View source for US Chess Championship

{{Short description|Annual invitational tournament}}
{{confused|U.S. Open Chess Championship}}
{{citations needed|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports award
| name           = US Chess Championship
| image          = Fabiano Caruana in 2025.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = [[Fabiano Caruana]], the current US champion
| givenfor       = Winner of the US Championship
| presenter      = [[United States Chess Federation]]
| country        = United States
| location       = 
| first          = 1891
| mostrecent     = [[Fabiano Caruana]] ([[2025 United States Chess Championship|2025]])
}}

The '''US Chess Championship''' is an invitational tournament organized by the [[United States Chess Federation]] to determine the country's chess champion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/09/20/archives/fischer-smyslov-play-in-deadlook-american-and-russian-draw-in.html|title=FISCHER, SMYSLOV PLAY IN DEADLOOK; American and Russian Draw in 7th-Round Adjourned Game of Chess Event|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=20 September 1959 |quote=Bobby Fischer, United States chess champion, played to a draw with Vassily Smyslov of the Soviet Union in their seventh-round adjourned game in the challengers' tournament at Bled yesterday.}}</ref> 
It is the oldest national chess tournament.<ref name=soltis>{{cite book|last=Soltis|first=Andy|title=The United States Chess Championship, 1845–2011|year=2012|publisher=McFarland|location=US|isbn=978-0-7864-6528-6|pages=1|url=http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-6528-6|archive-date=2012-06-13|access-date=2012-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613175148/http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-6528-6|url-status=dead}}</ref> The event originated as a challenge match in 1845, but the champion has been decided by tournament play under the auspices of the USCF since 1936.<ref name=soltis/> The tournament has fluctuated between a [[round-robin tournament]] and a [[Swiss system]]. From 1999 to 2006, the championship was sponsored and organized by the Seattle Chess Foundation (later renamed [[America's Foundation for Chess]]) and featured a larger body of competitors, made possible by the change to a Swiss-style format. After the Foundation withdrew its sponsorship, the 2007 and 2008 events were held in [[Stillwater, Oklahoma]], still as a Swiss system,  under tournament director [[Frank K. Berry]]. The [[Saint Louis Chess Club]] has hosted the championship since 2009. Since 2014, the championship has used a round-robin format. The event is often a Zonal tournament for the [[United States Chess Federation]], providing qualifier spots to the [[Chess World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/D0102 | title=D. REGULATIONS FOR SPECIFIC COMPETITIONS / 01. FIDE Individual World Championship Cycles / 02. Continental Championships and Zonal Tournaments / FIDE Handbook }}</ref>

As of 2023, twelve players are invited to compete: the reigning US champion, as well as the respective winners of the [[US Open Chess Championship]] and the US Junior Championship. The remaining players are chosen by highest invitational rating, in addition to one organizer wildcard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The United States Chess Federation - US Chess Invitational Requirements |url=https://www.uschess.org/index.php/Invitational-Information/US-Chess-Invitational-Requirements.html#:~:text=1%201)%20Each%20player%20must%20play%20at%20least,be%20against%20players%20of%20strength%20as%20noted%20below:?adlt=strict&toWww=1&redig=3FAADAA6DBCB4630BFA04AE490D40E60 |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=www.uschess.org}}</ref> [[Fabiano Caruana]] is the current US chess champion.

==By acclamation (1845–1891)==
:{| class="sortable wikitable"
!  Years !! Champion !! Notes
|-
| 1845–1857 || [[Charles Stanley (Chess player)|Charles Stanley]] || Defeated [[Eugène Rousseau (chess player)|Eugène Rousseau]] in a match in 1845
|-
| 1857–1871 || [[Paul Morphy]] || Won the first [[American Chess Congress]] in 1857
|-
| 1871–1891 || [[George Henry Mackenzie]] ||  Won the 2nd, 3rd and 5th American Chess Congress
|}

==Match format (1891–1935)==
George Henry Mackenzie died in April 1891 and, later that year, [[Max Judd]] proposed he, [[Jackson Showalter]] and [[S. Lipschütz]] contest a triangular match for the championship. [[Lipschütz]] withdrew so Judd and Showalter played a match which the latter won. A claim by [[Walter Penn Shipley]] that [[S. Lipschütz]] became US Champion as a result of being the top-scoring American at the Sixth American Chess Congress, New York 1889, is refuted in a biography of Lipschütz.<ref>Davies, pp. 196–99</ref>
The following US Champions until 1909 were decided by matches.

:{|class="sortable wikitable"
! !! Year !! Winner !! Loser !! Result !! Notes
|-
| 1 || 1891{{nbnd}}92 || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} || {{sortname|Max|Judd}} || +7−4=3 || The final game was delayed until January 1892 because Judd was ill.
|-
| 2 || 1892 || {{sortname|Samuel|Lipschütz}} || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} || +7−1=7 ||
|-
| 3 || 1894 || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} (2) || {{sortname|Albert|Hodges}} || +7−6=4 || Prior to the last game the players agreed to extend the match. Many sources classify this as the first of two matches instead of one extended match.
|-
| 4 || 1894 || {{sortname|Albert|Hodges}} || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} || +5−3=1 || Can be considered a match extension or a new match.
|-
| 5 || 1895 || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} (3) || {{sortname|S.|Lipschütz}} || +7−4=3 ||
|-
| 6 || 1896 || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} (4) || {{sortname|Emil|Kemény}} || +7−4=4 ||
|-
| 7 || 1896 || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} (5) || {{sortname|John|Barry|John Barry (chess player)}} || +7−2=4 ||
|-
| 8 || 1897 || {{sortname|Harry|Pillsbury}} || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} || +10−7=3 || Pillsbury added to the conditions of the match : "... even if I should win, I shall leave Showalter the possession of his championship title".<ref>Andrew Soltis, ''The United States Chess Championship'', Second Edition,  McFarland, 1997, p. 32.</ref>
|-
| 9 || 1898 || {{sortname|Harry|Pillsbury}} (2) || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} || +7−2=2 || Contrary to the 1897 match, the title of US champion was clearly at stake in 1898.<ref>Andrew Soltis, ''The United States Chess Championship'', Second Edition,  McFarland, 1997, p. 33.</ref>
|-
| 10 || 1909 || {{sortname|Frank|Marshall|Frank Marshall (chess player)}} || {{sortname|Jackson|Showalter}} || +7−2=3 || Title reverted to Showalter after Pillsbury's death in 1906.
|-
| 11 || 1923 || {{sortname|Frank|Marshall|Frank Marshall (chess player)}} (2) || {{sortname|Edward|Lasker}} || +5−4=9 || Marshall declined to play in the invitational tournament that began in 1936.
|}

==Round-robin format (1936–1998)==
:{| class="sortable wikitable"
! № !!  Year !! Winner(s) !! Notes
|-
| 1 || 1936 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} ||
|-
| 2 || 1938 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (2) ||
|-
| 3 || 1940 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (3) ||
|-
| -  || 1941 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (4) || Match victory over [[I.A. Horowitz]]
|-
| 4 || 1942 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (5) || An erroneous ruling by the director allowed Reshevsky to tie for first with [[Isaac Kashdan]].<ref>In an objectively [[draw (chess)|drawn]] [[Chess endgame|endgame]] against [[Arnold Denker]], the flag on Reshevsky's [[chess clock|clock]] fell, which should have resulted in his losing on time. The tournament director Walter Stephens, who was standing behind the clock, flipped it around and, looking at Reshevsky's side of the clock (which he mistakenly thought was Denker's), announced "Denker forfeits!" He refused to correct his error, explaining, "Does [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] reverse himself?" [[William Lombardy]] and David Daniels, ''U.S. Championship Chess'', David McKay, 1975, p. 22. {{ISBN|0-679-13042-X}}. Arnold S. Denker, ''My Best Chess Games 1929–1976'', Dover, 1981, p. 121. {{ISBN|0-486-24035-5}}.</ref><br/> Reshevsky won a playoff match against Kashdan 6 months later.
|-
| 5 || 1944 || {{sortname|Arnold|Denker}} ||
|-
| -  || 1946 || {{sortname|Arnold|Denker}} (2) || Match victory over [[Herman Steiner]]
|-
| 6 || 1946 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (6) ||
|-
| 7 || 1948 || {{sortname|Herman|Steiner}} ||
|-
| 8 || 1951 || {{sortname|Larry|Evans|Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)}} ||
|-
| -  || 1952 || {{sortname|Larry|Evans|Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)}} (2) || Match victory over [[Herman Steiner]]
|-
| 9 || 1954 || {{sortname|Arthur|Bisguier}} ||
|-
| -  || 1957 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (7) || Match victory over [[Arthur Bisguier]].The title was not at stake -  Bisguier remained champion.
|-
| 10 || 1957/8  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} || At 14, the youngest champion ever
|-
| 11 || 1958/9  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (2) ||
|-
| 12 || 1959/0 || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (3) ||
|-
| 13 || 1960/1  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (4) ||
|-
|-
| 14 || 1961/2  || {{sortname|Larry|Evans|Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)}} (3) ||
|-
| 15 || 1962/3  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (5) ||
|-
| 16 || 1963/4  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (6) || The only perfect score in US Championship history
|-
| 17 || 1965/6  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (7) ||
|-
| 18 || 1966/7  || {{sortname|Bobby|Fischer}} (8) || A record eighth win (out of eight attempts)
|-
| 19 || 1968 || {{sortname|Larry|Evans|Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)}} (4) ||
|-
| 20 || 1969 || {{sortname|Samuel|Reshevsky}} (8) ||
|-
| 21 || 1972 || {{sortname|Robert|Byrne|Robert Byrne (chess player)}} || Playoff held 9 months after the tournament, with Byrne winning over [[Samuel Reshevsky|Reshevsky]] and [[Lubomir Kavalek|Kavalek]]
|-
| 22 || 1973 || {{sortname|Lubomir|Kavalek}}<br> {{sortname|John|Grefe}} ||
|-
| 23 || 1974 || {{sortname|Walter|Browne}} ||
|-
| 24 || 1975 || {{sortname|Walter|Browne}} (2) ||
|-
| 25 || 1977 || {{sortname|Walter|Browne}} (3) ||
|-
| 26 || 1978 || {{sortname|Lubomir|Kavalek}} (2) ||
|-
| 27 || 1980 || {{sortname|Walter|Browne}} (4)<br> {{sortname|Larry|Christiansen}} <br>   {{sortname|Larry|Evans|Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)}} (5) ||
|-
| 28 || 1981 || {{sortname|Walter|Browne}} (5)<br>{{sortname|Yasser|Seirawan}} ||
|-
| 29 || 1983 || {{sortname|Walter|Browne}} (6)<br>{{sortname|Larry|Christiansen}} (2)<br>   {{sortname|Roman|Dzindzichashvili}} ||
|-
| 30 || 1984 || {{sortname|Lev|Alburt}}||
|-
| 31 || 1985 || {{sortname|Lev|Alburt}} (2) ||
|-
| 32 || 1986 || {{sortname|Yasser|Seirawan}} (2) ||
|-
| 33 || 1987 || {{sortname|Joel|Benjamin}}<br>{{sortname|Nick|de Firmian}} ||
|-
| 34 || 1988 || {{sortname|Michael|Wilder}}||
|-
| 35 || 1989 || {{sortname|Roman|Dzindzichashvili}} (2)<br>{{sortname|Stuart|Rachels}}<br>{{sortname|Yasser|Seirawan}} (3) ||
|-
| 36 || 1990 || {{sortname|Lev|Alburt}} (3) || Knockout tournament
|-
| 37 || 1991 || {{sortname|Gata|Kamsky}} || Knockout tournament
|-
| 38 || 1992 || {{sortname|Patrick|Wolff}} ||
|-
| 39 || 1993 || {{sortname|Alexander|Shabalov}} <br> {{sortname|Alex|Yermolinsky}} ||
|-
| 40 || 1994 || {{sortname|Boris|Gulko}} || The only person to have held both the US and Soviet championships
|-
| 41 || 1995 || {{sortname|Nick|de Firmian}} (2)<br>{{sortname|Patrick|Wolff}} (2)<br> {{sortname|Alexander|Ivanov|dab=chess player}} ||
|-
| 42 || 1996 || {{sortname|Alex|Yermolinsky}} (2) ||
|-
| 43 || 1997 || {{sortname|Joel|Benjamin}} (2) ||
|-
| 44 || 1998 || {{sortname|Nick|de Firmian}} (3) ||
|-
|}

==Swiss format (1999–2013)==
:{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! № !!  Year !! Winner(s) !! Notes
|-
| 45 || 1999 || {{sortname|Boris|Gulko}} (2) ||
|-
| 46 || 2000 || {{sortname|Joel|Benjamin}} (3)<br> {{sortname|Alexander|Shabalov}} (2)<br> {{sortname|Yasser|Seirawan}} (4) ||
|-
| 47 || 2002 || {{sortname|Larry|Christiansen}} (3) ||
|-
| 48 || 2003 || {{sortname|Alexander|Shabalov}} (3) ||
|-
| 49 || 2005 || {{sortname|Hikaru|Nakamura}} || Tournament was played in 2004, but called the 2005 Championship for legal reasons<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Chess Championship (23 November- 5 December) |url=https://www.thechessdrum.net/tournaments/USchess2005/index.html |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=www.thechessdrum.net}}</ref>
|-
| 50 || 2006 || {{sortname|Alexander|Onischuk}} ||
|-
| 51 || 2007 || {{sortname|Alexander|Shabalov}} (4) ||
|-
| 52 || 2008 || {{sortname|Yury|Shulman}} ||
|-
| 53 || 2009 || {{sortname|Hikaru|Nakamura}} (2) ||
|-
| 54 || 2010 || {{sortname|Gata|Kamsky}} (2) || Kamsky won an [[Armageddon chess|Armageddon tie-break]] playoff against [[Yury Shulman]]
|-
| 55 || 2011 || {{sortname|Gata|Kamsky}} (3) || <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://saintlouischessclub.org/news/2011-04-28/kamsky-reigns-supreme-women-head-tiebreak |title=Kamsky reigns supreme |access-date=2011-04-28 |archive-date=2015-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208113316/http://saintlouischessclub.org/news/2011-04-28/kamsky-reigns-supreme-women-head-tiebreak |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
|-
| 56 || 2012 || {{sortname|Hikaru|Nakamura}} (3) || Switched to a round-robin tournament for this year only
|-
| 57 || 2013 || {{sortname|Gata|Kamsky}} (4) || Kamsky won an [[Armageddon chess|Armageddon tie-break]] playoff against [[Alejandro Ramírez (chess player)|Alejandro Ramírez]]
|}

==Round-robin format (2014–present)==

:{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! № !!  Year !! Winner(s) !! Notes
|-
| 58 || 2014 || {{sortname|Gata|Kamsky}} (5) || Kamsky won a playoff rapid against [[Varuzhan Akobian]] after Akobian qualified<br/> by beating {{sortname|Aleksandr|Lenderman}} on an [[Armageddon chess|Armageddon tie-break]] 
|-
| 59 || 2015 || {{sortname|Hikaru|Nakamura}} (4)||
|-
| 60 || [[2016 US Chess Championship|2016]] || {{sortname|Fabiano|Caruana}}||
|-
| 61 || 2017 || {{sortname|Wesley|So}} || Wesley So won a rapid playoff against [[Alexander Onischuk]]
|-
| 62 || 2018 || {{sortname|Samuel|Shankland}}||
|-
| 63 || 2019 || {{sortname|Hikaru|Nakamura}} (5) ||
|-
| 64 || 2020 || {{sortname|Wesley|So}} (2) || Tournament held online via [[Lichess]] due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].
|-
| 65 || [[2021 United States Chess Championship|2021]] || {{sortname|Wesley|So}} (3) || So won a rapid playoff against [[Fabiano Caruana]] and [[Samuel Sevian]]
|-
| 66 || [[2022 United States Chess Championship|2022]] || {{sortname|Fabiano|Caruana}} (2) ||
|-
|67
|[[2023 United States Chess Championship|2023]]
|[[Fabiano Caruana]] (3)
|
|-
|68
|[[2024 United States Chess Championship|2024]]
|[[Fabiano Caruana]] (4)
|
|-
|69
|[[2025 United States Chess Championship|2025]]
|[[Fabiano Caruana]] (5)
|Caruana ties Fischer's record of 4 consecutive US Championship wins
|}

==Players by number of championships==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name !! Total Victories !! Tournament Victories !! Match Victories !! Years
|-
| [[Bobby Fischer]] || 8 || 8 || 0 || 1957/8 1958/9 1959/0 1960/1 1962/3 1963/4 1965/6 1966/7
|-
| [[Samuel Reshevsky]]|| 8 || 6 || 2 || 1936 1938 1940 1941 1942 1946 1957 1969
|-
| [[Walter Browne]] || 6 || 6 || 0 || 1974 1975 1977 1980 1981 1983
|-
| [[Larry Evans (chess player)|Larry Evans]] || 5 || 4 || 1 || 1951 1952 1961/2 1968 1980
|-
| [[Gata Kamsky]] || 5 || 5 || 0 || 1991 2010 2011 2013 2014
|-
| [[Hikaru Nakamura]] || 5 || 5 || 0 || 2005 2009 2012 2015 2019
|-
| [[Jackson Showalter]] || 5 || 0 || 5 || 1891–92 1894 1895 1896 1896
|-
| [[Fabiano Caruana]] || 5 || 5 || 0 || 2016 2022 2023 2024 2025
|-
| [[Yasser Seirawan]] || 4 || 4 || 0 || 1981 1986 1989 2000
|-
| [[Alexander Shabalov]] || 4 || 4 || 0 || 1993 2000 2003 2007
|-
| [[Lev Alburt]] || 3 || 3 || 0 || 1984 1985 1990
|-
| [[Joel Benjamin]] || 3 || 3 || 0 || 1987 1997 2000
|-
| [[Larry Christiansen]] || 3 || 3 || 0 || 1980 1983 2002
|-
| [[Nick de Firmian]] || 3 || 3 || 0 || 1987 1995 1998
|-
| [[Wesley So]] || 3 || 3 || 0 || 2017 2020 2021
|-
| [[Arnold Denker]] || 2 || 1 || 1 || 1944 1946
|-
| [[Roman Dzindzichashvili]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || 1983 1989
|-
| [[Boris Gulko]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || 1994 1999
|-
| [[Lubomir Kavalek]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || 1973 1978
|-
| [[Frank Marshall (chess player)|Frank Marshall]] || 2 || 0 || 2 || 1909 1923
|-
| [[Harry Pillsbury]] || 2 || 0 || 2 || 1897 1898
|-
| [[Patrick Wolff]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || 1992 1995
|-
| [[Alex Yermolinsky]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || 1993 1996
|-
| [[Arthur Bisguier]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1954
|-
| [[Robert Byrne (chess player)|Robert Byrne]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1972
|-
| [[John Grefe]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1973
|-
| [[Albert Hodges]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1894
|-
| [[Alexander Ivanov (chess player)|Alexander Ivanov]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1995
|-
| [[Samuel Lipschütz]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1892
|-
| [[Alexander Onischuk]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2006
|-
| [[Stuart Rachels]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1989
|-
| [[Samuel Shankland]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2018
|-
| [[Yury Shulman]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2008
|-
| [[Herman Steiner]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1948
|-
| [[Michael Wilder]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1988
|}

==See also==
*[[US Women's Chess Championship]]
*[[US Open Chess Championship]]
*[[US Women's Open Chess Championship]]
*[[American Chess Congress]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Cite book
| last1=Soltis | first1=Andy | author-link=Andy Soltis
| last2=McCormick | first2=Gene H.
| title=The United States Chess Championship 1845–1996
| edition=2nd
| year=1997
| publisher=McFarland
| isbn= 0-7864-0248-2
}}
*{{cite magazine
| author=Isaac Kashdan
| author-link=Isaac Kashdan
| title=Historical Sidelights of American Champions
| date=November–December 1933
| magazine=Chess Review
| pages=36-38
| url=https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CR-ALL/CR1933/CR1933_11-12.pdf
}}

==External links==
*[http://www.uschesschamps.com Official US Chess Championship Site]
*[https://saintlouischessclub.org/ St. Louis Chess Club, St. Louis, Missouri]

{{Top-level sport leagues in the United States}}
{{Chess national championships}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:United States Chess Championships| ]]
[[Category:Chess in the United States|Championship]]