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Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So maintained their joint lead after both drew their games on Monday, while Levon Aronian closed the gap to half a point by defeating Sam Shankland. The other decisive result came from 15-year-old Andy Woodward, who bounced back from defeat the previous day with an impressive victory over Hans Niemann.
Caruana's game with Ray Robson followed a well-known theoretical variation, leading to an equal endgame in which Black accepts doubled f-pawns for activity.
Robson defended accurately, even employing an exchange sacrifice to neutralise White's initiative, and the game soon simplified into an objectively drawn ending.
Wesley So was similarly held by Awonder Liang in a balanced encounter, ensuring that the two leaders remained level at the top.
Ray Robson | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Aronian's win against Shankland was the day's standout performance. Playing the Sicilian Scheveningen, Aronian adopted an aggressive setup, advancing his g-pawn early to generate kingside pressure. The plan paid off as Shankland's defences faltered, allowing Aronian to break through and claim his third victory of the event.
Speaking after the round, Aronian expressed sadness at the loss of Naroditsky, whom he described as both "a good friend and a kind person", noting how difficult it had been for everyone to concentrate on chess under such circumstances.
Sam Shankland | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Hans Niemann, meanwhile, suffered a second consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of Woodward. The young grandmaster handled both the opening and the ensuing endgame with composure, gradually outplaying his higher-rated opponent. Niemann's loss dropped him back into the chasing group, while Woodward climbed to an even score on 4 points.
After eight rounds, Caruana and So share the lead on 5½ points, followed by Aronian on 5. Woodward, Niemann and Sevian stand a full point behind Aronian. With three rounds to go, three of the four highest-rated participants in the field are the frontrunners in the fight for the national title.
Andy Woodward | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Alice Lee extended her lead in the women's championship to a full point after defeating Tatev Abrahamyan. Lee gained a pawn in the middlegame, and saw her opponent faltering during the time trouble phase.
Despite being a pawn down, Black could have kept fighting for the draw with 35...Rfd8 36.Rxc7 Bxd5 37.Kf2 Kf8, etcetera.
Instead, after the mistaken 35...c6, the sequence 36.Re1 Kf7 37.Rec1 Rfd8 38.dxc6 Rd1+ 39.Kf2 Bc8 White emerged with two extra pawns and a clearly winning endgame.
With three rounds remaining, the 16-year-old now stands on the verge of capturing her first national title.
Alice Lee got the better of Tatev Abrahamyan | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Carissa Yip remained in contention for the title, defeating Megan Paragua with the black pieces to join the tie for second place. The defending champion played dynamically from the outset and capitalised on Paragua's mistakes in a queenless position to collect the full point.
Irina Krush admitted that it had been a difficult day emotionally due to Naroditsky's passing, but still managed to overcome Thalia Cervantes after the latter blundered in mutual time trouble. Anna Zatonskih and Anna Sargsyan both drew their games, maintaining their positions in the chasing group, which now also includes Nazi Paikidze, who defeated Jennifer Yu with the black pieces.
After eight rounds, Lee leads on 6 points, a full point ahead of Zatonskih, Sargsyan, Yip and Paikidze. The title fight in both championships remains finely poised as players head into the second rest day in Saint Louis.
Carissa Yip | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Nazi Paikidze defeated Jennifer Yu | Photo: Lennart Ootes
