Antipov Leapfrogs Caruana To Win 2026 Saint Louis Masters
GM Mikhail Antipov won the 2026 Saint Louis Masters with 7.5/9 to earn the $25,000 first prize. He and GM Fabiano Caruana were neck and neck going into the last round, and both had the black pieces. Antipov managed to win his last game against GM Andy Woodward, while Caruana let go of a decisive advantage against GM Francesco Sonis and drew.
The action is just getting started in St. Louis, and the American Cup Blitz starts on Monday. After that, the 2026 American Cup (Open and Women) begins on Tuesday, March 3, starting at 1:00 p.m. EST / 19:00 CET / 11:30 p.m. IST.
Strangely for a Swiss tournament of this size, there were no ties in first, second, or third. Caruana finished in sole second ($15,000), while GM Lorenzo Lodici finished in third ($8,000).
Final Standings | Top 20 After 9 Rounds
| Rank | Title | Name | Rating | Fed | Pts. |
| 1 | GM | Antipov Mikhail | 2591 | 7.5 | |
| 2 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | 2795 | 7 | |
| 3 | GM | Lodici Lorenzo | 2590 | 6.5 | |
| 4 | GM | Pranav V | 2641 | 6 | |
| 5 | GM | Aryan Chopra | 2631 | 6 | |
| 6 | GM | Hong Andrew | 2587 | 6 | |
| 7 | GM | Sonis Francesco | 2561 | 6 | |
| 8 | IM | Adewumi Tanitoluwa | 2433 | 6 | |
| 9 | GM | Mishra Abhimanyu | 2629 | 5.5 | |
| 10 | GM | Durarbayli Vasif | 2612 | 5.5 | |
| 11 | GM | Woodward Andy | 2608 | 5.5 | |
| 12 | GM | Quesada Perez Yasser | 2562 | 5.5 | |
| 13 | GM | Akobian Varuzhan | 2549 | 5.5 | |
| 14 | GM | Stremavicius Titas | 2547 | 5.5 | |
| 15 | GM | Kadric Denis | 2540 | 5.5 | |
| 16 | GM | Kantor Gergely | 2515 | 5.5 | |
| 17 | IM | Putnam Liam | 2485 | 5.5 | |
| 18 | IM | Atanasov Anthony | 2441 | 5.5 | |
| 19 | GM | Oparin Grigoriy | 2658 | 5 | |
| 20 | GM | Bharath Subramaniyam H | 2595 | 5 |
Our last report covered rounds one through four, and when we left off there were three players in the lead: GMs Caruana, Lodici, and Vasif Durarbayli. The morning before round five, Durarbayli pointed out that he hadn't played a classical game since March 2025, nearly a year ago, and that he was delighted with, if not surprised by, such a good start.
After a year away from classical chess, I wasn't expecting such a start! Hoping to keep the momentum going. https://t.co/0NqhG4toQT
— Vasif Durarbayli (@durarbayli) February 27, 2026
He went on to clash with co-leader Lodici in round five, while Caruana took a bye. In that game, Lodici extended his streak to four wins in a row by swiftly taking advantage of a tactical oversight. 14...f5? allowed 15.Ng5! with a decisive double attack, and White went on to win with the extra exchange.
Durarbayli went on to make four draws and finish with a solid 5.5/9, while Lodici wouldn't muster another win until the last round. He made draws with GM Andy Woodward and Caruana in rounds six and seven, which were enough to stay in the shared lead, but slumped lower in the standings when he lost to Antipov in round eight.
While Antipov had a slower start, winning his first two games and then making three draws, he picked up an incredible pace in the second half. He won all four of his remaining games in the event, notching up a performance of over 2800.
The tournament, in its final stages, became a two-horse race between Antipov and Caruana, though there was a sizeable chasing pack.
While Antipov scored that critical round-eight win against Lodici in a blazing French Defense, Caruana knocked down the, until then, undefeated 15-year-old Woodward. Caruana unleashed the novelty 15.g4!? in a Ruy Lopez, but it was, for spectators, an eerie peek into the depth of top-level preparation. Both players reached an endgame on move 27 hardly having spent any time; Caruana had 30 seconds more than he started with, while Woodward had only used two minutes.
Woodward understood that the path to equality involved sacrificing his bishop for pawns, but didn't manage to hold it in the game.
The two leaders—who had already met in round three and drawn—had the black pieces in the final round, with Caruana playing Sonis and Antipov facing Woodward.
Were they to both lose their games, there was a trailing group of six players a point behind, which included not only the youngster Woodward but also IM Tani Adewumi. The Nigerian-American teenager lost his first game but did not lose again for the remaining eight rounds; with a draw with GM Andrew Hong in the last round, he earned his first grandmaster norm with a 6/9 score.
We nearly saw both leaders win on demand with the black pieces. Caruana's Sicilian Defense was met with the solid Alapin Variation, but he got a big chance in the bishop vs. knight endgame. At the critical moment, he erroneously traded into a pawn endgame that was drawn.
This was one of Caruana's last two classical events before the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. On the one hand, as the rating favorite by over 100 points, Caruana was expected to win the tournament. On the other, he is set to gain two rating points; it was hardly a bad event.
Antipov, on the other hand, brought the full point home against Woodward. Black was already slightly better out of the opening after 11.e4?!, but White's first significant mistake was 19.Ra5?, the most natural-looking move in the position. It turned out that, on the a-file, the rook was running very short on squares—and this led to fatal concessions.
Lodici won a clutch rook endgame in the last round, against GM Gergely Kantor, to slip right into sole third place.
IM Carissa Yip, who started the event with potentially demoralizing losses in the first three rounds, made a resounding comeback. Winning four of the next five games, with just one draw, she took home the top women's prize of $2,500. Critically, she defeated GM Benjamin Bok in the last round.
FM Rose Atwell, finishing a half-point behind, earned the second women's prize of $1,500 and secured her fourth IM norm. She needs to cross the 2400 rating barrier to earn the IM title, and she posted on X that her next event will be a GM norm event in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the end of March.
IMs Anthony Atanasov and Liam Putnam, both 18 years old, each earned a GM norm with 5.5/9 scores. Atanasov played the longest game of the tournament in round six—totaling 194 moves before finally reaching a draw against IM Dimitar Mardov. The game lasted over six hours, something virtually unseen with the time control of 90+30 with no extra time.
While it's a first norm for Atanasov, Putnam has now fulfilled the requirements for the grandmaster title, having crossed 2500 by live rating and earned his last of three norms.
That's it for the Saint Louis Masters. On to the American Cup!
The Saint Louis Masters, which ran from February 25 to March 1 at the St. Louis Chess Club, is a premier event featuring top international talent battling in a nine-round Swiss with a classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for the entire game. The event is part of the 2026-2027 FIDE Circuit and will help decide one of the participants of the 2028 Candidates Tournament.
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