U.S. Championship 2024: Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip Triumph Again

      The U.S. Chess Championship and the U.S. Women's Championship, two prestigious 12-player round-robin tournaments with classical time controls, were held at the Saint Louis Chess Club from October 10-24. The total prize fund reached $250,000, and players were not allowed to offer draws, which added to the competitiveness of the event.

Fabiano Caruana took the lead in Round 4 after defeating Abhimanyu Mishra and maintained his position until the very end. Heading into the final round with a half-point lead over Awonder Liang and Ray Robson, Caruana gradually outplayed Sam Shankland in the Sicilian Defense, securing his fourth national title with a score of 7 out of 10.

Awonder Liang had a promising chance at silver after achieving a strong position against Leinier Dominguez, while Ray Robson had a bye. However, Liang ultimately overextended and lost, resulting in six players tying for second place and sharing the prize money equally.

One of the few negative moments of the tournament was the disqualification of Christopher Yoo. According to an official statement from the Saint Louis Chess Club: "After his game against Fabiano Caruana, Yoo crumpled his scoresheet, stormed out of the tournament hall, and struck a videographer from behind. Chief Arbiter Chris Bird expelled Yoo for gross violations of our Code of Conduct and the US Chess Play Safe Policy." Yoo's results from Rounds 1-5 were annulled, and the tournament standings were adjusted accordingly.

Carissa Yip completely dominated the women's tournament, starting with eight consecutive wins, reminiscent of Bobby Fischer's incredible performance in the 1963/1964 U.S. Championship. Although Yip did not manage to match Fischer's 11/11 record, her third title, clinched with one round to spare, clearly demonstrated her superiority.

Begim Tokhirjonova defeated Tatev Abrahamyan in the final round of the U.S. Women's Championship, securing the silver medal and qualifying for the FIDE Women's World Cup.

Alice Lee, who was tied for second place with Tokhirjonova going into the final round, could only manage a draw against Yip, leaving her with the bronze medal.