Andy Woodward beats Caruana to join Wesley So in US Chess Championship lead as Alice Lee moves to 4.5/5

The 2026 US Chess Championships in St. Louis has a new co-leader. Grandmaster Andy Woodward beat defending champion Fabiano Caruana in round 5 on Wednesday, 14 October (US time), and now shares first place in the Open with Wesley So on 3.5/5. It was a busy day for decisive games. Four of the six Open games had a winner, and so did four of the six in the Women's Championship, where IM Alice Lee went a full point clear on 4.5/5.

Woodward's best career win

Woodward had the white pieces and won a long positional game from a Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation. Chess.com described it as a slow positional squeeze. Woodward called it the best win of his career. It was his first victory over Caruana, the 2025 US champion, whom Chess.com calls the third-highest-rated player of all time. Caruana had gone into round 5 sharing the lead with So.

The defeat leaves Caruana on 3/5, half a point behind the leaders. He is level with Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong. So kept his share of first place with a draw against Grigoriy Oparin, and Liang drew with Sam Shankland.

Xiong, Robson and Mishra also win

Three other Open games were decisive.

• Jeffery Xiong beat Levon Aronian with the black pieces, his first win against Aronian. Aronian sacrificed a piece, intending to win it back. Chess.com's analysis points to 23...Bb5 as the move that kept the extra piece with Black. Xiong has decided all five of his games, winning three and losing two.
• Ray Robson beat Hans Niemann in a rook endgame with equal pawns. Robson's outside passed a-pawn proved the deciding factor.
• Abhimanyu Mishra beat Sam Sevian in the longest game of the round. It went past move 100 before Mishra converted rook and pawn against bishop, with 103.Kc6 making the breakthrough.

Alice Lee goes clear in the women's event

Alice Lee won with Black against IM Tatev Abrahamyan. Abrahamyan reached a pawn-down endgame that could have been held, but Lee kept the extra pawn and converted it. After drawing with Carissa Yip in round 1, Lee has won four games in a row. She leads Rachael Li, Megan Paragua and Thalia Cervantes, who are all on 3.5/5.

Li beat WGM Jennifer Yu. Paragua, who is 13, beat IM Nazi Paikidze after the move 30.a5 shut down Black's queenside play. Cervantes drew with GM Irina Krush. Defending champion Carissa Yip lost again, this time to IM Rose Atwell, and has two draws and three losses after five rounds.

What's next in St. Louis

Both events are 12-player round-robins running from 9 to 22 October at the Saint Louis Chess Club. The Open has a US$250,000 prize fund, with US$55,000 for the winner. The Women's Championship pays US$152,000, with US$35,000 for first.

Round 6 starts at 1pm US Eastern time on Thursday, 15 October, which is 1am on Friday, 16 October, in Malaysia. In the Open, So is paired with Mishra and Woodward with Niemann. So and Woodward play each other in round 8. Live coverage is on the Saint Louis Chess Club and Chess.com channels.

Key takeaways

• Andy Woodward beat Fabiano Caruana, his first win over the defending champion, and shares the Open lead with Wesley So on 3.5/5.
• Caruana, Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong are half a point back on 3/5.
• Alice Lee leads the Women's Championship on 4.5/5 after four wins in a row.
• Defending women's champion Carissa Yip is without a win after five rounds.
• Round 6 begins at 1am Malaysia time on Friday, 16 October.

FAQ

Who leads the 2026 US Chess Championship after round 5? Wesley So and Andy Woodward share the Open lead on 3.5/5. Alice Lee leads the Women's Championship on 4.5/5.

How many rounds are left? Each section is a 12-player round-robin, so there are 11 rounds in all. Six rounds remain after round 5, and the event finishes on 22 October.

When can fans in Malaysia watch round 6? Round 6 starts at 1pm US Eastern time on 15 October, which is 1am on Friday, 16 October, in Malaysia.

Sources: Chess.com, ChessBase, JayFlemma.com