The US Junior Chess Championship concluded with a convincing victory for 15-year-old grandmaster Andy Woodward. Hailing from Texas, Woodward secured the title with a draw in the final round against GM Kirk Ghazarian, finishing on 6½/9. It was a commanding performance: four wins, five draws, no losses and a mature style of play that reflects his status as one of the country’s most promising talents.
Woodward, who became the second-youngest American grandmaster in history at 13 years and 8 months (behind Abhimanyu Mishra), began the event strongly with three consecutive wins, including an opening-round victory over IM Sandeep Sethuraman and an attacking effort against IM Grayson Rorrer.
A key moment came in round eight, when Woodward defeated IM Evan Park with black in a sharp Sicilian, while his closest rival GM Kirk Ghazarian lost to IM Nico Chasin.
This result effectively cleared the path for Woodward to clinch the title in the final round.
Brewington Hardaway finished second on tiebreaks with 6 points, following a last-round win over Evan Park. He was joined on the same score by former champion GM Abhimanyu Mishra. Ghazarian, who had been in contention throughout, ended on 5½.
The ten-player field featured a strong mix of experience and youth, including four grandmasters and five international masters.
Andy Woodward during his round-nine game | Photo: Lennart Ootes
WGM Zoey Tang won the US Girls' Junior Championship following a closely contested race with 13-year-old FM Megan Paragua. The title was effectively decided in the penultimate round, when Tang defeated WIM Chloe Gaw while Paragua was held to a draw by Jasmine Zhixin Su. Both players won their final-round games, leaving Tang half a point ahead on 7/9, with Paragua taking second place on 6½ points.
Tang, a 17-year-old from Oregon, entered the tournament as the top seed and one of four players rated over 2300. Despite not having played in the national championship before, she showed consistent form throughout, remaining unbeaten and demonstrating strong endgame technique and positional understanding.
Her most important win came in the final round against Jasmine Su, where she needed a full point to avoid a playoff and secured it with confidence.
The ten-player field brought together a mix of ambitious players. Defending champion IM Alice Lee did not take part, guaranteeing a new winner this year. Paragua, one of the youngest players in the competition, impressed with her fighting spirit and resilience, finishing unbeaten with four wins and five draws. FM Ruiyang Yan and FM Rose Atwell were also in contention during the early rounds, but faded in the final stages.
Tang's victory earns her a place in the US Women's Championship later this year.
Zoey Tang | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The US Senior Chess Championship finished with a three-way tie for first place between GMs Alexander Fishbein, Vladimir Akopian and Alexander Shabalov, each finishing on 5½/9. The tournament rules mandated a playoff to determine the champion, making this the first edition of the event to require a three-player tiebreak.
Vladimir Akopian had led the tournament going into the final round but was held to a draw by Gregory Kaidanov. Meanwhile, Fishbein defeated Joel Benjamin and Shabalov beat Alexander Goldin with the black pieces - both results allowing them to catch Akopian at the top.
Fishbein's run was particularly notable, as he began the event with one draw and two losses from the first four rounds. However, he mounted a late surge, scoring four points from the last five rounds, including wins over Shabalov and Kaidanov.
The playoff was contested as a rapid round-robin (15 minutes plus 10-second delay), with each participant playing two games. In the first encounter, Shabalov failed to make the most of a winning rook endgame against Akopian. The game ended drawn.
In the second, Fishbein defeated Shabalov with the white pieces after surviving aggressive play and an exchange sacrifice.
The final game between Fishbein and Akopian would decide the title. A win for Akopian would have handed him the championship, but he could not create winning chances and was eventually forced to repeat moves after accepting a pawn sacrifice.
With this draw, Fishbein secured outright first in the playoff and claimed the US Senior Championship title for the first time.
Alexander Fishbein | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Alexander Shabalov | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Vladimir Akopian speaking with star commentators Nazi Paikidze and Yasser Seirawan | Photo: Crystal Fuller
