Recap

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk jumped out to a stellar 2/2 after defeating GM Harika Dronavalli in another dramatic round which saw four decisive games. Scoring their first wins were GMs Elisabeth Paehtz, Nana Dzagnidze, and IM Anna Zatonskih, who nearly allowed a miraculous escape.

The third edition of the Cairns Cup kicked off today in Saint Louis as ten of the world’s top female players began to battle it out for their share of the $180,000 prize fund. The tournament got off to a stunning start as former Women’s World Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated top seed and reigning Cairns Cup champion GM Humpy Koneru. Meanwhile GM Harika Dronavalli, GM Irina Krush, and IM Gunay Mammadzada all won their first round games as well.

Hikaru Nakamura pulled through to become the 2023 American Cup Champion after defeating Wesley So 2.5-1.5 in a difficult final Elimination Match. The finale started out with three solid draws, but finished abruptly in the fourth game after a blunder by So got his queen trapped inside Nakamura’s territory.

8-time U.S. Champion Irina Krush bounced back from a loss in classical to defeat a surging Alice Lee in a rapid playoff and win her second straight American Cup title. Meanwhile Wesley So won a playoff on-demand against Hikaru Nakamura in order to force a final Elimination Match in the American Cup tomorrow.

The 2023 American Cup Finals kicked off in exciting fashion with the first games between Hikaru Nakamura vs. Wesley So and Irina Krush vs. Alice Lee. In the Open, Nakamura sacrificed his queen for two rooks in a roller-coaster game that would ultimately end in a draw. Meanwhile Krush took a 1-0 lead after winning a very sharp first game as White.

Wesley So and Alice Lee both earned a spot in the American Cup finals after emerging victorious in their Elimination matches today, knocking out Levon Aronian and Nazí Paikidze to advance to the American Cup finals. Next they will both face the top seeds and winners of the Champions Bracket, Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush, in a rematch of their earlier encounters.

Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush both advanced to the finals of the American Cup after winning dramatic playoffs to secure first place in the Champions Bracket. Meanwhile in the Elimination Bracket, Levon Aronian knocked out Leinier Dominguez 1.5-0.5 while Nazí Paikidze defeated Begim Tokhirjonova. Nakamura and Krush will next face the winner of So - Aronian and Lee - Paikidze in the overall American Cup finals.

The finals of the American Cup Champions Bracket kicked off today with two draws, as the first game of both Nakamura - So and Krush - Lee ended peacefully. In the Elimination Bracket, Dominguez knocked out Shankland, while Caruana - Aronian went the full distance to Armageddon. In the Women’s Section, Paikidze and Tokhirjonova were able to win their Elimination Matches without a playoff, sending Abrahamyan and Pourkashiyan home.

Day 4 of the American Cup featured a rest day for the Elimination Bracket, as the second stage of matches in the Champions Bracket were completed. Hikaru Nakamura defeated Leinier Dominguez as Black to win their mini-match 1.5-0.5, while Wesley So bested Fabiano Caruana in a rapid playoff. In the Women’s Section, both Irina Krush and Alice Lee advanced, relegating Begim Tokhirjonova and Nazí Paikidze to the Elimination Bracket.