Saint Louis Welcomes Rising Stars and Chess Legends for 2025 U.S. Junior, Junior Girls and Senior Championships

The brightest minds in American chess — from rising prodigies to seasoned champions — will converge once again in the nation’s Chess Capital as Saint Louis hosts the 2025 U.S. Senior, Junior, and Junior Girls Championships. Hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club from July 15–25, the invitation-only tournaments will take place at University Tower in Saint Louis and feature the top 10 players in each division competing for national titles and a record-breaking combined prize fund of $225,000.

“We’re proud to once again launch this summer’s national championships by bringing together the country’s top chess talent,” said Yasser Seirawan, Chief Commentator and Spokesperson for the Saint Louis Chess Club. “The U.S. Junior, Junior Girls and Senior Championships are among our favorite events to host — they offer a rare opportunity to witness the brilliance of both legendary veterans and the rising stars who represent the future of American chess.”

The three 10-player fields will tie together chess past and future for a celebration of the best of chess.

U.S. Junior Championship

With five of the players currently ranked within the top 50 juniors in the world, this year's U.S. Junior Championship will feature a field of competitive prodigies including Grandmaster (GM) Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest ever to earn the GM title and the highest rated American Junior, as well as teenage GM’s Andy Woodward and Brewington Hardaway.

Along with winning the title, players will be competing to win a piece of the $75,000 prize fund and the coveted invitation to the U.S. Championship later this year.

U.S. Junior Girls Championship

The future of women’s chess in America looks incredibly bright and will be showcased at the U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship. The event features 9 of the top 11 Junior Girls in the country, including WGM Zoey Tang, who is currently ranked 7th in the world. Also competing are promising young talents such as 12-year-olds Woman FIDE Masters (WFM) Megan Paragua and Laurie Qiu, the youngest players in this year’s championship.

In addition to the championship title, players will compete for a share of the $50,000 prize fund and an invitation to compete in this year’s U.S. Women’s Championship later this year.

U.S. Senior Championship

Created by the Saint Louis Chess Club seven years ago, the U.S. Senior Championship will again be held alongside the country’s junior national chess championships, where they will compete for a $100,000 prize fund. The 2025 field boasts legendary chess players, including many former champions like GM Vladimir Akopian (2024), GM Alex Shabalov (2022, 2019), GM Gregory Kaidanov (2021) and GM Joel Benjamin (2020).

The rating for players is based on the April 2025 US Chess Invitational Rating lists, part of the US Chess Invitational Event Regulations, which were used to determine the invitations for these events.

The expert commentary team of GMs Yasser Seirawan and Cristian Chirila and IM Nazi Paikidze will call the action live and provide game analysis daily online starting at 12:20 p.m. CT on uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.

Saint Louis Chess Club

The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.

Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.

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