Hans Niemann Breaks a 71-Game Unbeaten Streak at the U. S. Championship
In a commanding performance at the 2025 U.S. Chess Championship, Grandmaster Hans Niemann defeated 16-year-old prodigy Abhimanyu Mishra in Round 5 on October 17, ending Mishra’s remarkable 71-game unbeaten streak in classical play. The clash, held at the revamped facility of the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, saw Niemann, rated nearly 90 points higher, leverage his experience to outmaneuver the youngest Grandmaster in history. Niemann outclassed his young compatriot with elite calculation in a double-edged rook endgame. The win placed Niemann in a three-way tie for first with GMs Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, each at 3.5/5 points.
Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club
Abhimanyu Mishra, undefeated since a loss to So in the prior U.S. Championship, has been one of the most solid players in 2025. Yet Niemann, a self-proclaimed one of the best Italian opening experts, proved yet again that he is among the best in the world as he exploited a rare Mishra misstep.
This wasn’t Niemann’s first streak-shattering moment in St. Louis. In 2022, at the Sinquefield Cup, he famously ended Magnus Carlsen’s 53-game unbeaten streak, a win that sparked global controversy but cemented Niemann’s reputation for fearless play. Now, with this victory, Niemann’s live rating of 2743.8 catapults him to world number 13, just half a dozen points shy of breaking the world top 10.
Post-game, Niemann took to X, playfully noting his knack for breaking streaks in Saint Louis, with a subtle jab at Carlsen’s 2022 defeat.
As the U.S. Championship races toward its October 24 climax, Niemann’s form signals a serious title bid, while Mishra, despite the setback, remains a prodigious talent with a boundless future.
Photo courtesy: Lennart Ootes
