U.S. Chess Champions

The American title began in the nineteenth century through match claims and American Chess Congress results. Charles Stanley, Paul Morphy, and George Henry Mackenzie are usually treated as early titleholders before a formal championship cycle existed.

From 1891 into the early twentieth century the title was contested mainly by matches. The modern national championship began under the United States Chess Federation in 1936, when invitational tournaments replaced the older challenge-match model.

The format has moved between round-robin and Swiss systems. Since 2009 the Saint Louis Chess Club has been the main host, and since 2014 the championship has generally returned to a round-robin invitational format.