Chess · Worth knowing

Round 5 of the 2026 U.S. Chess Championships proved exceptionally decisive, with eight of 12 games ending with victories. In the open section, GM Andy Woodward scored his career-best win against defending champion GM Fabiano Caruana in a positional QGD Ragozin, joining GM Wesley So at the lead on 3.5/5. Woodward also beat the third-highest-rated player of all time. Other notable results included GM Jeffery Xiong's first-ever victory against GM Levon Aronian, while GM Ray Robson defeated GM Hans Niemann. In the women's championship, 17-year-old IM Alice Lee extended her dominance by defeating IM Tatev Abrahamyan to reach 4.5/5 and claim sole first place—she has now won four consecutive games since drawing with defending champion IM Carissa Yip in round one and risen to world number 14 among women. WIM Rachael Li upset two-time champion WGM Jennifer Yu, and 13-year-old FM Megan Paragua rebounded from a near-miss in the previous round to beat IM Nazi Paikidze with a mature display of strategic queenside control.

The 6th Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners began on October 13 with a record 140 teams from 56 countries competing across men's, women's and youth sections using 10+5 rapid time controls. Mongolia 1, Ukraine, Serbia 4, Armenia, Colombia and Mexico 1 won all their first-round matches in the men's section, while India swept its women's group and Malawi 2, Ecuador 3, and Ecuador 5 dominated the youth section, with the top two teams from each group advancing to quarterfinals. The championship, organized by FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff's Office since 2021, demonstrates chess as an educational tool in correctional facilities across six continents.