Andy Woodward just knocked off Fabiano Caruana. That alone makes Round 5 of the US Championship worth your attention.
Woodward, the defending US Junior champion, dismantled the tournament's defending champion in a Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation. This was not a young player getting lucky against a rusty opponent. Caruana came to Saint Louis as the favorite. He still sits in the mix at 3.5/5, but Woodward's victory signals that the open section remains wide open with five rounds to play.
Woodward now shares the lead with Wesley So at 3.5/5. The gap to second place is razor thin. Four decisive results in the open section Wednesday meant rapid movement through the standings. The tournament has developed into a slugfest where consistency matters more than name recognition. Caruana knows this better than anyone. He won this championship in 2022 and 2023. That pedigree counts for nothing if he cannot string together wins against players hungry to prove themselves.
The women's section tells a different story. Alice Lee has separated herself from the field with a 4.5/5 score after beating Tatev Abrahamyan. That full-point lead matters in a ten-round sprint. Three players trail Lee by one point, which means the championship remains contested. But Lee's trajectory looks steeper than anyone else's right now.
The headline here is Carissa Yip. The defending women's champion lost again. This is not a slow start for the reigning titlist. This looks like a collapse. Two losses through five rounds in a tournament where you are the hunted, not the hunter, puts enormous pressure on Yip to win almost every remaining game. That is not a comfortable position at the halfway point of the tournament.
The Saint Louis venue continues to produce clean chess and meaningful results. The open section remains a tangle of potential champions. Woodward's win over Caruana proved that pedigree means nothing without precision at the board. Wesley So knows he cannot relax. Neither does anyone within a point of the lead.
Alice Lee looks like the women's favorite right now, but defending champions do not give up championships. Yip has four rounds to salvage her tournament and her title. The real test comes in the second half, when preparation matters less and pure chess strength reveals itself. We will see who has it.