TWIC is 31. First issue 17th September 1994.
5th Cairns Cup 2025 (4-9)
Carissa Yip wins the Cairns Cup
Mark Crowther - Saturday 21st June 2025
Carissa Yip. Photo © | https://saintlouischessclub.org/event/cairns-cup-2025/
The fifth Cairns Cup finished on Thursday with victory for 21 year old Carissa Yip who drew with her closest rival, 15 year old Alice Lee, to secure clear first place. Yip and Lee were formally the bottom two seeds in the event but there was reason to believe even before the event started that both players were considerably better than that. Neither has been very active outside the United States, Yip is studying Computer Science and Math at Stanford University (I now hear that at some point recently she dropped out) and Lee is still at school, yet their powerful play at the US Championships in October, where Yip was champion and Lee finished third with only one defeat, already marked them out as leading women's players.
The final rounds
Lee set the early pace but lost the lead after a defeat by Bibisara Assaubayeva in round 6. This was a Sicilian where Lee's position wasn't very nice out of the opening and just steadily deteriorated until she resigned on move 25. At that point Humpy Koneru moved into the lead with 4.5/6 after a win over Harika Dronavalli, Alina Kashlinskaya was half a point behind on 4 points. Dronavalli, Yip and Lee were a further half point back.
The seventh round was key to the American's final results as Yip beat the leader Koneru and Lee beat second placed Kashlinskaya. In the eighth round Koneru aggressively played for a win against Nino Batsiashvili and lost quite badly. Koneru has never look comfortable playing in this style. Yip beat Assaubayeva to take the lead and Lee drew with Dronavalli.
This left Carissa Yip needing a draw with white against Alice Lee in the final round, one of these two was bound to win the event. Lee needed a win for a GM norm and victory, Yip only a draw for the same. Yip played the Four Knights and Lee had to try and sharpen things up somehow. 18...Bg7? however was simply a serious mistake, this left Lee fighting for a draw in a lost position for a very long time, until 79.Qe5? which allowed her back into the game. The game was drawn on move 98 when Lee set up a clear fortress.
Thus Yip won the event and Lee took second place. Harika Dronavalli finished in clear third place and Humpy Koneru's miserable last third of the event was completed with a loss to Mariya Muzychuk.
Cairns Cup 2025
| 5th Cairns Cup 2025 Saint Louis (USA), 10-20 vi 2025 | cat. X (2482) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1. | Yip, Carissa | m | USA | 2431 | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2612 | |||
| 2. | Lee, Alice | m | USA | 2389 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5½ | 2572 | |||
| 3. | Dronavalli, Harika | g | IND | 2483 | 1 | ½ | * | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5 | 2524 | |||
| 4. | Koneru, Humpy | g | IND | 2543 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 4½ | 2475 | |||
| 5. | Kashlinskaya, Alina | m | POL | 2459 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 4½ | 2484 | |||
| 6. | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | m | KAZ | 2509 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4½ | 2478 | |||
| 7. | Dzagnidze, Nana | g | GEO | 2505 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4½ | 2479 | |||
| 8. | Muzychuk, Mariya | g | UKR | 2492 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 4 | 2437 | |||
| 9. | Tan, Zhongyi | g | CHN | 2546 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | 3½ | 2394 | |||
| 10. | Batsiashvili, Nino | g | GEO | 2462 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 3 | 2359 | |||
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