Shared Leaders in Both Sections After Round 5 at the U.S. Championships

After the rest day, players came recharged — and Round 5 of the 2025 U.S. and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships brought no shortage of drama and decisive results.

The Confessional Booth Effect

It might be pure coincidence — or perhaps a bit of St. Louis magic — but every player who stepped into the confessional booth in Round 5 ended up winning their game. GM Hans Niemann, IM Carissa Yip, GM Irina Krush, and IM Alice Lee all took a few moments mid-battle to share their thoughts, predictions, or even off-topic frustrations — such as Carissa’s seasonal “sweater drama” — and later walked away with full points.

Yip's not-Christmas sweater was the subject of speculation before Round 5. (Photos courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Lee Yip — Yip's not-Christmas sweater was the subject of speculation before Round 5. (Photos courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Open Championship

The round began with an ultra-short draw between GMs Wesley So and Levon Aronian, lasting only about 15 minutes. Whether So’s strategy of conserving energy with the white pieces will pay off remains to be seen. But, today, the decision took him from sole leader to part of a three-way tie for first.

GM Fabiano Caruana surprised GM Dariusz Świercz with the Caro-Kann Defense. Caruana first neutralized White’s initiative, then capitalized when Świercz fell into severe time pressure and began to err. Transforming his kingside activity into a powerful attacking setup, Caruana exchanged two rooks for a queen and a pawn and converted the advantage with surgical precision — a masterclass from the World No. 3.

GM Hans Niemann won an exciting game against GM Abhimanyu Mishra that was full of creative ideas and bold sacrifices. Later, as the game transitioned into an endgame battle, Hans gradually outplayed his opponent in a high-quality struggle that evolved into a model endgame.

The win was more than just another point — it ended Mishra’s remarkable 71-game unbeaten streak, the longest active run among top U.S. players.

Rising star GM Andy Woodward continued his impressive debut by defeating GM Samuel Sevian in a sharp English Opening. After Sevian’s misstep in the middlegame, Woodward found a clean tactical sequence to take full control and claim his first win of the event.

Andy Woodward's win improved the 15-year-old to a 2/5 score in his U.S. Championship debut (Photo courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

GM Ray Robson fought for an advantage out of the opening against GM Sam Shankland, but a few inaccuracies left him with only a balanced position. Later, it was Shankland who began pressing for more, yet despite his efforts, the game eventually ended in a draw.

Awonder Liang strikes a pose during the early phase of his lengthy theoretical draw against Grigoriy Oparin (Photo courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Meanwhile, GMs Awonder Liang and Grigoriy Oparin split the point after a marathon rook-and-bishop-versus-rook endgame, where Oparin defended the theoretical draw with flawless accuracy.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Today, Caruana – So could set the pace for the second half of the tournament, and Niemann takes the black pieces against Aronian.

U.S. Women’s Championship

IM Carissa Yip scored her first win of the tournament, and it was a crucial one, taking down the tournament leader IM Anna Sargsyan.

Before the game, the debate was whether it was a Christmas sweater or an Autumn sweater. Clearly, it's a lucky sweater. (Photo courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Playing a sharp Kalashnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defense, Sargsyan’s early … f7-f5 backfired, allowing Carissa to unleash her trademark attacking style. With crisp calculation and positional control, Yip dominated throughout, re-entering contention for the title.

IM Tatev Abrahamyan prepared an active … g7-g5 push in her beloved French Defense, putting WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan under early pressure.

Few things are scarier than Tatev Abrahamyan's French Defense (Photo courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Pourkashiyan, who defeated Yip in the first round before suffering three consecutive losses, continued with passive play. Tatev’s thematic ... d5-d4 breakthrough opened the center and paved the way for a decisive kingside attack, securing her a well-earned victory.

WGM Jennifer Yu and FM Rose Atwell battled for 94 moves in one of the most intense games of the day. Rose enjoyed a clear positional edge in the middlegame, but one inaccurate move reversed the tide. Jennifer then pressed her advantage to a winning position — only to miss several clean finishes in time trouble, allowing Rose to save the game with perpetual check in a tricky rook endgame.

Jennifer Yu (L) had winning chances, but Rose Atwell's defense was up to the task. (Photos courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

Meanwhile, IM Alice Lee punished IM Nazi Paikidze’s early inaccuracies in a London setup with precise queenside play and a clinical finish — another confident performance from the teenage star.

WGM Thalia Cervantes drew against IM Anna Zatonskih after an even strategic battle where neither side could make progress.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Today, leaders Lee and Sargsyan both have the white pieces, against Cervantes and Paikidze, respectively, and Krush – Yip should deliver some explosive chess.

Irina Krush, pictured here after her fifth-round win over Megan Paragua, will have a chance for revenge against Carissa Yip after losing their FIDE Women's World Cup match earlier this year (Photo courtesy SLCC/Lennart Ootes)

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