Sam Sevian commented on his victory over Wesley So in the last round of the US Chess Championships 2026. Sevian says that he was ready to fight in every game of the tournament. Sam notes that he found a way to play against Wesley in Classical.

Sam Sevian

Sam Sevian

American GM

“[Interviewer: This was an extremely tough tournament for you. But you came in today, it seemed, with a determination to really put up a fight and try to win instead of just gifting him a draw]

For sure, I came to fight every game this tournament. And even with the result I didn’t want to stop fighting.

[Interviewer: How is it that you have an undefeated record in Classical chess against Wesley So?]

I just really like playing against him, especially in Classical. He’s really good at setting up tricks in shorter time controls. But in Classical I kind of figured out his little ideas.

[Interviewer: What satisfaction does it give you to affect the lead? In a money game that mattered to somebody who’s trying to win a championship?]

Playing spoiler on Banner Knights is always nice.”

The US Chess Championship 2026 takes place from October 9 to 22, at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, USA. Sam Sevian was in last place with 0 wins. Wesley So needed to not lose his game in the last round to win the tournament. Sam defeated Wesley in 67 moves. So made a critical Inaccuracy on move 48 and lost a significant advantage. Wesley did not manage to recover and resigned 19 moves later.

Sam Sevian finished the event on the last 12th place. He lost 23.6 Classical points and dropped 9 positions during the tournament. Sam is currently World’s No. 40 with 2684.4 points in the live rating. Sevian finished 4th at the 2025 edition of the US Chess Championship.

Credit: Lennart Ootes