2024 United States Chess Championship
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| US Chess Championships 2024 | |
|---|---|
 Fabiano Caruana, the defending champion, secured his third consecutive title at the 2024 Championships | |
| Venue | Saint Louis Chess Club |
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Dates | 10–24 October 2024 |
| Competitors | 12 |
| Winning score | 7 points of 10 |
| Total prize money | $250,000 |
| Champion | |
 Fabiano Caruana | |
The 2024 edition of the United States Chess Championship took place at the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri from 10 October to 24 October 2024. As with every United States Chess Championship tournament since 2014, it was a round-robin tournament.[1] Twelve players were invited to compete. Besides the reigning US champion, these included the winners of the US Open Chess Championship, the US Junior Championship, and the US Senior Open Championship. The remaining players were chosen by highest invitational rating, or were selected by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) as wildcards.
The twelve qualifiers were Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Leinier Domínguez, Levon Aronian, Sam Shankland, Ray Robson, Samuel Sevian, Hans Niemann, Christopher Yoo, Abhimanyu Mishra, Grigoriy Oparin and Awonder Liang, all of whom are grandmasters.[2]
Fabiano Caruana won the tournament by 1.5 points from six players who tied for second.[3]
All statistics are as of October 2024 in FIDE ratings.
| Player | Age | Rating | World ranking | Qualification method[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabiano Caruana (defending champion) |
32 | 2796 | 4 | 2023 Champion |
| Wesley So |
30 | 2751 | 10 | Rating |
| Leinier Domínguez |
41 | 2741 | 13 | Rating |
| Levon Aronian |
41 | 2737 | 16 | Rating |
| Sam Shankland |
33 | 2667 | 50 | Rating |
| Ray Robson |
29 | 2692 | 37 | Rating |
| Samuel Sevian |
22 | 2689 | 42 | Rating |
| Hans Niemann |
21 | 2733 | 19 | Rating |
| Christopher Yoo |
17 | 2590 | 197 | Rating |
| Abhimanyu Mishra |
15 | 2630 | 112 | Wildcard |
| Grigoriy Oparin |
27 | 2662 | 64 | Rating |
| Awonder Liang |
21 | 2677 | 48 | 2024 US Open Champion |
Participation of Hans Niemann
The Saint Louis Chess Club banned GM Hans Niemann for the remainder of 2024 on February 2, citing alleged inappropriate behavior and damage to private property. The grandmaster dismissed the accusations as "blatant disinformation."
While the club did not provide specific details about the alleged incidents leading to the ban, it emphasized that the decision was not taken lightly.[6] The club cites Niemann’s inappropriate behaviour — including damaging private property and rude comments — as justification for their decision. Niemann has posted a number of posts on X denying the accusations.[7]
As a result Niemann was refused participation from multiple elite chess tournaments in 2024 such as the Sinquefield Cup and Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz.
Despite his 'ban' still being in effect it was announced in late September that he would be participating in the 2024 United States Chess Championship.
Expulsion of Christopher Yoo
GM Christopher Yoo has been "temporarily suspended, pending a full investigation" by the US Chess Federation, and charged by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department with assault.[8]
Arbiter Chris Bird clarified that further to his Safe Play complaint, the USCF had temporarily suspended Yoo's membership pending a full investigation.
Bird also provided more information on the incident involving Yoo and a female videographer, explaining "the videographer was not at fault, nobody approached Yoo as he left the playing room, the punch was completely unprovoked, from behind and in no way accidental."
It further transpired that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department had charged 17-year-old Yoo with fourth-degree assault as he had "struck a 24-year-old woman in the back with his fist. He was released to a parent, and the matter would be handled in juvenile courts", reported KSDK, a St. Louis television station.[9]
The tournament continued, with one player slated to get a bye in each round. However, such round-robin tournaments with an odd number of participants have an inherent weakness: till the completion of the final round, the number of games played by each participant is bound to be uneven. This might allow a competitive advantage to those who get their bye early in the tournament rather than those who get them towards the end.