16-year-old American IM Alice Lee commented on her victory at the Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2026. Lee says that her opponents were tough, and notes how she plans to celebrate the win.

Alice Lee

Alice Lee

American IM

“This is extremely great to win this tournament!

I honestly was not expecting it at all, given that all of the players that I played were all extremely tough. Even in the first match, I think I had good chances to lose…

But I’m very happy that I was able to make it through and then also to win this match, which I felt was extremely, extremely close.

How am I going to celebrate this victory? I’m not sure… I think I got a lot of money from this match. Maybe I’ll buy myself some ice cream!”

The Women’s Speed Championship 2026 took place from July 6 to August 7 on Chess.com. Alice Lee defeated four-time Women’s World Chess Champion Hou Yifan with a score of 11.5-9.5 in the Final of the event. Alice earned around $11,600 for the win and became the youngest-ever Women’s Speed Chess Champion.

Credit: Lennart Ootes