[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":179},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-us-chess-championship-2026-round-5":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"authorBio":7,"authorPhoto":7,"authorRole":7,"body":8,"categories":144,"categoryNames":146,"date":148,"dateModified":7,"description":149,"extension":150,"faq":151,"image":161,"meta":162,"navigation":163,"path":164,"seo":165,"seoTitle":166,"slug":167,"stem":168,"tags":169,"video":175,"videoDuration":176,"videoPoster":177,"wpId":7,"__hash__":178},"news/news/us-chess-championship-2026-round-5.md","Woodward beats Caruana at US Championship to share the lead with So","Akram Herrak",null,{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":135},"minimark",[11,30,33,36,39,42,45,50,53,56,59,62,65,68,71,75,78,81,84,88,91,94,97,100,103,106,109,113,116,120,123,126],[12,13,14,15,23,24,29],"p",{},"A 16-year-old now shares the lead. Andy Woodward beat defending champion Fabiano Caruana in round five in Saint Louis to share the US Championship lead, ",[16,17,22],"a",{"href":18,"rel":19,"target":21},"https://en.chessbase.com/post/us-championships-2026-5",[20],"nofollow","_blank","ChessBase"," reported. Only one of the round's eight decisive games went to the older player, ",[16,25,28],{"href":26,"rel":27,"target":21},"https://www.chess.com/news/view/2026-us-chess-championships-round-5",[20],"Chess.com"," noted.",[12,31,32],{},"Woodward and Wesley So now have 3.5/5 each. Caruana, Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong sit half a point behind them after round five.",[12,34,35],{},"Four of the six games in the open section were decisive. Xiong, Ray Robson and Abhimanyu Mishra joined Woodward among the winners.",[12,37,38],{},"In the US Women's Chess Championship, 17-year-old IM Alice Lee is on 4.5/5 and a full point clear after a win with black over IM Tatev Abrahamyan, her fourth in a row.",[12,40,41],{},"Across the two sections, Chess.com counted eight decisive results in 12 games, a round the site called the bloodiest of this year's championships.",[12,43,44],{},"\"I've beaten some low 2700s, but this was the first time beating Fabi,\" Woodward said in his interview with GM Maurice Ashley, as reported by Chess.com.",[46,47,49],"h2",{"id":48},"woodwards-win-over-caruana","Woodward's win over Caruana",[12,51,52],{},"With white, Woodward built a lasting edge out of the Ragozin and pressed slowly, in a game Chess.com picked as its Game of the Day.",[12,54,55],{},"His bishop pair hemmed in Caruana's pieces while his own steadily improved, ChessBase observed. Both outlets added that the conversion was not perfect.",[12,57,58],{},"Caruana had begun the round tied for first with So and never found real counterplay, according to ChessBase.",[12,60,61],{},"Woodward's opponent is a five-time US champion, per ChessBase. Chess.com called him the third-highest-rated player ever.",[12,63,64],{},"Woodward earned the grandmaster title at 13, ChessBase recalled. He won the 2025 US Junior Championship and, earlier in 2026, the Challengers in Wijk aan Zee.",[12,66,67],{},"His run in Saint Louis stands at three wins and two draws.",[12,69,70],{},"So kept pace by holding a Berlin Defense against Grigoriy Oparin with black. Liang and Sam Shankland drew after a Dragon Sicilian ended in a level endgame.",[46,72,74],{"id":73},"xiong-robson-and-mishra-win","Xiong, Robson and Mishra win",[12,76,77],{},"Xiong beat Levon Aronian with black, his first win ever against him. He has yet to draw a game and now has three wins and two losses.",[12,79,80],{},"Robson, 31, was the only older player to defeat a younger one in either section. He beat 23-year-old Hans Niemann in a rook endgame settled by an outside passed a-pawn.",[12,82,83],{},"Mishra needed more than 100 moves with rook and pawn against bishop to beat Sam Sevian, the day's longest game and his first win of the event.",[46,85,87],{"id":86},"alice-lee-pulls-clear","Alice Lee pulls clear",[12,89,90],{},"Lee drew defending champion IM Carissa Yip in round one and has won all four games since.",[12,92,93],{},"Her closest pursuers are WIM Rachael Li, FM Megan Paragua and WGM Thalia Cervantes. Li beat WGM Jennifer Yu, Paragua beat IM Nazi Paikidze and Cervantes drew GM Irina Krush.",[12,95,96],{},"\"Because the results are good, I kind of feel like I can keep it up,\" Lee told Ashley when asked if the lead made her nervous, as Chess.com reported.",[12,98,99],{},"Yip arrived as the top US woman but has two draws and three losses and has shed 24 rating points.",[12,101,102],{},"On the live rating list, Lee is now US No. 1 and No. 14 among women in the world, Chess.com reported.",[12,104,105],{},"IM Rose Atwell handed Yip her third loss with a game Chess.com called a brilliancy, though Atwell herself is only on 2/5.",[12,107,108],{},"\"I know she's not in the best form, but neither am I,\" Atwell told Chess.com.",[46,110,112],{"id":111},"round-six-and-beyond","Round six and beyond",[12,114,115],{},"Chess.com's round-six pairings had So facing Mishra and Woodward meeting Niemann. The two co-leaders play each other in round eight.",[46,117,119],{"id":118},"practicing-long-games-on-chessiverse","Practicing long games on Chessiverse",[12,121,122],{},"Woodward's win came from slow pressure rather than one tactical blow.",[12,124,125],{},"Chessiverse has 1,100+ bots, with an opponent at every rating from beginner to 3000+.",[12,127,128,129,134],{},"Choose one slightly above your level from ",[16,130,133],{"href":131,"rel":132},"https://chessiverse.com/explore",[20],"Bots at every rating"," and try to turn a small edge into a full point.",{"title":136,"searchDepth":137,"depth":137,"links":138},"",2,[139,140,141,142,143],{"id":48,"depth":137,"text":49},{"id":73,"depth":137,"text":74},{"id":86,"depth":137,"text":87},{"id":111,"depth":137,"text":112},{"id":118,"depth":137,"text":119},[145],"news",[147],"News","2026-10-16","US Chess Championship 2026 round 5: Andy Woodward, 16, beat Fabiano Caruana to share the lead with Wesley So, while Alice Lee leads the women on 4.5/5.","md",[152,155,158],{"question":153,"answer":154},"Who leads the 2026 US Chess Championship after round 5?","Andy Woodward and Wesley So share the lead on 3.5/5, half a point ahead of Fabiano Caruana, Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong, according to ChessBase.",{"question":156,"answer":157},"Who leads the 2026 US Women's Chess Championship?","IM Alice Lee leads on 4.5/5, a full point clear, after four straight wins, Chess.com reported.",{"question":159,"answer":160},"When do Wesley So and Andy Woodward play each other?","According to Chess.com, the two co-leaders meet in round eight.","/static/img/blog/us-chess-championship-2026-round-5.webp",{},true,"/news/us-chess-championship-2026-round-5",{"title":5,"description":149},"US Chess Championship 2026 round 5 results | Chessiverse","us-chess-championship-2026-round-5","news/us-chess-championship-2026-round-5",[170,171,172,173,174],"us chess championship","andy woodward","fabiano caruana","alice lee","saint louis","https://storage.googleapis.com/chessiverse1/social/news-articles/us-chess-championship-2026-round-5/video.mp4",23,"https://storage.googleapis.com/chessiverse1/social/news-articles/us-chess-championship-2026-round-5/video-poster.jpg","OrDiELns4IW1nTiiXpFnv2sVW3w-2PgwapatroM3hfg",1792395939722]