Carissa Yip

Carissa Yip has dominated the U.S. Women’s Championship the past few years winning the 2021, 2023 and 2024 events (she didn’t play in 2022). It’s not only that Carissa won, but the way she did it. Her winning scores were exceptional – 8 ½ from 11 in each of them. Last year was especially memorable as Carissa started out 8-0 and almost had the $64,000 Fischer prize within her grasp. Named after Bobby Fischer for his 11-0 result in the 1963/64 U.S. Championship, the Fischer prize has yet to be paid out. Is 2025 the year Carissa does it?

The odds are against Carissa, but there is no doubt she is coming into the event in peak shape. She has had a banner year so far, the highlight being her victory in the Cairns Cup in St. Louis against some of the best female players in the world. The result was good for her second Grandmaster norm and helped raise her rating to 2458, ranking her number twenty in the world among women.