With the black pieces, Sevian opts for the solid French Defense.
Robson develops his knight, and also defends his central pawn.
The game has entered the Classical Variation of the French Defense. Both players are gearing up for a battle of strategy and central control.
Robson advances his pawn, directly attacking Sevian’s knight.
Under attack, Sevian retreats his knight to a safer square.
Robson repositions his knight, clearing the path for his c-pawn.
Sevian pushes his pawn, challenging Robson’s central structure.
Robson advances his c-pawn as planned, reinforcing his central pawn structure.
Sevian develops his knight, targeting key central squares.
Robson develops his knight to a natural square, matching Sevian’s piece activity.
Sevian develops his bishop, preparing to castle kingside.
With a flank pawn push, Robson brings new preparation to the game. Sevian will need to navigate unfamiliar territory carefully.
Sevian spends 15 minutes on his response, and it looks like he misjudged the position. Robson’s preparation has caught him off guard in the French!
With the best move on the board, Robson seizes the initiative. Sevian is already on the defensive just nine moves in!
In a practical decision, Sevian trades his knight for two pawns, aiming to consolidate. The position is sharp, but he’s trying to stabilize under pressure.
Robson repositions his knight, dodging attack and immediately threatening Sevian’s g-pawn.
Sevian castles kingside, tucking his king safely while activating his rook.
Robson retreats his knight, but it’s a blunder that reduces his earlier advantage. A more active approach might have kept the pressure on Sevian.
Sevian pushes his central pawn, attacking Robson’s knight.
Robson advances his knight, seeking active prospects on the kingside.
Sevian moves his pawn, attacking Robson's knight.
Robson finds a brilliant move, bringing his queen into action. He still maintains a small advantage.
Sevian responds accurately, exchanging queens to relieve pressure. Trading pieces is often the best defense in tense positions!
Robson is forced to trade queens, as retreating isn’t possible with his knight under attack.
Sevian recaptures the queen back, with his rook.
Robson gives back his knight, and with that, his small advantage disappears.
By fianchettoing his bishop, Sevian brings it into play on the long diagonal.
Robson castles queenside, tucking his king safely and bringing his rook into play on the d-file.
With the queens exchanged and Robson returning his knight, the game transitions to the endgame. Sevian has slowly managed to equalize!
The minor pieces are all exchanged, and we now have an equal rook endgame.
We’ve reached move 40! Both players receive an additional 30 minutes.
The final game of the 2025 U.S. Chess Championship has concluded and fittingly, it ends in a draw after 64 moves, making it a clean sweep of draws across all boards in Round 11!
The game began with a French Defense, and Robson came in with fresh preparation, catching Sevian off guard and seizing a big advantage straight out of the opening. For a while, it looked like Robson might score a quick and convincing win. But as the game wore on, his momentum faded, a few missed opportunities let Sevian back into the fight.
Showing great defensive skill, Sevian simplified the position through precise exchanges, steering the game into an equal endgame. From there, both players battled on, testing each other’s technique for hours, but neither side could make progress. The game finally ended peacefully after a marathon struggle.
While Sevian will be relieved to have saved a tough position, he’ll know that a win today could have secured him a podium finish.
And with that, we wrap up our coverage of the 2025 U.S. Chess Championship, congratulations to Fabiano Caruana, the 2025 U.S. Champion! 🏆
We’re live from the Saint Louis Chess Club for the last classical round of this thrilling championship and what a climax it’s shaping up to be! After 10 rounds, Fabiano Caruana leads with 7.5/10, followed by Wesley So at 7, and Levon Aronian at 6. Only Caruana or Wesley can take home the national title, but there’s still plenty at stake across the boards today.
We’re following Sam Sevian’s game against Ray Robson. Sevian stands at 5.5/10, currently in fourth place, and still has a shot to finish on the podium with a win today. Robson, on the other hand, will be aiming to close out his campaign on a strong note.
Can Sevian end his U.S. Championship run with a victory, and possibly a podium finish?