Four straight US titles so far. Fabiano Caruana goes into the 2026 US Championship in Saint Louis having won every edition from 2022 to 2025, according to ChessBase. A fifth would equal a Samuel Reshevsky streak untouched for more than eight decades.
The 34-year-old owns five national titles in all. His first arrived at his debut in 2016, soon after he had moved back to the US federation.
A sixth overall crown would bring Caruana even with Walter Browne, who stands alone in third place for career championship wins.
Only two players have won more: Bobby Fischer and Reshevsky, who share the record with eight titles each.
Reshevsky's record in reach
Reshevsky's run stretched from 1936 to 1942. He won the title in 1936, 1938 and 1940, held on to it in a 1941 match and then took the 1942 edition.
Fischer came close twice, putting together four wins in a row on two occasions: from 1957/58 through 1960/61, and from 1962/63 through 1966/67.
When Caruana defended his crown in 2025, ChessBase noted, he became the first player since Fischer to collect four titles in succession.
Caruana's years under Italy's flag
Caruana's road to the US title included a long detour. He was born in Miami, grew up partly in New York and played for the United States as a junior.
In 2005 he switched his FIDE affiliation to Italy. Representing that country, he took the Italian Championship in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011, and skipped the 2009 edition.
FIDE cleared his return to the United States in June 2015. Caruana, a citizen of both countries, entered his first US Championship less than a year later and won it.
The all-time title table
Caruana shares the five-title mark with four others: Hikaru Nakamura, Gata Kamsky, Larry Evans and Jackson Showalter.
Two of that group are still active, yet neither has entered recently. Kamsky has moved to the French Chess Federation and last played the US Championship in 2017.
Nakamura has cut back sharply on classical events. His most recent national championship was the online rapid edition of 2020.
- Bobby Fischer, 8 titles
- Samuel Reshevsky, 8 titles
- Walter Browne, 6 titles
- Fabiano Caruana, 5 titles
- Hikaru Nakamura, 5 titles
- Gata Kamsky, 5 titles
- Larry Evans, 5 titles
- Jackson Showalter, 5 titles
Looking ahead to Saint Louis
The 2026 edition in Saint Louis gives Caruana the chance to match Reshevsky's streak and Browne's career total with a single win.
If he falls short, Reshevsky keeps the consecutive-title record to himself, and Caruana stays level with the other five-time champions.
Play your own long games on Chessiverse
Reading about a five-title career is one thing; putting in the games is another.
Chessiverse has more than 1,100 bots, with an opponent at every rating from beginner to 3000+.
Pick one a little stronger than you on the bots page and play a full game without takebacks. Then go back over the moments where you were unsure.