The 2025 edition of the United States Chess Championship took place at the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri from October 11 to October 25, 2025. As with every United States Chess Championship tournament since 2014, it was a round-robin tournament. Twelve players were invited to compete. Besides the reigning US champion, these included the winners of the US Open Chess Championship and the US Junior Championship. The remaining players were chosen by highest invitational rating, or were selected by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) as wildcards.
The twelve qualifiers were Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Levon Aronian, Awonder Liang, Samuel Sevian, Ray Robson, Grigoriy Oparin, Andy Woodward, Abhimanyu Mishra, Sam Shankland and Dariusz Świercz, all of whom are grandmasters.
Fabiano Caruana won the tournament, finishing half a point ahead of runner-up Wesley So.
Participants All statistics are as of October 2025 in FIDE ratings. +ParticipantsPlayerAgeRatingWorld rankingQualification method Fabiano Caruana33278932024 Champion Wesley So3127568Rating Hans Niemann22273815Rating Levon Aronian42272223Rating Awonder Liang22271030Rating Samuel Sevian24269833Rating Ray Robson30266452Rating Grigoriy Oparin28266158Rating Sam Shankland34265463Rating Abhimanyu Mishra16265168Wildcard Andy Woodward1525901872025 US Junior Champion Dariusz Świercz3125772292025 US Open Champion
Organization The tournament was a twelve-player, round-robin tournament, meaning there were 11 rounds with each player facing the others once. The tournament winner will become the United States Chess Champion.
Regulations
The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game. There is a 30-second increment starting on move one. Players are not allowed to draw by agreement. The event is a 12-player round-robin, where every player plays once against every other player on the field. Players get 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The player with the most points at the end of the last round wins the event.
Tie breaks While there was no tie for first place, such a situation would have been addressed as follows:
If two players tie for first a two-game 15+10 rapid match will take place. If there remains a tie, a single armageddon game will occur.
If three or four players tie for first a single round-robin in the 15+10 rapid time control will take place
If two players remain tied, they contest a two-game 5+2 blitz match. If the tie persists, an armageddon game decides the winner.
If three or more players remain tied, they contest a 5+2 round-robin.
If more than four players tie for first players will contest a 5+2 round-robin. If the round-robin ends in a tie, a series of armageddon games decide the winner.
Prize money The event featured a $250,000 prize fund, distributed as follows: +PlaceCash prize (USD)1st$55,000 (+$7,000 winner bonus)2nd$43,0003rd$35,0004th$25,0005th$20,0006th$14,0007th$11,0008th$10,0009th$9,00010th$8,00011th$7,00012th$6,000
Results Standings Fabiano Caruana won the tournament with a score of 8/11. #PlayerRating123456789101112Points1 Fabiano Caruana2789½½½1½1½½11182 Wesley So2756½½½½1½½111½7.53 Levon Aronian2722½½½1½½½1½½6.54 Samuel Sevian2698½½½101½½½½½65 Hans Niemann27380½½00½1½1½15.56 Andy Woodward2590½00110½½½1½5.57 Grigoriy Oparin26610½½0½1½½½½½58 Awonder Liang2710½½½½0½½1½0½59 Ray Robson2664½0½½½½½0½½½4.510 Sam Shankland2654000½0½½½½114.511 Dariusz Świercz257700½½½0½1½0½412 Abhimanyu Mishra26520½½½0½½½½0½4
References