-PRESS RELEASE- *Saint Louis to Host America’s Chess Elite in October 2026 The nation’s top chess players are set to compete in America’s most prestigious events: the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship and the 2026 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. Hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC), each field will feature 12 elite players competing over the board from Oct. 7–23, with Round 1 beginning Oct. 9, for a total prize fund of more than $400,000. *Saint Louis Chess Conference Back and Better in 2026 The Saint Louis Chess Club, the U.S. Chess Federation and the Kasparov Chess Foundation will present the second annual Saint Louis Chess Conference, taking place Oct. 22–24, 2026 at the Chase Park Plaza in Saint Louis. *Chess Legends to be Inducted into U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame October will bring another celebration of chess excellence to Saint Louis, with new members inducted into both the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame and World Chess Hall of Fame. *October Championships Bookended by Legendary Clutch Chess Event The month concludes with Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown running Oct. 27-29, featuring World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, five-time U.S. Champion Fabiano Caruana, 2026 Grand Chess Tour champion Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and 2026 Candidates Tournament winner and World Champion challenger Javokhir Sindarov. The players will face off in an 18-game rapid double round-robin competition for $425,000 in prizes, including daily win bonuses and a Champion’s Jackpot. Full article: saintlouischessclub.org/news…

A dominating day for Team USA! 🇺🇸🔥 The U.S. Open team bounced back in style with a convincing 3–1 victory over Greece! Levon Aronian and Awonder Liang scored the wins, while Wesley So and Hans Niemann added two draws to secure the match. 👏 And an even bigger result for the U.S. Women! A perfect 4–0 victory against Israel! 💪🇺🇸 Carissa Yip, Alice Lee, Irina Krush and Tatev Abrahamyan all won their games! One round to go in Samarkand! In the final round, the U.S. Open team will face Turkey 🇹🇷, while the Women’s team takes on Romania 🇷🇴. One last push, Team USA! 🇺🇸♟️🔥 #ChessOlympiad #Chess #USA Photos by Anastasiya Karlovych/St Louis Chess Club

Round 10 is underway in Samarkand! ♟️ Today, the USA Open team faces Greece 🇬🇷, while the Women’s team takes on Israel 🇮🇱 at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad. The games are already in progress, so let’s go, Team USA! 🇺🇸 #ChessOlympiad #USA #Chess

Check out Wesley So’s impressive victory over the challenger for the 2026 World Championship Javokhir Sindarov in Round 9 of the World Chess Olympiad! 🔥♟️ #chessolypiad #wesleyso

The U.S. Open team fell 2.5–1.5 to Uzbekistan in a hard-fought match. Levon Aronian was the first to finish with a draw, before Fabiano Caruana lost his game vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Wesley So then struck back with an important win vs Javokhir Sindarov to level the score, leaving everything to the final game. Hans Niemann fought until the very end, but his loss vs Nodirbek Yakubboev gave Uzbekistan the match victory. A much better day for the U.S. Women, who defeated Canada 3–1! Carissa Yip and Irina Krush scored the wins, while Alice Lee and Tatev Abrahamyan added two draws to complete a strong team performance. 👏 Two rounds to go in Samarkand and every point counts! In Round 10, the U.S. Open team will face Greece 🇬🇷, while the Women’s team takes on Israel 🇮🇱. Photos by Anastasiya Karlovych/ St Louis Chess Club and Rafal Oleksiewisz/ FIDE #ChessOlympiad #Chess

A big day for Team USA at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad! 🔥 Open: Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 vs USA 🇺🇸 ✨ Women: USA 🇺🇸 vs Canada 🇨🇦 Good luck to both American teams! 🇺🇸 #chessolympiad #chess #USA

In round 8 the U.S. Open team delivered a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory over Serbia! Fabiano Caruana, Hans Niemann and Awonder Liang scored wins, while Levon Aronian made a draw. 👏🔥 The victory lifted Team USA into the group sharing third place, keeping their medal hopes very much alive with three rounds to go! A tougher day for the U.S. Women, who lost 2.5–1.5 to Armenia. Carissa Yip, Alice Lee and Tatev Abrahamyan drew their games, while Irina Krush lost to Elina Danielian. Next up in Round 9: the Open team faces Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, while the Women take on Canada 🇨🇦. Three rounds to go and everything is still to play for! 🇺🇸♟️ Photos by Anastasiya Karlovych/ St Louis Chess Club #chessolympiad #chess

As both American teams improve to 2–0 in the 46th @FIDE_Chess Olympiad, we would like to recognize our sponsors — @STLChessClub, @Kasparov_Chess, and @icnnyc — who make Team USA’s participation possible. Their generosity has helped our players train, prepare, and travel over 6,000 miles to represent their country on the biggest stage. We'll see you all at 5 a.m. CDT tomorrow for Round 3!

-Press Release- TOPALOV WINS CLUTCH CHESS: THE LEGENDS, DEFEATING KASPAROV IN THEIR LATEST BATTLE IN SAINT LOUIS SAINT LOUIS (September 14, 2026) — FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov defeated legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov in the 12-game Clutch Chess: The Legends, held Sept. 11–13 at the Saint Louis Chess Club, earning the $90,000 first prize. Kasparov finished runner-up with $54,000. The three-day Chess960 (Fischer Random) exhibition brought two of chess’s most influential champions back to the board in Saint Louis. Played at rapid and blitz time controls, the innovative Clutch Chess format increased the stakes each day, with wins worth one point on Day 1, two points on Day 2 and three points on Day 3. Topalov established his dominance early and maintained control of the match as the weekend progressed, showcasing the creativity, adaptability and fighting spirit that have defined his career. Kasparov also delivered several trademark moments of brilliance, making the return of the legendary rivalry a memorable event for fans in Saint Louis and around the world. Read full press release: saintlouischessclub.org/news…

The final game was yesterday, but it still doesn’t feel like it’s over. So grateful to Veselin Topalov and Garry Kasparov for the chess, the battles, and all the moments in between. And of course, thank you to our commentators for being along for the ride. What a weekend. ♟️ 📸 Austin Fuller

That’s a wrap on Clutch Chess: The Legends! ♟️🏆 Congratulations to Veselin Topalov - the champion with 16 points and $90,000! Garry Kasparov finishes with 8 points and $54,000. Thank you to both legends for an incredible battle! 🔥

Thank you, Garry, for three unforgettable days of incredible chess, fighting spirit, and legendary moments. It was an honor to have you back at the board!

It's always difficult to battle these youngsters from the next generation! 😂 Congrats to Veselin and thanks to Clutch Chess and the Saint Louis Chess Club for hosting!

Congratulations, Veselin Topalov! 🏆🔥 The legend is your Clutch Chess: The Legends champion after an incredible battle with Garry Kasparov! What a match. What a finish. ♟️

⚡️ Garry strikes in Game 1 of the final day! Kasparov closes the gap with a crucial win, but Topalov is still in the lead. The fight is far from over. 🔥 Can Garry complete the comeback? Or will Veselin hold on to the lead?

🔥 Day 3 is underway and it’s the FINAL DAY! The finish line is in sight, and every point matters. Who will make the final push and take it all? Drop your prediction below!

2026 Clutch Chess | The Legends: Day 3 #KasparovTopalov nitter.net/i/broadcasts/1aKbdEPaj…

🔥 DAY 3. THIS IS IT. The final four games are here. Here’s your quick guide to the scoring, current standings and what’s at stake. Every win is worth 3 points. Every game matters. Who’s taking it all? 👀♟️