The two top seeds in the U.S. Championship won in Saturday’s round 4. Wesley So bounced back from a loss by beating Sam Shankland, while Fabiano Caruana became the first sole leader of the event after taking down Hans Niemann. Aleksandr Lenderman also scored a full point, as he defeated Christopher Yoo. In the women’s event, Jennifer Yu and Tatev Abrahamyan grabbed wins to join Alice Lee in the lead. | Photo: Crystal Fuller
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Three decisive games were seen both at the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship in Friday’s third round. In the open, Fabiano Caruana and Awonder Liang scored their first wins of the event, while Christopher Yoo grabbed a second victory in a row. Among the women, Tatev Abrahamyan, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova and Ruiyang Yan collected full points. | Photo: Austin Fuller
The two players who kicked off the U.S. Championship with losses bounced back immediately by winning their round-2 games in Saint Louis. Elshan Moradiabadi defeated Awonder Liang, while Christopher Yoo got the biggest win of his young career as he took down Wesley So with the black pieces. Meanwhile, in the women’s event, three players still have a perfect score Jennifer Yu, Alice Lee and Megan Lee. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The news, not exactly surprising, was stunning nonetheless world chess champion Magnus Carlsen was voluntarily relinquishing his crown and would not play a second title defense match against Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi planned for 2023.