Landmark Tournament Concludes a Month-Long Celebration of the Newly Reopened Saint Louis Chess Club — the Nation’s Chess Capital

Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen has captured the title at the 2025 Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC), capping an unforgettable month of elite competition and celebration in Saint Louis, America’s Chess Capital. The high-stakes rapid event featured four of the world’s top grandmasters — World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana and reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju — who competed in an 18-game double round-robin format for a prize fund of $412,000.

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Magnus Carlsen captures the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown title at the Saint Louis Chess Club, clinching victory with two rounds to spare.

Magnus Carlsen clinched the 2025 Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown title with two rounds to spare, securing his victory in dominant fashion. The World No. 1 scored back-to-back wins against both World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Fabiano Caruana, locking in the championship and a $170,000 prize. Caruana finished in second place, earning $102,000.

“I was a lot happier today,” said Carlsen. “There were still things here and there that I wasn’t super happy about, but there was more flow and I felt I was more on top of things—not missing as many tricks. It feels really good to end on a high note and to actually be able to win convincingly in the end. It’s always satisfying to show that when I’m playing well—and that’s why I’m here, to play against the best.”

CLUTCH CHESS: CHAMPIONS SHOWDOWN FINAL STANDINGS

The Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown marked the grand finale of nearly a month-long celebration honoring the newly renovated STLCC. The world-class facility now boasts more than 30,000 square feet of modernized playing halls, learning spaces and community areas — designed to inspire players of all levels and reaffirming its status as one of the premier destinations in global chess.

“This month has showcased everything that makes Saint Louis the Chess Capital of the U.S.,” said Rex Sinquefield, co-founder of the STLCC. “From national championships to international showdowns, we’ve seen the best in the world come together under one roof — and it’s just the beginning of an exciting new chapter.”

Throughout October, the STLCC hosted a lineup of extraordinary events, including:

• A historic exhibition match, Clutch Chess: The Legends, between legendary World Champions Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand where Kasparov once again bested Anand
• The 2025 U.S. and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships, where Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip defended their titles
• The induction of new members into both the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame and the World Chess Hall of Fame honoring National Master Bruce Pandolfini and GM Irina Krush as the newest U.S. Hall of Fame inductees, alongside GMs Pia Cramling, Vlastimil Hort and Jan Timman, who joined the World Chess Hall of Fame during the opening ceremonies
• The reopening celebration of the Club’s expanded campus in the city’s Central West End, reaffirming Saint Louis as the heart of American chess

“It’s been incredible to watch Clutch Chess come to life—first fueled by the legends of the sport and now carried forward by today’s superstar players,” said GM Maurice Ashley, Creative Director of the Saint Louis Chess Club and creator of the Clutch Chess format. “From hosting legends like Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand to crowning Magnus Carlsen as our first Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown winner, it’s been a dream to see the game’s past, present and future converge here in Saint Louis.”

Fans can relive every game and highlight from all of this month’s events on the STLCC’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels, featuring expert commentary from GMs Maurice Ashley and Yasser Seirawan, Woman Grandmasters (WGM) Anastasiya Karlovich and Katerina Nemcova along with sports broadcaster James “Dash” Patterson.

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.

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Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen captures the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown title at the newly expanded Saint Louis Chess Club, clinching victory with two rounds to spare.