The leaders split the point. Wesley So and Awonder Liang drew in round 3 of the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis, staying joint first on 2.5/3. Behind them, Andy Woodward's exchange sacrifice beat Ray Robson and lifted him to within half a point of the lead.
According to Chess.com, the game between the co-leaders was drawn in 30 moves with little happening. ChessBase reported that Liang had White and that neither side built real winning chances.
Both leaders arrived with two wins each. ChessBase noted that Liang had beaten Hans Niemann and Sam Sevian, while So came through difficult positions to defeat Sam Shankland and Jeffery Xiong.
Woodward and Fabiano Caruana now share 2/3, half a point back. The round's other decisive game went to Shankland, who beat Xiong for his first win of the event, Chess.com reported.
Woodward's 29...Rxe5, the exchange sacrifice that decided his game, drew a blunt verdict from the broadcast booth.
"It's a bad, bad, bad exchange sac!" said grandmaster Maurice Ashley, a commentator on the live broadcast, according to Chess.com.
How Woodward beat Robson
Woodward had Black and chose an ambitious path, ChessBase reported. The outlet judged the sacrifice dubious in objective terms, yet it handed Robson real practical problems while he was already low on time.
Robson could have taken a draw but kept playing for a win with roughly half a minute left on his clock, as Chess.com described it.
The two outlets give different move numbers for Robson's decisive error, but both place it around the first time control. ChessBase said his h-pawn pushes first gave away his edge and then cost the game.
The championships are 12-player single round-robins in St. Louis, running from October 9 to 22, Chess.com reported. Games use 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 more minutes, plus a 30-second increment from the first move.
The open event carries a $250,000 prize fund with $55,000 for the winner. The women's tournament offers $152,000, with $35,000 going to first place.
Women's championship leaders
IM Alice Lee beat IM Nazi Paikidze to join WGM Thalia Cervantes and FM Megan Paragua on 2.5/3 in the 2026 U.S. Women's Chess Championship.
Chess.com said Paikidze's 20...Qg7?? allowed a pawn fork with 23.g4 that won Lee a piece.
Defending champion Carissa Yip lost to IM Tatev Abrahamyan. ChessBase noted it was Yip's second defeat in a row, and Chess.com said the four-time winner sits near the bottom on 0.5 points.
"I think we are still suffering after the Olympiad. Maybe we are still tired," Tatev Abrahamyan told Chess.com, speaking about the quality of her game against Yip.
WIM Rachael Li also profited from an error, as IM Anna Sargsyan's 26...Nxa3 gave away a piece. Li now shares 2 points with IM Anna Zatonskih in the group just behind the leaders.
Standings after round 3
- Wesley So, GM, 2.5/3
- Awonder Liang, GM, 2.5/3
- Fabiano Caruana, GM, 2/3
- Andy Woodward, GM, 2/3
What comes next in St. Louis
With no player on a perfect score after three rounds in either event, the $64,000 Fischer Prize is already out of reach, Chess.com noted. It rewards an 11/11 sweep like Bobby Fischer's at the 1964 championship.
Round 4 of both tournaments was scheduled for Monday, October 12, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET, with play continuing until October 22.
Practice sharp positions on Chessiverse
Woodward's win shows how much practical pressure can count when an opponent is short on time, even if the idea is not objectively sound.
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