Chess · Worth knowing
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← See today's latestSt. Louis Round 5: Caruana's precision, Lee's streak continues
Open: Caruana stays sharp
Rook endgames sorted the field again.
Following yesterday's marathon at move 77, Fabiano Caruana's technical mastery persists as the key differentiator in round five [Quelle: ChessBase]. Wesley So remains tethered to him atop the leaderboard; the two have drawn no games and refuse to yield. Long classical battles continue to expose tactical lapses—nine games stretched past fifty moves in round four alone, with pieces traded to the bone in knight-versus-bishop struggles and opposite-colored bishop tactics.
The grind separates the ambitious from the winners.
Women: Alice Lee's winning run
Alice Lee owns the board now.
The IM has won three straight games despite navigating dangerous positions earlier, climbing to sole lead at 3½/4 [Quelle: ChessBase]. Her victory over 13-year-old Megan Paragua in a tense rook-and-pawn endgame demonstrated both tactical precision and composure—both sides missed critical moments, yet Lee converted when it mattered. Thalia Cervantes remains unbeaten one point back, while Irina Krush collected her second straight win, moving into genuine title contention at 2½/4.
Four rounds remain to crown the champion.
The endgame day
Long games reveal who understands geometry.
Round four saw nine classical games exceed fifty moves—four in the open, five in the women's section—as players navigated rook endgames, passer tactics, and knight-versus-bishop dynamics [Quelle: ChessBase]. Jeffery Xiong's creative piece sacrifices and Aleksandr Oparin's handling of opposite-colored pieces both showed precision at the highest level. The drawn-out battles reflect both this field's technical depth and the way classical chess punishes even small miscalculations.
Seven rounds remain to reshape the leaderboard.
US Championships - Live! - ChessBase2 hours ago ... The US Championships are taking place on 9-21 October at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Each tournament is a 12-player single round-robin with a classical time ...en.chessbase.com