The Saint Louis Chess Club announced the field of participants for the Cairns Cup 2026. The event will take place in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, from August 8 to 21.

The complete field:

  • 🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru (2535)
  • 🇨🇳 Tan Zhongyi (2535)
  • 🇺🇦 Anna Muzychuk (2522)
  • 🇰🇿 Bibisara Assaubayeva (2516)
  • 🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh (2510)
  • 🇨🇭 Alexandra Kosteniuk (2487)
  • 🇺🇸 Carissa Yip (2484)
  • 🇬🇷 Stavroula Tsolakidou (2479)
  • 🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu (2470)
  • 🇺🇸 Alice Lee (2415)

The event features a 90+30 time control for the first 40 moves and 30+30 for the rest of the game over single Round-Robin between 10 players. In case of a tie for first place, the winner will be determined by Tiebreaks.

The Cairns Cup is an annual tournament for the world’s top female players. The event is organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club and has been held since 2019. The Cairns Cup 2026 follows the 2025 edition won by IM Carissa Yip.

Credit: Crystal Fuller