other end of the table, IM Nazi Paikidze stopped a four-game losing streak with a comeback win against IM Tatev Abrahamyan. And IM Anna Zatonskih and WGM Jennifer Yu played to a full-blooded draw in the Catalan.

Lee (playing White) faces off with Zatonskih in today’s Round 8, while Li will take the black pieces against Abrahamyan. Krush has Black against Yu. In other pairings, Paikidze has White against Sargsyan, Yip plays White against Cervantes, and Paragua has White against Atwell. The round starts at 12:00 Central.