Who’s the US no. 1? US Championship preview

Fabiano Caruana starts his first ever US Championship today in St. Louis and will be looking to cement his place as the US no. 1 on the FIDE rating list. Defending Champion Hikaru Nakamura and fellow Top 10 star Wesley So are among those who will have other ideas. In the women’s event Irina Krush and her arch-rival Anna Zatonskih both play, while none other than Garry Kasparov will join the party for a post-tournament blitz showdown.

The US Championships are being held in the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis for an 8th consecutive year, and we’re guaranteed the usual fantastic show with Yasser Seirawan, Jennifer Shahade and Maurice Ashley. Both tournaments are 12-player round-robins, with $194,000 on offer in the open tournament ($50,000 for first prize) and $100,000 in the women’s ($25,000), with $64,000 up for grabs for anyone who pulls off Bobby Fischer’s incredible 11/11 result.