Grandmasters Fabiano Caruana, Lorenzo Lodici, and Vasif Durarbayli share the lead with 3.5 points each after four rounds of the 2026 Saint Louis Masters. The nine-round Swiss tournament at the Saint Louis Chess Club features 70 players, including 37 grandmasters, and serves as part of the 2026-27 FIDE Circuit toward the 2028 Candidates. Nine players trail by half a point, keeping the event competitive.
The 2026 Saint Louis Masters, now in its second edition at the renovated Saint Louis Chess Club, began on February 25 and runs through March 1, with two games per day except for the final round. This high-level Swiss tournament invites 70 players with an average rating of 2476 and an average age of 25. The prize fund totals $100,000, with $20,000 for first place, and the event contributes to the FIDE Circuit standings, which will qualify one player for the 2028 FIDE Candidates Tournament.
Top seed Fabiano Caruana, rated over 2700 and the world number three, has secured three wins and one draw in the opening rounds, all against grandmasters since round one. In round four, he defeated New York grandmaster Brewington Hardaway, the only player with three straight wins entering the game, using a novelty 8...h5 in the Rossolimo Sicilian. Caruana shared victory in the 2024 inaugural edition and recently completed his second training camp for the 2025 Candidates, starting March 29.
Vasif Durarbayli, making his debut, matched Caruana's score by beating international master Carissa Yip, drawing grandmaster Viktor Gazik, defeating grandmaster Dimitrios Alexakis, and winning against grandmaster Francesco Sonis in round four. Lorenzo Lodici, who upset grandmasters Hans Niemann and Michael Adams at the 2025 FIDE World Cup, drew international master Anthony Atanasov before victories over international master Atilla Kuru, grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili, and women's grandmaster Jennifer Yu.
Rising American talent includes 17-year-old FIDE master Rose Atwell, who beat grandmaster Harsha Bharathakoti in round one and drew grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian in round two but lost her next two games. On 3 points, half a point behind the leaders, are players like 15-year-old grandmaster Andy Woodward, the youngest in the top 25. Undefeated contenders on 2.5 points include international masters Hasan Huseyin Celik, Anthony Atanasov, and Tani Adewumi, plus Yu.
Round five begins February 27 at 11:15 a.m. ET, with five rounds remaining over the weekend.
