The US Chess Championship is the annual round-robin tournament that determines the United States national chess champion. The 2026 edition will be held in Saint Louis from October 15 to 30, with 12 players in the open section and 12 in the women’s section, both running concurrently at the Saint Louis Chess Club.
The tournament has been held annually since 1845 in various formats, making it one of the oldest continuous chess championships in the world. The modern Saint Louis era began in 2009 when the Sinquefield-funded Saint Louis Chess Club assumed organisational responsibility. Recent winners include Fabiano Caruana (multiple), Wesley So (2017, 2020, 2021, 2023), Hikaru Nakamura (multiple), and Sam Shankland (2018).
In the women’s section, Irina Krush has won the title nine times (a US record), with recent victories also for Carissa Yip and Tatev Abrahamyan.
Format: 11 rounds at classical time control (90+30+30s increment). The field is selected by US Chess Federation rating plus a wildcard or two from the previous year’s standings. The two top-finishing women’s players earn qualification to the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix; the top two-three open finishers earn US Championship-cycle benefits.
The Saint Louis Chess Club’s broadcast standard makes this one of the best-presented national championships in the world — multi-camera coverage, engine analysis, English and Spanish commentary, and integration with Chess.com and Lichess broadcast systems.
For the live broadcast and final standings, see the official championship site linked in the right column.