Wesley So tops 2026 US Chess Championship, bags P3.55 million

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-born Wesley So recovered from a hard fall in the last round to clinch the 2026 US Chess Championship on Thursday, October 22 (Friday, October 23, Philippine time). Shrugging off a harrowing last round loss, the 33-year-old pride of Bacoor, Cavite, beat top seed Fabiano Caruana in the rapid playoffs, 1. 5-0. 5, to bag the $56,000 (P3. 55 million) champion’s purse at the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri. With the crown for his taking, So faltered against cellar-dweller Sam Sevian in the 11th round, allowing Caruana to catch him at 7. 0 points following a victory over Awonder Liang in the 12-man, all super-Grandmaster tournament.

After a see-saw draw in the first tiebreaker, So pounced on a dubious pawn sacrifice by Caruana to win the second and secure his fourth US national title, having prevailed in 2017, 2020, and 2021. The champions and their trophies! 🏆 Congratulations, Wesley So and Rachael Li! 🇺🇸 📸 Lennart Ootes pic. twitter. com/IYDA4WP4zC — Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 23, 2026 Enjoying a strong season, So — a three-time Philippine champion before transferring to the US Chess Federation in 2014 — also ruled the Americas Cup in March and the Sinquefield Cup in August. So bested Sam Shankland in the first round, drew with Jeffery Xiong, Liang, Levon Aronian, Grigory Oparin, Abhimanyu Mishra in succession; trounced Ray Robson and Andy Woodward; and drew with Caruana and Hans Niemann in…