Chess | Huge record! World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana joins Bobby Fischer in history with US Championship 2025 title

Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip have successfully defended their titles as US Chess Champions in 2025.

Caruana secured his fifth overall championship, becoming the first player since Bobby Fischer to win the title four times in a row.

Yip claimed her third straight title and fourth overall championship, noting that she had skipped the 2022 event after her 2021 win.




Both champions entered the final day with a half-point advantage but pursued different strategies.

Caruana opted for a forced draw against Levon Aronian, then waited to see if Wesley So could defeat Grigoriy Oparin and force a playoff.

So generated minor pressure against Oparin's Sveshnikov opening but couldn't find the precise moves to maximise his position. The game concluded in a pawn-up endgame that Oparin managed to draw comfortably.

Yip faced a more challenging situation with three competitors close behind, including Alice Lee and Anna Sarksyan playing against each other. A decisive result in the Lee-Sarksyan match or an Irina Krush victory over Anna Zatonskih would trigger a playoff if Yip drew.

Choosing an aggressive approach, Yip pursued a win playing Black against Thalia Cervantes and succeeded.

The Zatonskih-Krush match ended in a draw, while the Lee-Sarksyan game appeared headed toward the same outcome. However, Lee's earlier risky play caught up with her when she missed a tactical opportunity, allowing Sargsyan to secure clear second place in her US Women's Championship debut.

Caruana earned $62,000 for his victory, while Yip collected $40,000 plus an additional $5,000 Finish Strong bonus prize for scoring 5½/6 in the final six rounds.

The Saint Louis Chess Club will next host Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown from October 27-29.

The event will feature Caruana competing against Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen, and Gukesh Dommaraju.