American Underdogs Yip and Lee Defy Odds to Finish 1–2 Against World-Class Field

2025 Cairns Cup Round 8 Carissa Yip LOC09167 SAINT LOUIS, June 20, 2025

In what may be one of the most dramatic chess upsets of the year, International Masters (IM) Carissa Yip and Alice Lee — the two youngest and lowest-rated players in the field — defied odds to finish first and second at the 2025 Cairns Cup.

Twenty-one-year-old Yip, the U.S. No. 1 women’s player, overcame a rocky start to clinch her first Cairns Cup title and $65,000, while 14-year-old Alice Lee delivered a commanding performance throughout the tournament, finishing just behind her in second place.

“I’m excited to kick off my life in Saint Louis with a win at the Cairns Cup. I had a bit of a shaky start and wasn’t feeling my best throughout the tournament, but I knew I had to turn things around. I’m proud I was able to power through and finish strong.”

— IM Carissa Yip

Yip, an alum of the Young Stars Program in partnership with the Kasparov Chess Foundation and Saint Louis Chess Club, recently announced her move to Saint Louis to train at the Saint Louis Chess Club, is now setting her sights on becoming only the second American woman to earn the full Grandmaster (GM) title.

“Thank you to 10 of the top female chess players from around the world for coming to Saint Louis for the Cairns Cup. It was a great tournament. Congratulations to American Carissa Yip on winning the tournament as part of her goal of becoming a grandmaster.”

— Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield

The 2025 Cairns Cup final standings include:

2025 CAIRNS CUP FINAL STANDINGS

PLACE	NAME	FEDERATION	PRIZE MONEY
1	IM Carissa Yip	🇺🇸 USA	$65,000
2	IM Alice Lee	🇺🇸 USA	$50,000
3	GM Harika Dronavalli	🇮🇳 India	$40,000
T-4	GM Nana Dzagnidze	🇬🇪 Georgia	$17,750
T-4	GM Humpy Koneru	🇮🇳 India	$17,750
T-4	IM Bibisara Assaubayeva	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	$17,750
T-4	IM Alina Kashlinskaya	🇵🇱 Poland	$17,750
8	GM Mariya Muzychuk	🇺🇦 Ukraine	$9,000
9	GM Tan Zhongyi	🇨🇳 China	$8,000
10	GM Nino Batsiashvili	🇬🇪 Georgia	$7,000
Total Prize Fund:			$250,000

About the Cairns Cup

Established in 2019, the Cairns Cup was created by the Saint Louis Chess Club to provide a competitive tournament for elite female players. Aptly named in honor of Saint Louis Chess Club co-founder Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield’s maiden name, the 2025 Cairns Cup featured a ten player field of top women from across the world competing for a $250,000 purse during the round robin style tournament held at the World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries from June 10-20. International Arbiter (IA) Maya Myers served as Chief Arbiter and IA Anastasia Sorokina was Deputy Arbiter.

To rewatch all of the action from the tournament broadcast visit the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel.

NEXT UP

Catch World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and other top Grand Chess Tour players competing in the
World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries tournament, starting on July 2 with commentary from
Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan and Peter Svidler, as well as IM Nazi Paikidze.
Watch all the action live at grandchesstour.org