Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana Delivers Commanding Performance to Win 2024 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX in Saint Louis

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following an impressive win the 2024 U.S. Chess Championship for the fourth time, Grandmaster (GM) Fabiano Caruana won the 2024 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX after a brilliant performance, defeating a competitive field of top American players as well as legendary former World Champion Garry Kasparov to take home the $37,500 first place prize. Chess 9LX was hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club at the World Chess Hall of Fame October 28-30, 2024.

Caruana shared: “Going in, it was a race between Hikaru. Having form carry over from the Championships was important. I felt I played well, but did get lucky against Garry.”

GM Hikaru Nakamura finished in second place, earning $25,000 while GM Wesley So took third place and $20,000.

“The Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX is always a treat for our participants and fans watching around the world, especially with the top players from the United States competing alongside legendary former World Champion Garry Kasparov,” said Tony Rich, Technical Director of the Saint Louis Chess Club. “It’s always thrilling to see Fabiano in action, and this year, he’s added yet another impressive win to his already stellar resume.”

Final tournament results include:

POSITION	PLAYER	PRIZE MONEY
1	GM Fabiano Caruana	$37,500
2	GM Hikaru Nakamura	$25,000
3	GM Wesley So	$20,000
T-4	GM Garry Kasparov	$12,500
T-4	GM Levon Aronian	$12,500
T-4	GM Sam Sevian	$12,500
7	GM Grigoriy Oparin	$7,500
8	GM Sam Shankland	$7,500
T-9	GM Leinier Dominguez	$7,500
T-9	GM Ray Robson	$7,500

Created by the Saint Louis Chess Club, Chess 9LX is an annual tournament played in Chess960 style (i.e. Fischer Random), a chess variant where the starting position of the pieces is randomized along the first rank. The tournament format is a 10-player round-robin, with a time control of 20 minutes per side plus a 5-second increment added every move.

Chess 9LX was preceded by Ultimate Moves, a fun and casual exhibition event featuring Saint Louis Chess Club Co-founder Rex Sinquefield and Mr. Monopoly–in town celebrating the launch of the Saint Louis Monopoly board game, which includes a World Chess Hall of Fame property– who teamed up with legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov and the Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX field. Team Mr. Monopoly emerged as the winners, beating Team Rex 6-3 in the match.

Full event coverage including commentary from GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashely and International Master (IM) Nazí Paikidze can be found on Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels or on uschesschamps.com. Saint Louis Monopoly is available for purchase now through the Saint Louis Chess Campus online gift shop, Q Boutique.

The Club’s next event, the Saint Louis Masters, will be held December 3-8, 2024. More information will be available soon at www.uschesschamps.com.

About the Saint Louis Chess Club

The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.

Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.

About the World Chess Hall of Fame

The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to building awareness of the cultural and artistic significance of chess. It opened on September 9, 2011, in the Central West End after moving from previous locations in New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami. Housed in a historic 15,900 square-foot residence-turned-business in Saint Louis' Central West End neighborhood, the WCHOF features World Chess Hall of Fame inductees, United States Chess Hall of Fame inductees selected by the U.S. Chess Trust, artifacts from the permanent collection and exhibitions highlighting the great players, historic games and rich cultural history of chess. The WCHOF partners with the Saint Louis Chess Club to provide innovative programming and outreach to local, national and international audiences. For more information, visit worldchesshof.org and on social: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube channels.