ST. LOUIS, MO – The 2025 U.S. Chess Championship Open section exploded with action in Round 2, as GM Wesley So and GM Sam Shankland registered decisive wins with astonishingly high accuracy scores.
Their victories propelled them into a four-way tie for first place with a score of 1.5/2, joining day-one leaders GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Levon Aronian.
The day’s results served as a dramatic display of the razor-thin margins at the elite level, where even near-perfect play can be punished by an opponent capable of just a slight miscalculation.
Three-time U.S. Champion GM Wesley So defeated his opponent, GM Ray Robson, in a long, complex game that carried a special significance. The two grandmasters were roommates during their time at Webster University starting in 2012, and their history informed So’s post-game reflection.
“Ray had amazing opening knowledge, and he really taught me a lot, both in chess and in living happily,” So humorously recalled.
Despite the personal connection, the battle was fierce. Playing with the black pieces, So slowly outmanoeuvred Robson in a strategic grind. The game was dead even for long stretches, with So later admitting he felt confused and tempted to make rash sacrifices. He held strong, converting a slight positional edge into a full point.
The engine-based post-mortem highlighted the sheer precision: So scored an incredible 95.0% accuracy, overcoming Robson’s strong 87.8%. In the end, it was So’s unwavering tactical discipline that proved the difference in a game he described as “very confusing and tempting at times.”
If So’s win was about strategic discipline, GM Sam Shankland’s victory over GM Dariusz Swiercz was a testament to cold, hard calculation. Shankland delivered a performance of almost flawless chess, logging a breathtaking 97.0% accuracy to Swiercz’s excellent 93.8%.
The game was “crazy,” as observed by commentators, a deep tactical fight that remained perfectly balanced until the final stages.
The critical turning point came in a complex endgame. On move 64, Swiercz played the seemingly normal Rd7, which was immediately met by Shankland’s brilliant and best-in-class response of hxg6.
Just two moves later, Swiercz made a small but fatal inaccuracy with Rd3, which ceded the advantage to Shankland. The 2018 champion pounced instantly, capitalising on the temporary lapse to bring home the point.
Swiercz’s strong, near-flawless performance was ultimately overshadowed by Shankland’s astonishing level of precision.
In this contest of giants, Shankland’s microscopic edge in accuracy proved insurmountable, demonstrating that even a spectacular effort can fall short when facing the very best. There is always a bigger fish on the chessboard.
