Overview
- Wesley So defeated Sam Shankland to reach 2.5/3 and move into first place, with the remaining Open games drawn or split as Grigoriy Oparin beat Andy Woodward.
- Fabiano Caruana drew with Awonder Liang after earlier close calls in Round 2, while Hans Niemann–Ray Robson, Dariusz Swiercz–Abhimanyu Mishra, and Sam Sevian–Levon Aronian also ended level.
- In the Women’s event, Anna Sargsyan held a marathon draw against Jennifer Yu, and Nazi Paikidze beat Tatev Abrahamyan to share the lead at 2.5/3.
- Alice Lee won her second straight game and Irina Krush rebounded against Rose Atwell, leaving Lee and Krush a half-point behind the leaders as Carissa Yip drew with Anna Zatonskih.
- The championships at the renovated Saint Louis Chess Club feature deep fields and a $402,000 prize fund, with early storylines including Atousa Pourkashiyan’s Round 1 upset of Yip and Mishra’s lengthy unbeaten run.