Li, 16, Takes Women's Title as So Stumbles, Caruana Forces Playoff

Wesley So walked into the last round of the U.S. Championship a full point clear. He walked out in a playoff. GM Sam Sevian outplayed So in a heavy-piece endgame, while GM Fabiano Caruana beat GM Awonder Liang on demand, and the two leaders now meet in a playoff today.

The Open: a full-point lead gone

So had spent most of the event in front. He took sole lead on 5/7, and in round 10 held Caruana to a draw to keep his margin. A draw in round 11 would have sealed the title, which is why the most likely result was not what happened.

Caruana had been blunt about the odds in the previous round. Asked how he assessed his chances, he said there was a “zero percent” chance So would lose, even if Caruana managed to win on demand. After his game, of course, he revised that statement.

By the time Caruana won, So was already much worse against Sevian. So’s collapse in the endgame is what turned a one-point cushion into a tie.

How Caruana got there

Caruana went over his game with Liang in detail afterwards. He opened with an interesting 6.Bf4 idea in the Tarrasch Defense, a move his second, GM Grigoriy Oparin, said he had shared in Wijk aan Zee this year.

He then went for a kingside attack. The first wave of fire didn’t break the barricades, so he launched a second with 26.Ne4!.

For Caruana the result opens a new chance at his fifth consecutive title. He had been chasing Reshevsky’s record through the event and looked to be running out of road, so the playoff is a real reprieve.

What the playoff changes

Beyond the trophy, the top five finishers in the Open qualify for the next FIDE World Cup, so the final standings carry weight below the top spot too. The playoff itself decides only the champion.

The psychology is worth a thought. Caruana is the player who needed a miracle and got it, while So held the lead for the second half of the event and lost it in one game. Playoff formats favor fast, steady nerves, and So will have to put a painful final round behind him within days.

Rachael Li wins the Women’s title

In the Women’s section, rookie WIM Rachael Li secured the title by drawing with IM Anna Zatonskih. At 16, she is the youngest first-timer to win the event.

She took home $45,000, which includes the top prize, a $5,000 winner’s bonus and the $5,000 Finish Strong Prize. She also gained 50 rating points.

Li earned her first IM norm with two rounds to spare, a significant step toward the title. For how norms work, see our explainer on how a player becomes a grandmaster, which covers the women’s and international titles.

IM Alice Lee finished second. Li and Lee both qualify for the next FIDE Women’s World Cup.

The Open playoff is today.