America’s Top Chess Players to Compete for More Than $400,000 in 2024 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Chess Championship

October 1 2024

News

America’s Top Chess Players to Compete for More Than $400,000 in 2024 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Chess Championship

Saint Louis to Host National Championships, Hall of Fame Inductions, and Inaugural Educational Conference

SAINT LOUIS (September 19, 2024)—The nation’s top chess players are set to compete in America’s most prestigious events—the 2024 U.S. Chess Championship and the 2024 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. Hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC) at the World Chess Hall of Fame, each field will feature 12 players facing off over the board October 11-24 as they compete for a total purse of more than $400,000. This year also celebrates the 10th anniversary of Saint Louis’ Congressional proclamation as the Chess Capital of America.

“The U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship are a testament to the incredible depth and talent of American chess – featuring nearly all of our country’s top players, including six graduates of the Kasparov Chess Foundation’s Young Stars program,” said Tony Rich, Technical Director of the STLCC. “It’s a privilege to watch the best players in the country battle it out, showcasing the sportsmanship and camaraderie that make our community so special.”

U.S. Chess Women's Championship IM Carissa Yip

About the U.S. Championship

The U.S. Championship shifted from match play to a tournament format in 1936, paving the way for a new era in American chess. Past champions include luminaries of the game, including Bobby Fischer, Yasser Seirawan, and Hikaru Nakamura. The STLCC hosted its first U.S. Championship in 2009 and has been honored to organize each edition since, awarding nearly $3 million in prizes and elevating the national championships.

The U.S. Championship is a tournament open to all players based on rating and represents the very best talent in the United States. With just 12 players, the U.S. Championship is the pinnacle of American chess. This year’s event features a dynamic field, including defending champion and World No. 3 GM Fabiano Caruana, who has won the event three times, as well as GM Wesley So, a three-time champion.

2024 U.S. Chess Championship Field

No.	Title	First Name	Last Name	Location	Invitational Rating*	Qualification Method
1	GM	Fabiano	Caruana	Saint Louis, MO	2840	2023 US Champion
2	GM	Wesley	So	Excelsior, MN	2796	Rating
3	GM	Leinier	Dominguez	Saint Louis, MO	2785	Rating
4	GM	Levon	Aronian	Saint Louis, MO	2771	Rating
5	GM	Ray	Robson	Saint Louis, MO	2740	Rating
6	GM	Hans	Niemann	Weston, CT	2735	Rating
7	GM	Sam	Sevian	Holden, MA	2729	Rating
8	GM	Sam	Shankland	Orinda, CA	2728	Rating
9	GM	Grigoriy	Oparin	Columbia, MO	2702	Rating
10	GM	Awonder	Liang	Madison, WI	2690	2024 US Open Champion
11	GM	Abhimanyu	Mishra	Englishtown, NJ	2663	Wildcard
12	GM	Christopher	Yoo	Dublin, CA	2648	2024 US Junior Champion

*Invitational ratings are calculated based on the July US Chess rating supplement

About the U.S. Women’s Championship

The U.S. Women’s Championship is the premier event in America featuring the very best women and girls of chess. Since its first U.S. Women’s Championship in 2009, the STLCC has awarded more than $1 million in prizes to U.S. Women’s Championship competitors. This year’s event features America’s brightest female chess players, including GM Irina Krush, an eight-time U.S. Women’s Champion and two-time Women’s American Cup Champion, defending champion IM Carissa Yip, and rising star IM Alice Lee, the youngest in the field at just 14 years old.

U.S. Chess Championship GM Fabiano Caruana

2024 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship Field

No.	Title	First Name	Last Name	Location	Invitational Rating*	Qualification Method
1	GM	Irina	Krush	Brooklyn, NY	2458	Rating
2	IM	Carissa	Yip	Andover, MA	2450	2023 US Women’s Champion
3	WGM	Begim	Tokhirjonova	Saint Louis, MO	2436	Rating
4	IM	Alice	Lee	North Oaks, MN	2417	2024 US Girls Champion
5	IM	Anna	Zatonskih	Bochum, Germany	2368	Rating
6	IM	Nazi	Paikidze	Las Vegas, NV	2364	Rating
7	WGM	Tatev	Abrahamyan	Saint Louis, MO	2352	Rating
8	WGW	Atousa	Pourkashiyan	Sunrise, FL	2339	Rating
9	FM	Megan	Lee	Bellevue, WA	2335	Rating
10	WGM	Jennifer	Yu	Ashburn, VA	2325	Rating
11	WGM	Thalia	Cervantes	Saint Louis, MO	2320	Rating
12	FM	Rose	Atwell	Valencia, CA	2311	Wildcard

*Invitational ratings are calculated based on the July US Chess rating supplement

How to Watch the U.S. and U.S. Women’s Championships

The 2024 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship will consist of 11 rounds of classical chess in a round-robin format and will be streamed live daily at 1:20 p.m. CDT. Coverage will feature play-by-play and analysis from the world-renowned commentary team of GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Cristian Chirila, and WGM Katerina Nemcova. Fans can follow all of the action live on uschesschamps.com and the STLCC’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.

Visit uschesschamps.com for additional event information and click here to purchase tickets to the opening ceremony and here for the closing ceremony.

Chess Legends to be Inducted into U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame

The month-long chess festivities will kick off on October 10 with the public opening ceremony for the 2024 U.S. Championships and the induction ceremony for the 2024 U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, which will honor Charles Henry Stanley (1819–1901).

Each year, candidates for induction to the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame are nominated by the US Chess Recognitions Committee, which includes leading chess historians. The Committee’s selections are sent to the US Chess Executive Board for review, and the Board’s recommendations are then forwarded to the U.S. Chess Trust, whose Trustees have the official authority to determine inductees into the US Chess Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony takes place at the World Chess Hall of Fame or at the annual US Chess Awards luncheon. A representative of the US Chess Trust performs the official induction, using the official Hall of Fame gavel.

In addition, the World Chess Federation (Fédération Internationale des Échecs or FIDE) will honor Nana Alexandria (1949-), Chen Zhu (1976-), Robert Hübner (1948-), Vladimir Kramnik (1975-), Irina Levitina (1954-), Elena Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya (1957-2012), Efim Geller (1925-1998), Fridrik Olafsson (1935-), Oscar Panno (1935-) and Lev Polugaevsky (1934-1995) as inductees into the World Chess Hall of Fame on October 29. Representatives of the World Chess Federation (Fédération Internationale des Échecs, or FIDE) nominate and select new candidates for induction into the World Chess Hall of Fame. Members of the World Chess Hall of Fame are chosen for their total contribution to the sport. Players as well as others who have made an impact as authors, journalists, organizers and in other ways, are eligible for induction.

Saint Louis Chess Conference to Feature Renowned Chess Experts

In addition to exciting tournament play and honoring legends for their contributions to the sport, the STLCC will proudly host the inaugural Saint Louis Chess Conference, a new educational chess event that will bring together leading voices in the community including Garry Kasparov, legendary world champion and founder of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, Judit Polgár, the strongest female chess player of all time, and Maurice Ashley, the first African American in chess history to earn the Grandmaster title. Taking place October 24-26, the event will offer innovative programming designed for chess educators, researchers and enthusiasts to learn best practices, explore the latest research and celebrate the game of chess

“In collaboration with US Chess and Kasparov Chess Foundation, we are proud to bring together chess thought leaders for dynamic discussions and learning opportunities centered around education, research and the broader impact our beloved sport has on individuals and communities,” said Professor Michael Podgursky, Saint Louis Chess Club Board Member and Conference Chair.

To learn more about the event, visit stlchessconference.org.

POSITION	PLAYER	COUNTRY	PRIZE MONEY
1	GM Alireza Firouzja	FRA	$40,000
2	GM Wesley So	USA	$30,000
3	GM Hikaru Nakamura	USA	$25,000
T-4	GM Levon Aronian	USA	$17,500
T-4	GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	$17,500
T-6	GM Fabiano Caruana	USA	$10,500
T-6	GM Ian Nepomniachtchi	FIDE	$10,500
8	GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov	UZB	$9,000
9	GM Leinier Dominguez	USA	$8,000
10	GM Praggnanandhaa R.	IND	$7,000

POSITION	PLAYER	COUNTRY	POINTS
1	GM Alireza Firouzja	FRA	30.58
2	GM Fabiano Caruana	USA	26.75
3	GM Wesley So	USA	20.83
4	GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	19.83
5	GM Praggnanandhaa R.	IND	17.25
6	GM Ian Nepomniachtchi	FIDE	15.5
7	GM Gukesh Dommaraju	IND	14.25
8	GM Anish Giri	NED	11
9	GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov	UZB	10.5