[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":172},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-us-chess-championship-2026-round-4":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"authorBio":7,"authorPhoto":7,"authorRole":7,"body":8,"categories":137,"categoryNames":139,"date":141,"dateModified":7,"description":142,"extension":143,"faq":144,"image":154,"meta":155,"navigation":156,"path":157,"seo":158,"seoTitle":159,"slug":160,"stem":161,"tags":162,"video":168,"videoDuration":169,"videoPoster":170,"wpId":7,"__hash__":171},"news/news/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4.md","Caruana catches So in St. Louis as Alice Lee leads the women's event","Akram Herrak",null,{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":129},"minimark",[11,15,27,36,39,42,47,50,53,56,63,69,72,75,78,81,85,88,91,94,97,101,104,107,110,114,117,126],[12,13,14],"p",{},"The Open now has two leaders. Fabiano Caruana beat Ray Robson in round 4 of the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis to draw level with Wesley So. In a round full of long endgames, Alice Lee also took the outright lead in the women's event.",[12,16,17,18,26],{},"According to ",[19,20,25],"a",{"href":21,"rel":22,"target":24},"https://www.chess.com/news/view/2026-us-chess-championships-round-4",[23],"nofollow","_blank","Chess.com",", Caruana's win over Robson was a long grind. The game turned into a double-rook ending by move 23, came down to one rook each by move 68 and ended on move 77.",[12,28,29,30,35],{},"Wesley So drew with Levon Aronian, as ",[19,31,34],{"href":32,"rel":33,"target":24},"https://en.chessbase.com/post/us-championships-2026-4",[23],"ChessBase"," reported. The two leaders have 3/4, with Awonder Liang and Andy Woodward trailing them by half a point.",[12,37,38],{},"ChessBase counted four decisive games in the Open. Besides Caruana, Hans Niemann, Jeffery Xiong and Grigoriy Oparin won, and Chess.com described all three wins as endgame victories.",[12,40,41],{},"The theme ran through both events, Chess.com noted: four Open games went beyond move 50, and five did so in the women's championship.",[43,44,46],"h2",{"id":45},"caruanas-rook-endgame-grind","Caruana's rook endgame grind",[12,48,49],{},"Chess.com made Caruana-Robson its Game of the Day and called it an absolute masterclass in rook endgames. Its report said Caruana stood better throughout and never loosened his hold.",[12,51,52],{},"Caruana is the defending champion and a five-time U.S. champion, according to ChessBase. After a round 1 draw with Aronian, he beat Oparin and then Robson.",[12,54,55],{},"Xiong's win handed Liang, who had Black, his first loss of the event, ChessBase reported. Their game reached an endgame from the Berlin Defense that at first seemed to offer little to either player.",[12,57,58],{},[59,60],"img",{"alt":61,"src":62},"The Berlin Defense after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6. White to move. White: Bishop b5, Pawn e4, Knight f3, Pawn a2, Pawn b2, Pawn c2, Pawn d2, Pawn f2, Pawn g2, Pawn h2, Rook a1, Knight b1, Bishop c1, Queen d1, King e1, Rook h1. Black: Rook a8, Bishop c8, Queen d8, King e8, Bishop f8, Rook h8, Pawn a7, Pawn b7, Pawn c7, Pawn d7, Pawn f7, Pawn g7, Pawn h7, Knight c6, Knight f6, Pawn e5.","/static/img/blog/inline/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4-1.webp",[12,64,65],{},[66,67,68],"em",{},"The Berlin Defense endgame Xiong reached against Liang in round 4.",[12,70,71],{},"Xiong gave up one of his two minor pieces on move 29 to create an unbalanced fight, Chess.com wrote. As ChessBase noted, Liang ended up a piece ahead but struggled to find exact moves with little time left.",[12,73,74],{},"Engines flagged many moves in the game as inaccurate, ChessBase added, but Xiong kept pressing and finished in style. He had opened with a win over Sam Sevian before losing twice in a row.",[12,76,77],{},"Niemann, who lost to Liang in round 1, got back to an even score by beating Abhimanyu Mishra. He had the bishop pair and more active pieces, and ended the game with a short tactic.",[12,79,80],{},"Oparin's win came in an ending where his queen and knight faced a queen and bishop. A passed pawn and an active king helped him convert, according to Chess.com.",[43,82,84],{"id":83},"alice-lee-leads-the-womens-event","Alice Lee leads the women's event",[12,86,87],{},"IM Alice Lee beat FM Megan Paragua, who had shared the lead overnight, and now leads alone on 3.5 points. ChessBase gave Paragua's age as 13.",[12,89,90],{},"Lee converted an ending of rook and pawn against bishop, according to Chess.com. The site described it as a fundamental endgame for grandmasters that demands precise play with rook and king.",[12,92,93],{},"WGM Thalia Cervantes sits next on 3 points after drawing a complex, unbalanced endgame against IM Anna Zatonskih.",[12,95,96],{},"Elsewhere in the women's event, Irina Krush beat Nazi Paikidze for her second win, ChessBase reported.",[43,98,100],{"id":99},"what-comes-next-in-st-louis","What comes next in St. Louis",[12,102,103],{},"Both championships are 12-player single round-robins in St. Louis, scheduled from October 9 to 22, 2026, Chess.com reported.",[12,105,106],{},"The Open has a $250,000 prize fund, with $55,000 going to the winner. The women's event offers $152,000 in total and $35,000 to its champion.",[12,108,109],{},"After a rest day, play resumes with round 5 on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET.",[43,111,113],{"id":112},"practice-endgames-on-chessiverse","Practice endgames on Chessiverse",[12,115,116],{},"Round 4 was a reminder that patient endgame play can decide a game long after the opening is forgotten.",[12,118,119,120,125],{},"Chessiverse has 9,000+ puzzles and challenges, and our ",[19,121,124],{"href":122,"rel":123},"https://chessiverse.com/puzzles",[23],"Puzzles"," page is a good place to sharpen your technique.",[12,127,128],{},"For full games, pick one of 1,100+ bots, with opponents at every rating from beginner to 3000+.",{"title":130,"searchDepth":131,"depth":131,"links":132},"",2,[133,134,135,136],{"id":45,"depth":131,"text":46},{"id":83,"depth":131,"text":84},{"id":99,"depth":131,"text":100},{"id":112,"depth":131,"text":113},[138],"news",[140],"News","2026-10-14","Fabiano Caruana beat Ray Robson in round 4 of the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship to join Wesley So on 3/4, while Alice Lee leads the women's event.","md",[145,148,151],{"question":146,"answer":147},"Who leads the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship after round 4?","Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So share the lead on 3/4, half a point ahead of Awonder Liang and Andy Woodward, according to ChessBase.",{"question":149,"answer":150},"Who leads the 2026 U.S. Women's Chess Championship after round 4?","IM Alice Lee leads alone on 3.5 points after beating FM Megan Paragua, with WGM Thalia Cervantes next on 3 points, Chess.com reported.",{"question":152,"answer":153},"What is the prize fund of the 2026 U.S. Chess Championships?","According to Chess.com, the Open has a $250,000 prize fund with $55,000 for first, and the women's event has $152,000 with $35,000 for first.","/static/img/blog/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4.webp",{},true,"/news/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4",{"title":5,"description":142},"U.S. Chess Championship 2026 round 4 results | Chessiverse","us-chess-championship-2026-round-4","news/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4",[163,164,165,166,167],"us chess championship","fabiano caruana","alice lee","wesley so","endgames","https://storage.googleapis.com/chessiverse1/social/news-articles/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4/video.mp4",25,"https://storage.googleapis.com/chessiverse1/social/news-articles/us-chess-championship-2026-round-4/video-poster.jpg","UVcgdBat59vhbzepJKPxPCiY2cLOytQ50I_C5cSNbpU",1792395940884]