Recap

Grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Irina Krush took one step closer to the finals of the American Cup, after winning the first games of their final matches in the Champions Bracket. This means GM Leinier Dominguez and FM Alice Lee will be in a must-win situation tomorrow to force a playoff.

GM Leinier Dominguez, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Irina Krush, and FM Alice Lee all advanced to the finals of the Champions Bracket today, after defeating their respective opponents in the semifinals, relegating them to the Elimination Bracket.

Four players were knocked out of the American Cup as the first day of Elimination matches took place, with Robson - Shankland and Nemcova - Yan lasting all the way until Armageddon. 

In the Champions Bracket, GM Leinier Dominguez dealt a lethal blow to GM Levon Aronian, while FM Alice Lee won a fine technical game to also take the lead against WGM Tatev Abrahamyan.

An action packed day saw five matches decided in the playoffs and one match (Caruana-Xiong) made it all the way to Armageddon, finishing in a dramatic time scramble.

After all was said and done, Aronian, Dominguez, Sevian, and Caruana from the Open Field along with Krush, Tokhirjonova, Lee, and Abrahamyan from the Women’s Field advanced to the next stage of the Champions Bracket. Meanwhile the rest of the players were relegated to the Elimination Bracket, where they will get a second chance to win the tournament starting tomorrow.

 The inaugural American Cup kicked off today with plenty of decisive action as several players drew first blood in their individual matches within the Champions Bracket. 

Champions Bracket - Open Field

GM Wesley So became the 2021 U.S. Champion after winning a three-way playoff tiebreak against GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Sam Sevian with a final score of 2.0/2. 

So managed to defeat both Caruana and Sevian in the rapid round-robin, earning him the $50,000 first place prize and his third national title.

After a dramatic final round the three leaders of the 2021 U.S. Championship (GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Wesley So, and GM Sam Sevian) will battle for the title in a rapid playoff tiebreak to take place tomorrow, October 19. While Caruana was the only one with chances to secure the title outright, all three players drew their final round games to finish with 6.5/11.

IM Carissa Yip clinched victory in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Championship with a round to spare, after defeating IM Nazi Paikidze in today’s penultimate round. With an unreachable score of 8.0/10, Yip also made history by becoming the first woman ever to defeat four former champions in a U.S. Women’s Championship. Currently tied for 2nd place are GM Irina Krush and WGM Begim Tokhirjonova, with 6.5/10.

Top seed GM Fabiano Caruana closed the distance to the leaders after winning today’s game against GM Dariusz Swiercz, leaving himself just a half-point behind GM Wesley So, GM Sam Sevian, and GM Alex Lenderman with two rounds left to play in the U.S. Championship. Also in contention are GM Leinier Dominguez and GM Ray Robson, who are tied with Caruana with 5.0/9 after drawing their individual encounter today.

With all six games drawn in the U.S. Championship there was no change to the standings as GM Wesley So, GM Sam Sevian, and GM Alex Lenderman continue to lead the event with 5.0/8 heading into the final rest day. Meanwhile in the U.S. Women’s Championship, IM Carissa Yip won her third straight game to start separating from the rest of the field with a score of 6.0/8. Keeping pace was WGM Katerina Nemcova, who defeated WIM Megan Lee to stay within a half-point while GM Irina Krush is only a point behind Yip on 5.0/8 with just three rounds left to play.