Caruana beats Shankland to secure fourth US title

Three in a row

Fabiano Caruana clinched his fourth US Championship title by defeating Sam Shankland in the final round of the 2024 event. This marks Caruana’s third consecutive national title, putting him one victory away from joining the ranks of legends like Samuel Reshevsky, Bobby Fischer, and Hikaru Nakamura (among others), who have each won five US titles. His dominant performance throughout the tournament reaffirms his position as one of the most accomplished chess players in American history.

Entering the final round with a half-point lead over Awonder Liang and Ray Robson, Caruana secured outright victory and the $62,000 first prize by overcoming Shankland. Liang, who faced Leinier Dominguez in his final game, made an audacious start with 1.a3 but faltered on move 41, ultimately losing the game. Robson, who had a bye due to Christopher Yoo’s expulsion, finished tied for second without the chance to contest the leader.

Caruana’s 7/10 score left him 1½ points ahead of his closest chasers, with Wesley So being the only other undefeated player – So’s round-2 win over Yoo was annulled for tournament purposes, and the Filipino-born grandmaster drew all his remaining games. Caruana’s strong showing not only earned him the national title but also saw him regain the world number-two ranking, as he returned to the prestigious 2800 rating club.

In addition to Caruana’s and Dominguez’s victories, Levon Aronian also scored a full point in the final round. The event concluded with six players tied for second place with 5½/10 points, including Liang, Robson, Dominguez, Aronian, Niemann and Sam Sevian.

The action does not stop in Saint Louis, as next week the Chess9LX tournament will kick off, featuring the chess960 or Fischer Random format. Eight of the twelve US Championship participants, including Caruana, will compete, along with special guests Hikaru Nakamura and living legend Garry Kasparov.

Back in the 2800 club – Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Leinier Dominguez beat Awonder Liang with black and climbed to shared second place | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Levon Aronian also won to finish tied for second place | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 11 results

	Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg	Nt.
	Caruana,F	2796		7	1-0	4		Shankland,S	2677
	Sevian,S	2689		5½	½-½	5		Niemann,H	2733
	Liang,A	2677		5½	0-1	4½		Dominguez Perez,L	2741
	Oparin,G	2662		4	0-1	4½		Aronian,L	2738
	Mishra,A	2630		2½	½-½	5½		So,W	2751

Final standings

All games