Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana share US Championship lead as Xiong beats Liang and Alice Lee goes clear
Caruana beat Robson and Xiong toppled co-leader Liang in round four in Saint Louis, leaving So and Caruana on 3/4. Alice Lee leads the women's event on 3.5.
Defending champion Fabiano Caruana has drawn level with Wesley So at the top of the 2026 US Chess Championship. In round four in Saint Louis on Monday, 12 October, Caruana beat Ray Robson and Jeffery Xiong ended Awonder Liang's unbeaten start. In the US Women's Championship, Alice Lee beat fellow co-leader Megan Paragua in an 85-move marathon and now leads on her own. Tuesday, 13 October, is the first rest day, and play resumes on Wednesday.
Round four in the open: Caruana and Xiong strike
The two 12-player round-robins began on 9 October at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Liang and So went into Monday's round sharing the lead on 2.5/3, after drawing each other in round three.
Liang's afternoon went wrong against Xiong. The game ran to 68 moves before Xiong converted with White, and it was Liang's first loss of the event. So could not get away from the pack either: he drew a 48-move game with Levon Aronian and moved to 3/4.
Caruana used that opening. The five-time US champion, who is chasing a fifth straight title, ground down Robson over 77 moves with the white pieces. He has now won two of his four games and drawn the other two.
There were two more decisive results. Hans Niemann beat Abhimanyu Mishra in 42 moves, and Grigoriy Oparin won with Black against Sam Sevian. Sam Shankland and Andy Woodward drew after 55 moves.
Open standings after four rounds
According to the official results from the Saint Louis Chess Club, the table now reads:
- 3 points: Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana
- 2.5: Awonder Liang, Andy Woodward
- 2: Sam Shankland, Levon Aronian, Jeffery Xiong, Hans Niemann, Grigoriy Oparin
- 1.5: Abhimanyu Mishra
- 1: Ray Robson
- 0.5: Sam Sevian
Niemann started the event with a first-round loss to Liang and is now back on a level score. Sevian is still looking for his first win.
Women's event: Alice Lee takes sole lead
Before round four, three players shared the lead on 2.5 points: Lee, Paragua and Thalia Cervantes. Lee and Paragua played each other, and Lee won with White in an endgame that lasted 85 moves.
Cervantes kept pace with a 63-move draw against Anna Zatonskih. Irina Krush moved up the table by beating Nazi Paikidze with Black in 31 moves. Defending champion Carissa Yip drew with Rachael Li, and both Anna Sargsyan against Rose Atwell and Jennifer Yu against Tatev Abrahamyan were drawn.
That leaves Lee alone on 3.5/4. Cervantes is second on 3, and Paragua, Zatonskih, Li and Krush are next on 2.5. Yip, who won the title last year, is on 1 point after a difficult first four rounds.
What comes next
Round five is on Wednesday, 14 October, at noon Saint Louis time. That is 1am on Thursday, 15 October, in Malaysia. Two pairings stand out in the open. Woodward has White against Caruana, and So has Black against Oparin. Liang faces Shankland and will be trying to recover straight away.
In the women's section, Lee has Black against Abrahamyan and Cervantes has Black against Krush.
After round five, both events play rounds six to eight from 15 to 17 October. The second rest day is 18 October, and the last three rounds run from 19 to 21 October. A playoff on 22 October is available if needed. Both events are streamed online, including on the Saint Louis Chess Club's channels, so fans in Malaysia can follow along, though they will need to stay up very late.
Key takeaways
- Caruana beat Robson in round four and now shares the open lead with So on 3/4.
- Xiong beat Liang in 68 moves, Liang's first loss in Saint Louis.
- Alice Lee beat Megan Paragua and leads the women's event alone on 3.5/4.
- Defending women's champion Carissa Yip is on 1/4 after four rounds.
- Round five starts at 1am Malaysia time on Thursday, 15 October, with Woodward v Caruana the main open game.
FAQ
Who leads the 2026 US Chess Championship? Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana are joint leaders on 3/4 after round four. Awonder Liang and Andy Woodward are half a point behind.
Who leads the 2026 US Women's Championship? Alice Lee leads on 3.5/4 after beating Megan Paragua. Thalia Cervantes is second on 3.
When does round five start in Malaysia time? Round five starts at noon in Saint Louis on Wednesday, 14 October, which is 1am on Thursday, 15 October, in Malaysia.
Sources: Saint Louis Chess Club, Chess.com, ChessBase, US Chess