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2025 AMERICAN CUP

March 15 - 24, 2025 · Saint Louis Chess Club

The Saint Louis Chess Club is proud to present the 2025 American Cup, once again featuring its exciting double-elimination format. This tournament brings the nation's top chess players to America's chess capital, competing in a fierce do-or-die battle for $400,000 in total prize money.

Follow the games of the American Cup round by round with IM Eric Rosen and Grandmaster in Residence at the Saint Louis Chess Club from 12:30pm - 4:30pm.

Format

Two 8-Player Double Eliminations

Prize Fund

$400,000 total prize pool

Location

World Chess Hall of Fame

AT A GLANCE

DATES	March 15 - 24, 2025
LOCATION	World Chess Hall of Fame
FORMAT	Two 8-Player Double Eliminations
TIME CONTROL	Championship Bracket: G/90+30 (classical) & G/25+10 (rapid) & G/3+2(blitz playoffs)
TIME CONTROL	Elimination Bracket: G/25+10
PRIZE FUND	$400,000

2025 OPEN FIELD
MEET THE COMPETITORS

GM Hikaru Nakamura

(2802)

Five-time U.S. Champion

GM Fabiano Caruana

(2783)

Four-time U.S. Champion

GM Levon Aronian

(2748)

Former Blitz & Rapid Champion

GM Wesley So

(2748)

Three-time U.S. Champion

GM Leinier Dominguez

(2741)

Former World Blitz Champion

GM Sam Sevian

(2692)

Former U12 World Champion

GM Ray Robson

(2689)

2023 Prague Masters Champion

GM Abhimanyu Mishra

(2600)

Youngest GM in History

2025 WOMEN'S FIELD
MEET THE COMPETITORS

IM Carissa Yip

(2408)

Top-rated U.S. Woman

IM Alice Lee

(2386)

2x U.S. Girls Junior Champ

GM Irina Krush

(2378)

Eight-time U.S. Women’s Champ

IM Anna Zatonskih

(2315)

Four-time U.S. Women’s Champ

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan

(2310)

4th American Cup Appearance

WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan

(2297)

First American Cup Appearance

IM Nazi Paikidze

(2294)

Two-time U.S. Women’s Champ

WGM Thalia Cervantes

(2292)

2022 U.S. Women’s Bronze

2025 AMERICAN CUP EVENT SCHEDULE

DATE	TIME	CHAMPION'S BRACKET	ELIMINATION BRACKET
Saturday, March 15	12:00 PM	Match 1-4 Game 1 (classical)	-
Sunday, March 16	12:00 PM	Match 1-4 Game 2 (classical)	-
Sunday, March 16	5:00 PM	Match 1-4 Playoff	-
Monday, March 17	12:00 PM	Match 7-8 Game 1 (classical)	Match 5-6 Game 1 (rapid) [12:00 PM] Match 5-6 Game 2 (rapid) [2:00 PM] Match 5-6 Playoff [4:00 PM]
Tuesday, March 18	12:00 PM	Match 7-8 Game 2 (classical)	-
Tuesday, March 18	5:00 PM	Match 7-8 Playoff	-
Wednesday, March 19	12:00 PM	Match 11 Game 1 (classical)	Match 9-10 Game 1 [12:00 PM] Match 9-10 Game 2 [2:00 PM] Match 9-10 Playoff [4:00 PM]
Thursday, March 20	12:00 PM	Match 11 Game 2 (classical)	Match 12 Game 1 [12:00 PM] Match 12 Game 2 [2:00 PM] Match 12 Playoff [4:00 PM]
Thursday, March 20	5:00 PM	Match 11 Playoff	-
Friday, March 21	12:00 PM	-	Match 13 Game 1
	2:00 PM	-	Match 13 Game 2
	4:00 PM	-	Match 13 Playoff
Saturday, March 22	12:00 PM	Match 14 Game 1 (classical)	-
Sunday, March 23	12:00 PM	Match 14 Game 2 (classical)	-
Sunday, March 23	5:00 PM	Match 14 Playoff	-
Monday, March 24	12:00 PM	American Cup Blitz
	12:00 PM	-	Match 15* Game 1 (rapid)
	2:00 PM	-	Match 15 Game 2 (rapid)
	4:00 PM	-	Match 15 Playoff
* Match 15 is only played if both finalists have exactly one loss.
All times are in Central Daylight Time (CDT)

AMERICAN CUP PRIZE FUND

OPEN FIELD		WOMEN'S FIELD
PLACE	PRIZE	PLACE	PRIZE
1	$75,000	1	$40,000
2	$55,000	2	$30,000
3	$30,000	3	$20,000
4	$25,000	4	$15,000
5-6	$15,000	5-6	$10,000
5-6	$15,000	5-6	$10,000
7-8	$10,000	7-8	$8,000
7-8	$10,000	7-8	$8,000
Championship Bracket Bonus	$15,000	Championship Bracket Bonus	$9,000
Prize Fund	$250,000	Prize Fund	$150,000

Photo Highlights

American Cup Blitz

A fast-paced showdown featuring the nation's top chess talents — March 24, 2025

⚡ Schedule ⚡

TIME	EVENT
12:00 PM	Players Meeting
12:30 PM	Round 1
1:00 PM	Round 2
1:30 PM	Round 3
2:00 PM	Round 4
2:30 PM	Round 5
3:00 PM	Round 6
3:30 PM	Round 7
4:00 PM	Round 8
4:30 PM	Round 9

💰 Prize Fund 💰

PLACE	PRIZE
1st	$5,000
2nd	$4,000
3rd	$3,000
U2600 1st	$2,500
U2600 2nd	$1,500
U2500 1st	$2,200
U2500 2nd	$1,100
U2400 1st	$1,400
U2400 2nd	$1,000
TOTAL	$21,700

Time Control: G/3+2 (3 minutes with 2-second increment) • 9 Rounds Swiss
• The Blitz Event will include up to 100 players, selected by the organizers.

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