Rachael Li: From America's Youngest Female Master at Nine to a Three-Year Break and a Record-Setting Return
By Cameron W. · Thu, 22 Oct 2026
We have a new U.S. Chess Champion! But who is Rachael Li and how did she get to the top at the age of 16?
Rachael Li, 16, Wins the U.S. Women's Championship on Her First Try: From America's Youngest Female Master at Nine to a Three-Year Break and a Record-Setting Return
Nobody picked Rachael Li to win in Saint Louis, least of all Li. She arrived as the seventh seed of 12, in on rating, and she has said she came without any big plans. Two weeks later she is the 2026 U.S. Women's Champion, the youngest rookie ever to take the title, with 8.5/11 and half a point clear of Alice Lee. It is the latest chapter in a story that already had a record, a long silence and a very fast comeback.
A kid from Texas with a head start
Li grew up in Texas in a chess family. She started playing tournaments at four, younger than her brother, GM Ruifeng Li, and had her first World Open at about four and a half. Before long she was the youngest girl on record to reach an Expert rating in the U.S. Chess system, which means 2000 or higher.
The Master rating of 2200 came next. In November 2019, at nine years old, she crossed that line at the Winter Open in Carrollton, Texas, and became the youngest female master in U.S. history, according to US Chess. The record had belonged to Carissa Yip, who became a master at 11 in 2015. This week, Li took Yip's title as well. FIDE gave her the Woman Candidate Master title that same year.
Then she stepped away
Then the story goes quiet. Chess.com reports that Li stopped playing for three years, from ages 10 to 13, and came back after the pandemic. The sources reviewed do not say why. Her FIDE rating history starts again in February 2023, at 1939.
The climb back
From there she moved quickly. She earned the Woman FIDE Master title in 2024 and the Woman International Master title in 2025, and her FIDE rating hit 2380 this month, the highest of her career. In July she tied for second at the U.S. Junior Girls' Championship on 6.5/9, a point behind Zoey Tang, after leading on her own through four rounds, according to ChessBase.
The sheer volume of games stands out. Chess.com learned on the broadcast that she played 38 FIDE-rated classical games in August, sometimes four or five in two days, and fit games in on travel days too.
Saint Louis, where it came together
Round 1 gave her a gift. Irina Krush, an eight-time champion, was in a better position but down to her last minute near the first time control, and she left her queen undefended. Li took it. From there she stayed in touch with the leaders, and in Round 6 she caught Alice Lee by beating her with Black.
In Round 9 she went clear on her own after Nazi Paikidze played 79...Nb3 in a knight endgame and let a pawn run one square too many. That win also gave Li her first IM norm with two rounds to spare. A win over Rose Atwell the next day put her at nearly a 2600 performance and a full point ahead.
Through all of it she stayed relaxed. After Round 7 she said she had come "without any aspirations at all," and after Round 10 she said she felt little emotion and treated each game as practice for later tournaments. The nerves finally showed up the night before the last round, when she slept badly, and she then drew Anna Zatonskih in an opposite-colored bishop endgame to clinch the title.
That game had a nice moment in it. Zatonskih, with nothing to win herself, declined a three-move repetition that would have handed Li the title on the spot, because it would have been unfair to Lee. Li said she would have done the same.
What it brings, and who helped
Li thanked her brother for helping her prepare, both in chess terms and mentally, and said her parents were more anxious than she was. She is the youngest rookie champion, though not the youngest winner ever, since Krush won at 14.
The title brings $45,000, made up of the top prize, a $5,000 winner's bonus and the $5,000 Finish Strong Prize. She also gained about 50 rating points and qualified with Lee for the next FIDE Women's World Cup.
Sources
- 2026 U.S. Chess Championship Round 11: Rookie Rachael Li Wins U.S. Women’s Title (Chess.com)
- 2026 U.S. Chess Championships Round 10 (Chess.com)
- 2026 U.S. Chess Championships Round 9 (Chess.com)
- 2026 U.S. Chess Championships Round 7 (Chess.com)
- Rachael Li, 9, Youngest Female US Chess Master Ever (US Chess)
- Rachael Li biography (U.S. Championships site)
- Li, Rachael FIDE profile
- Woodward and Tang retain US junior titles with convincing performances (ChessBase)
- US Championships round 1 report (ChessBase)
- US Championships round 6 report (ChessBase)
- Knight to October 8: Saint Louis to host America’s chess elite (ChessBase)
