Published on: Oct 14, 2025 03:38 pm IST
The US Chess C’ships is an invitational tournament held by the United States Chess Federation to decide the country’s chess champion.
The US Chess C’ships had a bizarre moment during Hans Niemann’s game against Wesley So. During their game, chief arbiter Chris Bird had an umbrella over both GMs, to protect them from direct sunlight, which was falling on their area through an open window. The sun rays were also falling directly into their faces. The window was later covered, and the game ended in a draw.
Speaking to Chess24 after the game, Niemann said, “Honestly it made me feel like I was the president of a small country!”
Meanwhile, chess legend Garry Kasparov was left in splits, and he also shared a witty joke on X. He wrote, “Hans knows the classics! “The first rule is when a game is played on a clear and sunny day, make sure the sun is in the enemy’s face so that it blinds him.” – Ruy López de Segura, “Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del axedrez”, 1561”.
The US Chess C’ships is an invitational tournament held by the United States Chess Federation to decide the country’s chess champion. It is also the oldest national chess tournament. As of 2023, 12 players are invited to compete and there is also a wildcard. Fabiano Caruana is the current defending champion.
This year’s edition began on October 12 and will end on October 24. It is a round-robin competition with a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves. Then, the players get 30 more minutes for the rest of the game and also a 30-second increment per move.
