GM Sam Shankland (USA) emerged as the winner of the American Continental Chess Championship 2025, claiming the title on superior tiebreak after finishing in a seven-way tie for first place.
The 2025 edition of the American Continental Chess Championship took place in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, from May 23–31. The 11-round Swiss tournament, played with classical time control, brought together 218 participants from 17 countries, including 21 grandmasters. The event awarded four qualification spots for the 2025 FIDE World Cup, scheduled for October.
It was a fiercely contested tournament, with multiple players sharing the top position throughout. Heading into the final round, top seed Shankland, along with José Eduardo Martínez Alcántara, Alexandr Fier, and Luis Paulo Supi, led the field with 8/10, closely followed by eight players just half a point behind.
After the top boards ended in draws, Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra, Santiago Ávila Pavas, and José Gabriel Cardoso Cardoso scored crucial wins, catching up to the leaders. As a result, seven players ultimately tied for first place, with Shankland (gold), Martínez Alcántara (silver), and Fier (bronze) reaching the podium based on the Buchholz tiebreak.
