Thrilling Start to the American Cup: Caruana Opens with a Win, Krush and Lee Lead the Women!
The chess world turned its attention to the prestigious 2026 American Cup, held for the fifth time at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Featuring the rare and exciting double-elimination format, the opening day produced plenty of drama in the Open section. In the day's marquee matchup, world-renowned Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana drew first blood against young talent Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra, beginning his campaign with a victory. That crucial win leaves Mishra needing to win game two on Wednesday to remain in the Championship Bracket. Meanwhile, the hard-fought clashes between Grandmaster Levon Aronian and Grandmaster Awonder Liang, Grandmaster Leinier Dominguez and Grandmaster Sam Sevian, and Grandmaster Wesley So and Grandmaster Ray Robson all ended in draws. Those results further underscored the strategic importance of the double-elimination system and increased the pressure on the players heading into the next rounds.
The Women's American Cup also grabbed attention on day one with two early leaders. Veteran Grandmaster Irina Krush defeated Woman Grandmaster Zoey Tang in impressive fashion to move to the top, while International Master Alice Lee joined her there with a win over Woman International Master Rachael Li. The other two drawn games also featured fierce battles. International Master Anna Zatonskih recovered from a losing position against International Master Carissa Yip to save a critical half-point. Similarly, International Master Tatev Abrahamyan managed to rescue her game against International Master Anna Sargsyan despite being a pawn down, finding a resourceful way to hold the draw. These results signaled both strong competition and the potential for surprises in the women's section as well.
One of the main features that makes the American Cup so special is its rarely seen double-elimination format. No player is eliminated until losing two matches, effectively giving everyone an extra life. Matches in the Championship Bracket are played with a classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move, with blitz tiebreaks used in the event of a tied match. Players who lose their first match drop into the Elimination Bracket, where they compete under a rapid format of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. With a massive total prize fund of $400,000, the winner of the Open section will receive $75,000, while the winner of the Women's section will earn $40,000. Although all players began day one in the Championship Bracket, that will change starting on day two, when those who fall will move into the Elimination Bracket. The second day of the tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 4, at 1:20 p.m. EST (9:20 p.m. Turkish time). Chess fans will not want to miss this exciting action.