Fabiano Caruana has never won the American Cup. He has finished runner-up. He has been the clear favorite in multiple editions. Today, with a 1-0 lead over Wesley So and draw odds going into Game 2, he is one result away from finally changing that.
The American Cup 2026 finals are live today, March 8, at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Both the Open and Women’s finals run simultaneously. In the Women’s event, IMs Carissa Yip and Alice Lee are deadlocked at 0.5-0.5 after a drawn Game 1. Lee is the defending two-time champion. Yip has never beaten her in a direct match. Today is the first time they have played one.
Game 2 in both divisions starts at 13:10 ET (18:10 CET / 23:40 IST).
Follow the American Cup 2026 live on Shatranj Live.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
American Cup 2026: Format and Stakes
The American Cup runs double-elimination with eight players per division. Each round is a classical match of two games. If the match ends level on points after the classical games, rapid and blitz tiebreaks decide the winner. One loss drops a player to the Elimination Bracket. Two losses and they are out.
The tournament carries a $400,000 total prize fund. It is the fifth edition of the event and has run annually since 2022 at the Saint Louis Chess Club.
The Champions Final format: the winner of the undefeated Champions Bracket faces the finalist who came through the Elimination Bracket. Caruana and So each won the Champions Bracket, meaning neither has lost a match this week. Today’s final is between the two players who ran the table undefeated.
Open Division: The Path to the Final
Fabiano Caruana
Caruana entered as the top-ranked American in the field. He beat Abhimanyu Mishra in the first round, then defeated Awonder Liang in the semifinals after the classical games drew and Caruana took the blitz tiebreak 1.5-0.5. Caruana has not dropped a match.
In Game 1 of the final yesterday, Caruana beat So with the white pieces. He leads the match 1-0. In Game 2 today, Caruana plays with black and has draw odds: a draw is enough for him to win the title.
Caruana finished runner-up at the 2022 American Cup. He was not in the final in 2023. In 2025, he finished second again, losing the final to Hikaru Nakamura. A third final, another shot at the title.
“The American Cup has become the strongest domestic chess event in the United States by a significant margin. For me, it’s a tournament I want to win. It’s the one title missing from my record at home.” — Fabiano Caruana, US #1 and FIDE #2, ahead of the 2026 American Cup
Wesley So
Wesley So won the American Cup in 2023. He beat Mishra and Robson early, then defeated Sam Sevian in the semifinals via blitz tiebreak after the classical games drew. So enters Game 2 needing a win with white to force tiebreaks or take the match.
So is a former US Chess Champion and has been one of the strongest US-based players for over a decade. He knows what a title match looks like. But needing a win against Caruana with draw odds on the line is a significant ask.
Who Was Eliminated
Levon Aronian, who was seeded second, was beaten by Awonder Liang on Day 2. That was the headline upset of the Open bracket. Liang, ranked well below Aronian, came through the Elimination Bracket afterward before falling to Caruana in the semifinals. Leinier Dominguez and Sam Sevian were both eliminated on Day 5. Ray Robson and Abhimanyu Mishra went out in the early rounds.
Women’s Division: Lee vs Yip, First-Ever Head-to-Head
The Match-Up
Carissa Yip (IM, USA) and Alice Lee (IM, USA) have played in the same tournaments for years. They have never played a direct head-to-head match until today.
Chess.com noted this before the Women’s Final started: despite the overlap in their careers, the American Cup 2026 is their first-ever match. Game 1 yesterday ended in a draw. Today’s Game 2 determines whether a winner emerges in classical play or whether tiebreaks follow.
Alice Lee’s Record
Alice Lee won the Women’s American Cup in 2024. She won it again in 2025, defeating Caruana’s compatriot in the US field. She is the only player to have won the Women’s American Cup twice, and the only player to have won in back-to-back years. A third consecutive win would make her the clear standout of the Women’s competition’s five-year history.
Irina Krush, who is a three-time US Women’s Champion and one of the most experienced players in the field, was eliminated in the first round by Zoey Tang. That upset changed the Women’s bracket significantly and removed the player with the most historical claim to the title.
Carissa Yip
Yip beat Tatev Abrahamyan in the Women’s semifinals after the classical match drew. She advanced cleanly through the Champions Bracket without dropping a match. A win today would be her first American Cup title and would end Lee’s consecutive championship run.
How the Women’s Bracket Unfolded
Day 1 saw Krush beaten by Tang in the biggest shock of the Women’s event. Zatonskih and Sargsyan were eliminated in the early rounds. Tang’s run continued through the Elimination Bracket before she was finally stopped by Lee in the semifinals. Rachael Li and Tatev Abrahamyan also reached the semifinals before being eliminated on Day 5.
What Has Changed Since 2025
Hikaru Nakamura is not in the 2026 field. He won the Open American Cup in both 2024 and 2025, two consecutive titles. His absence is the defining structural fact of this year’s Open bracket. In his place, Caruana and So are the two clear favorites who have each won the title at least once and know the format.
In the Women’s event, the 2024 and 2025 champion is in the final again. Lee’s presence in a third consecutive final confirms she is the dominant player in this competition’s history.
Past Champions
| Year | Open | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Caruana | Krush |
| 2023 | So | Krush |
| 2024 | Aronian | Lee |
| 2025 | Nakamura | Lee |
| 2026 | Final today | Final today |
Nakamura and So are the only players to have won the Open multiple times. Caruana won in 2022 and is the top seed in 2026. Today’s final is a rematch of the 2022-2023 era rivalry at the top of US chess.
How to Follow Today’s Final
Both finals start at 13:10 ET (18:10 CET / 23:40 IST). The full bracket and live standings are on Chess.com’s American Cup results page and on Liquipedia.
For all live FIDE standings across current and upcoming events, including the Women’s Candidates Tournament starting March 28 in Larnaca, Shatranj Live tracks every major supertournament in real time, no account needed.
The next major event after the American Cup is the Women’s Candidates 2026, which starts March 28. Three Indian players are in that field. The full player breakdown is in the Candidates Tournament 2026 preview.
American Cup 2026: What to Watch
Caruana’s draw odds. He needs a draw with black in Game 2. So needs a win with white. That asymmetry shapes how the game is likely to be played: So will push for complications, Caruana can afford to be solid.
“Draw odds with black is still the hardest position to be in against someone like Wesley. He’s going to find the most aggressive line on the board. You have to be ready for everything.” — Wesley So, 2023 American Cup champion, on the pressure of Game 2
Lee’s third title bid. No player has won three American Cups. Lee has two. A third today would give her a clear legacy as the Women’s event’s standout champion.
Yip’s first major title. Yip has strong results across US tournaments but no American Cup win. A victory over Lee in Game 2 would be the biggest individual result of her career so far.
The full results from today’s final will be available on Shatranj Live as part of the complete 2026 FIDE event calendar.
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