Upstart American claims the chess laurels at Cairns

When organizers go to the trouble and expense of hosting a major international chess tournament, it’s customary to reserve a slot or two in the field for a local favorite who may not have qualified by rating or reputation alone. The courtesy invitees are expected to boost local interest and maybe give the top seeds the occasional tough fight.

They are not, however, expected to win the whole darn thing.

Apparently nobody told WGM Carissa Yip or fellow American IM Alice Lee of the protocol, as Yip and Lee, the two youngest and lowest-rated players in the 10-player field, finished clear first and second in the just-concluded 5th Cairns Cup tournament, the strongest and most lucrative women’s invitational event held on U.S. soil. Yip, 21, clinched first place after an epic final-round battle at the storied St. Louis Chess Club with Lee, still just 15, a clash that ended in a draw after 98 moves. 

The two outpaced a field that included two former women’s world champions and titled grandmasters from such chess powerhouses as India, China and Ukraine.

“You couldn’t have scripted something more exciting or interesting, at least for Americans,” said investor and chess philanthropist extraordinaire Rex Sinquefield, who with his wife Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield has helped fund the annual Cairns events and a string of other memorable tournaments at the St. Louis site.

Yip, whose poor start wasn’t helped by a bout of bad health, fueled her comeback with a late four-game win streak, including back-to-back victories over Chinese former women’s world champion GM Tan Zhongyi and longtime Indian women’s No. 1 GM Humpy Koneru.

Against Tan in Round 6, the Stanford student acknowledged she was surprised by White’s Jobava London System and fell seriously behind on the clock. But White misses the superior 9. 0-0! Qxc5 10. Na4 Qa5 11. c4, cementing her advantage, and Black alertly spots counterplay on the king’s wing as Tan presses ahead on the other flank: 14. Na7 Nd7! (White’s a- and h-pawns are now both under fire) 15. Qd2!? (Bg5 Bf6 16. f4 Bxg5 17. fxg5 Nxa5 18. e4 gives Tan good compensation for the pawn) Qxh4 16. Rfd1 0-0 17. e4 d4 18. c3 e5, and suddenly White’s queenside play is on hold while Black’s central and kingside play are very much alive.

White seems to underestimate the danger she faces: 20. Bc4? (Bf4 Kh7 22. Rac1 is still very much a game) h4 22. Bh2 Qxe4 23. Re1 Qf5 24. Bd3 Qd5 25. Ra3 h3!, and Black has two extra pawns and even threatens mate on the move.

Yip claims a clear advantage with a timely exchange sacrifice to mobilize her remaining forces: 28. Bd6 (see diagram; White hopes for a rook “perpetual” after 28…Rd8 29. Bc7 Rf8 30. Bd6) Nde5! 29. Bxf8 Bxf8, hitting White’s rook on a3 and also threatening to capture on f3.

The engines say White misses one last chance to save the game after 31. Bxg2 Bg4? (a subtle oversight — Black keeps her clear edge with 31..Bf5! 32. Bxc6 Nxc6 33. Rg3 Bh6 34. Qe2 Bf4 35. Nb6 Rd8 36. Rg2 Ne5) 32. Rg3 Qh5, and here the computers say 33. Bxc6! bxc6 34. Rxe5! Qxe5 35. Rxg4 would have held in lines such as 35…Bxc5 36. Nxc5 Qxc5 37. Qxd4 Qxa5 38. Rh4, with enough major-piece activity to offset the pawn deficit.

On the game’s 33. Ne4? Be7 34. Qf4 f5, Black reclaims the advantage, and proceeds to outplay the former world champ in the ensuing complications: 35. f3 fxe4! 36. fxg4 Qh4 37. Bxe4 Rf8!, and White must give up her queen as any retreat hangs the rook on g3.

White’s king is mercilessly exposed and Tan resigns after 42. Kf2 (Rxe3 Qg4+ 43. Rg3 Qe2+ 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Kf2 Qxa4 46. Rhg1 Qc2+ 47. Kf1 Qf5+ 48. Bf3 Ne5 and wins) Ng4+ 43. Kg2 Qg5 — aside from her material deficit, Tan is looking at such dreary lines as 44. Bxc6 Qd2+ 45. Kf3 Qf2+ 46. Ke4 (Kxg4 Qf5+ 47. Kh4 Qh5 mate) Qxg3 47. Bxb7 Nf2+ 48. Kd5 Qd6+ 49. Kc4 Qb4+ 50. Kd5 Qb5+ 51. Kxd4 Qd3+ 52. Ke5 Qd6 mate.

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One round later, Yip faced another higher-rated player willing to sacrifice pawns for the attack and, once again, the young U.S. star negotiated some treacherous shoals on the paddle to victory. It’s a sharp Open Ruy Lopez in which Koneru as Black willingly cedes a pawn to break up Yip’s own kingside defensive ramparts and leave White’s king badly exposed: 14. Qb3 Bg4!? 15. Qxb7 (White goes pawn-hunting, and reaps the whirlwind) Bxf3 16. gxf3 Qd7 17. d5!, rightly preferring active defense as the only way to blunt the coming attack.

Black pushes more chips into the pot with 17…Bd6!, inviting 18. c5? Be5 19. Qxc6 Qh3 20. f4 Ng6, winning, but White finds the saving idea 18. Ne4! Be5 19. Qxc6 Qf5 20. Ng3 (Kg2 Ng6, with 21… Nh4+ to follow) Qxf3 21. Bc5!, clearing the e3-square for the White rook to anchor the defense.

Yip’s 23. d6! Qxc4!? (Qe6!? was also possible; e.g. 24. Qxc7 Red8 25. Bd4 Rxd6 26. Bxe5 fxe5 27. f4 Rc8, with a messy, unbalanced position) 24. d7! adds a new variable to the equation, as Black must now contend with a far advanced passed pawn as she seeks to mate the White king.

Both players struggle in a deeply complicated position, but Yip again emerges on top when the dust settles: 26. b3 Qg4? (better was 26…Ne7! 27. Rxe5 fxe5 [Nxc6? 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 30. bxc4 wins a piece for White] 28. Qxc7 Qc2, and Black can fight on) 27. Rd4? (an exchange sacrifice that should not work) Ne7? — the best way to refute this sac would have been to accept it with 27…Bxd4! 28. Re8 Nf8!, and if 29. Bxf8, Black has 29…Bxf2+! 30. Kxf2 Rxd7! 31. Rxb8 Rd2+, with mate on tap in lines like 32. Ke3 Qd4+ 33. Kf3 Rf2 mate.

Instead, Koneru’s 27…Ne7? allows White to seal the deal with 28. Bxe7! (Rxg4?! Nxc6 29. Bd3 Bxg3 30. Rgxg3 Rb5 is only equal) Bxd4 29. Qc4+ (protecting the rook on e3 by pinning the Black bishop) Kh8 30. Bxd8 Qd1+ (Qxd7 31. Qxd4! Qxd4 [Qxd8 32. Qc4 leaves White a piece ahead] 32. Re8 mate) 31. Qf1, and Black resigned. White’s passed d-pawn still lives and she can’t avoid losing major material after 31…Qxf1+ 32. Kxf1 Bxe3 33. Bxc7 Bb6 (Ra8 34. fxe3 Kg8 35. d8=Q+) 34. Bxb6. 

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Tan-Yip, 5th Cairns Cup, St. Louis, June 2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 a6 4. e3 g6 5. Be2 Bg7 6. h4 h5 7. Nf3 c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Nd2 Qxc5 10. Nb3 Qb6 11. O-O e6 12. a4 Nc6 13. a5 Qd8 14. Na4 Nd7 15. Qd2 Qxh4 16. Rfd1 O-O 17. e4 d4 18. c3 e5 19. Bg3 Qe7 20. cxd4 exd4 21. Bc4 h4 22. Bh2 Qxe4 23. Re1 Qf5 24. Bd3 Qd5 25. Ra3 h3 26. Be4 Qh5 27. Bf3 Qh8 28. Bd6 Nde5 29. Bxf8 Bxf8 30. Nbc5 hxg2 31. Bxg2 Bg4 32. Rg3 Qh5 33. Ne4 Be7 34. Qf4 f5 35. f3 fxe4 36. fxg4 Qh4 37. Bxe4 Rf8 38. Bd5+ Kg7 39. Qxf8+ Bxf8 40. Kg2 Nxg4 41. Rh1 Ne3+ 42. Kf2 Ng4+ 43. Kg2 Qg5 White resigns.

Yip-Koneru, 5th Cairns Cup, St. Louis, June 2025

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 Nc5 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. Nxe5 Be7 9. d4 Ne6 10. Be3 O-O 11. c4 f6 12. Nf3 Re8 13. Nc3 Nf8 14. Qb3 Bg4 15. Qxb7 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Qd7 17. d5 Bd6 18. Ne4 Be5 19. Qxc6 Qf5 20. Ng3 Qxf3 21. Bc5 Ng6 22. Re3 Qg4 23. d6 Qxc4 24. d7 Red8 25. Rd1 Rab8 26. b3 Qg4 27. Rd4 Ne7 28. Bxe7 Bxd4 29. Qc4+ Kh8 30. Bxd8 Qd1+ 31. Qf1 Black resigns.

• Got a game or a chess tidbit to share? David R. Sands can be reached at davidrsands18@gmail.com.