It was a day of endgames in round four of the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship, with GM Fabiano Caruana scoring a long grinding win over GM Ray Robson to join GM Wesley So in the lead on three points. In other games, GMs Jeffery Xiong, Grigoriy Oparin, and Hans Niemann also scored glorious endgame wins in what could be the longest and most enthralling round in terms of the number of moves played.

IM Alice Lee scored a copybook endgame win against overnight joint leader FM Megan Paragua, to gain the sole lead of the 2026 U.S. Women's Chess Championship on 3.5 points. She is followed on three points by WGM Thalia Cervantes, who drew her game against IM Anna Zatonskih from a complex and imbalanced endgame.

Caruana-Robson liquidated into a double-rook endgame by move 23, simplified into a rook vs. rook endgame by move 68, and ended in the former's favor by move 77. Lee's endgame featured a basic position which is difficult to understand, even more difficult to master, and impossible to remember unless revised regularly. All in all, it was a feast for endgame lovers in St. Louis, where four Open games exceeded 50 moves, while five did in the Women's.

After a rest day on Tuesday, the tournament resumes with the fifth round on Wednesday, October 14, starting at 1 p.m. ET / 19:00 CEST / 10:30 p.m. IST.

Standings After Round 4: Open

Standings After Round 4: Women

Open: Squeeze, Spiderweb, Classical

Round 4 Results: Open

Caruana exhibited an absolute masterclass in rook endgames with an excellent grind against Robson. It featured many subtleties, as Caruana scored a well-deserved win where he was better right through and never gave up his grip. This game is undoubtedly our Game Of The Day, analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao below.

In terms of color, Xiong's endgame win over GM Awonder Liang was even more enjoyable, as he gave up one of his two minor pieces on the 29th move to set up an inspired endgame fight. Such endgames show us that chess is nothing but an expression of one's personality over the board. Even though the endgame was objectively equal, it is next to impossible to withstand the pressure when defending such difficult endgames.

Though Xiong also made mistakes in conversion when given the opportunity after Liang went wrong in his defense, it only made the game more entertaining. After all, what better way to show that chess is, after all, a difficult game to play!?

Oparin too enjoyed his endgame of the day—a classic queen and knight versus queen and bishop squeeze. The basic idea in such endgames is that the knight can spread its influence over both colors of the board, whereas the bishop can only do so on its own color. That, combined with his passed pawn and energetic king, enabled Oparin to squeeze out a full point from a well-fought endgame.

Round 5 Pairings | Open

Women: Alice Lee Grabs Sole Lead

Round 4 Results: Women

Lee showcased her absolute mastery of endgame basics by winning a complex endgame involving the rook and pawn versus bishop. This is an endgame which is considered fundamental for grandmasters, requiring precise handling of the rook and king and subtle maneuvers.

Round 5 Pairings | Women