Article by OnTheQueenside (Twitter/X https://x.com/OnTheQueenside)

Last month, Tan Zhongyi joined the ranks of women who have beaten super-GMs with a fantastic victory over world No. 24, GM Richard Rapport (2722), in the long-running TePe Sigeman super-tournament in Sweden. Tan had lost her first two games of the event, including Round 1 vs. another super-GM, Javokhir Sindarov, against whom she had won an exchange and had a winning advantage. With Black in Round 3 against super-GM #2 and still on a duck, Tan seemed to play it safe and closed the position in hopes of a draw. Rapport though, was undeterred and managed to unclose the position, forcing Tan to find a few sequences of only moves just to maintain equality. When she did, Rapport was presented with problems of his own, and at his first major opportunity to make a mistake, he did. Tan won the game a whole rook up.

Tan had beaten a 2700+ player! But wait, how often does this happen? How many women have done this? These are the questions we obviously want to know the answer to. Judit Polgar was 2700+ herself, and Hou Yifan came within 15 Elo of that mark. Obviously, they have done it, and done so many times. But for other women who never approached 2700 rating, those answers are not well-tracked. Indeed, when press coverage of TePe Sigeman came out, no journalist put the victory into historical context. They would need a list of all the women who have beaten super-GMs, but no one has ever made such a list — until now.

2700+ (super-GM) victories

I present to you the first list of all the times women have beaten super-GMs in classical chess. This list was compiled mainly with the help of chesstempo. The first list includes all players, including Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan. It’s followed by another list with those two removed to focus mainly on all the other women who have beaten 2700s.

The number of super-GM victories each player has is:

Points of Interest

It’s worth noting that one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, women don’t have more wins against super-GMs and Top 30 players is they just don’t get the opportunity to face top players that often. For the 13 women with exactly one win against a super-GM, they only have about 8 games on average vs. super-GMs, and only Goryachkina has faced super-GMs at least 20 times. On the other hand, all five women with multiple wins against super-GMs all have at least 20 games against super-GMs.

If you want to see women beat super-GMs more often, we need to have more tournaments designed for women to face super-GMs. That could mean inviting more women to super-tournaments with 2700s. It could also mean arranging more Swiss tournaments that are structured to include both the top women and 2700s.

Take another look at the list of 22 times women other than Judit and Hou Yifan have beaten super-GMs. A whole 8 out of 22 (36%) of those victories came at one tournament: Gibraltar. Why? Because it was basically the only Swiss tournament that really tried to get both the top women and the top men to play. Unfortunately today, the Gibraltar Masters is no more. The chess world is waiting for another Swiss tournament to step up and fill that gap so we can go back to seeing women beat 2700s in Swiss tournaments.

Back to our original goal: When Tan Zhongyi beat Richard Rapport, she became the 18th woman to beat a super-GM. It was just the 22nd time it happened by someone other than Judit or Hou Yifan. Including Judit and Hou Yifan, Tan’s victory was the 36th-highest-rated win by any woman ever out of 71 super-GM victories. She also became the 20th woman to beat a Top 30 player, and it was just barely in the top 100 of highest-ranked wins by women all-time.

Looking at the feats of the other top players today, Ju Wenjun is already in rarefied air as the only woman besides Judit or Hou Yifan with at least three super-GM victories, and she has five. But to reach similar rarefied air on the Top 30 victory list, she would need to also get to five, and right now she only has three. Whether or not she gets those two more Top 30 more victories is one of the key milestones to watch out for in the rest of Ju Wenjun’s career.

It’s also worth noting that Ju Wenjun’s victory over Alireza Firouzja last year was the 9th highest-rated win by a woman ever, while Alexandra Kosteniuk’s victory over Nodirbek Abdusattorov was the 5th-highest rated win by a woman ever.

Read the full article by OnTheQueenside at Lichess

“It is an honor to once again welcome some of the world’s top female players to Saint Louis,” said Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield, co-founder of the Saint Louis Chess Club. “Through events like the Cairns Cup, we aim to create greater opportunities for females in chess and inspire the next generation to compete, achieve, and lead in this timeless game.”

Live games from Cairns Cup 2025 will be daily on Chessdom, while additional news can be found in the Chessdom Newsletter – you can sign up for free in the form below.

Cairns Cup 2025 participants

See the Women Top 100 rating list here

Historical winners of Cairns Cup

2019: Valentina Gunina
2020: Humpy Koneru
2023: Anna Zatonskih
2024: Tan Zhongyi

More about Cairns Cup

Launched in 2024 and running through July 4, 2029, the Saint Louis Chess Club is offering the Cairns Chess Queens Award — a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at encouraging more female chess players from the United States to achieve the Grandmaster (GM) title. A $100,000 prize will be awarded to any U.S. female player who earns the overall GM title within this five-year period. Up to five players will be recognized, with eligibility limited to female chess players who are American citizens or who become citizens before earning the title.

“The Saint Louis Chess Club remains dedicated to advancing the game of chess at every level,” said Tony Rich, Technical Director of the Saint Louis Chess Club. “The Cairns Cup plays a vital role in fostering the growth of women in chess, offering a world-class stage where top talent can challenge themselves, gain critical experience, and inspire future generations.”

The tournament follows a prestigious ten-player round-robin format of classical chess, similar in format to the illustrious Sinquefield Cup. Games will be held at the World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries in the historic Central West End neighborhood where its latest exhibition — “Charles Houska: Master of Play” — will be on display during the tournament.

Each round of the Cairns Cup will be streamed live daily from June 10 to 20 at 12:20 p.m. CDT with expert commentary by Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Katerina Nemcova, WGM Almira Skripchenko and International Master (IM) Nazi Paikidze. International Arbiter (IA) Maya Myers will serve as Chief Arbiter and IA Anastasia Sorokina as Deputy Arbiter.

Live games will be daily on Chessdom, while additional news can be found in the Chessdom Newsletter – you can sign up for free in the form below

New: This month of April, Chessdom is launching a newsletter that you get DAILY to your mailbox for FREE. Signup with your mail in the form below

New: This month of April, Chessdom is launching a newsletter that you get DAILY to your mailbox for FREE. Signup with your mail in the form below

New: This month of April, Chessdom is launching a newsletter that if get DAILY to your mailbox for FREE. Signup with your mail in the form below

Ju Wenjun – Tan Zhongyi game 3 live

The Shymkent leg of the Grand Prix series follows the successful first event in Tbilisi, Georgia, from August 14-25, 2024, which saw outstanding performances and thrilling games. Alina Kashlinskaya clinched first place, putting her at the top of the Grand Prix leaderboard with 130 points. Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva and Greece’s Stavroula Tsolakidou both had successful debuts in Tbilisi, both leading the tournament early on, ultimately ending second and third, respectively. They will be back for this second leg, joined by Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, Tan Zhongyi, Humpy Koneru, Elisabeth Paehtz, Nurgyul Salimova, Batkhuyag Munguntuul, and Divya Deshmukh.

WGP Series consists of six Women’s Grand Prix tournaments held over two years 2024-2025. A total of twenty players compete in the WGP series, as each Women Grand Prix event will have ten participants. The competitors of the first leg was the Women Grand Prix in Tblisi. Replay the games here:

Round 1: Bibisara Assaubayeva – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh / Nana Dzagnidze – Lela Javakhishvili / Anna Muzychuk – Mariya Muzychuk / Alina Kashlinskaya – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – R Vaishali

Round 2: Alexandra Kosteniuk – R Vaishali / Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Lela Javakhishvili – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Mariya Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze / Alina Kashlinskaya – Anna Muzychuk

Round 3: Anna Muzychuk – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Nana Dzagnidze – Alina Kashlinskaya / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Mariya Muzychuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Lela Javakhishvili / R Vaishali – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh

Round 4: Alexandra Kosteniuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh / Lela Javakhishvili – R Vaishali / Mariya Muzychuk – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Alina Kashlinskaya – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Anna Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze

Round 5: Nana Dzagnidze – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Anna Muzychuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Alina Kashlinskaya / R Vaishali – Mariya Muzychuk / Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Lela Javakhishvili

Round 6: Alexandra Kosteniuk – Lela Javakhishvili / Mariya Muzychuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh / Alina Kashlinskaya – R Vaishali / Anna Muzychuk – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Nana Dzagnidze – Bibisara Assaubayeva

Round 7: Bibisara Assaubayeva – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Nana Dzagnidze / R Vaishali – Anna Muzychuk / Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Alina Kashlinskaya / Lela Javakhishvili – Mariya Muzychuk

Round 8: Alexandra Kosteniuk – Mariya Muzychuk / Alina Kashlinskaya – Lela Javakhishvili / Anna Muzychuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh / Nana Dzagnidze – R Vaishali / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Stavroula Tsolakidou

Round 9: Stavroula Tsolakidou – Alexandra Kosteniuk / R Vaishali – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Nana Dzagnidze / Lela Javakhishvili – Anna Muzychuk / Mariya Muzychuk – Alina Kashlinskaya

Players

Bibisara Assaubayeva

Bibisara Assaubayeva, born on February 26, 2004, is one of the brightest young talents in the world of chess. She has achieved significant milestones from a very young age and continues to impress with her skill and dedication. Assaubayeva has won multiple titles in different age categories, including the World Youth Chess Championships, establishing her as a top competitor on the youth circuit. In 2021, she made history by becoming the youngest-ever Women’s World Blitz Champion at the age of 17, a remarkable achievement in her burgeoning career.

Photo: Michal Walusza

She retained her title a year later, proving that her first victory was no accident. As she continues to develop her skills and gain experience, Bibisara Assaubayeva is poised to become an even more prominent figure in women’s chess. Bibisara’s participation in the second leg of the Women’s Grand Prix 2024–2025 series will provide her with further opportunities to compete against top-tier opponents and enhance her reputation on the global stage.

Stavroula Tsolakidou

Stavroula Tsolakidou, born on March 24, 2000, is one of the most promising young talents in the chess world and is the No. 1 ranked Greek female player. She has achieved significant milestones from a young age and continues to make her mark on the international stage. One of Tsolakidou’s significant achievements was her performance in the World Youth Chess Championships (U14, U16, U18), where she secured multiple titles, showcasing her talent and potential at a young age.

Photo: Anna Shtourman

Stavroula’s participation in the second leg of the Women’s Grand Prix 2024–2025 series will provide her with further opportunities to compete against top-tier opponents and make a name for herself among the global elite.

Aleksandra Goryachkina

Aleksandra Goryachkina, born on September 28, 1998, with a peak rating of 2611, is known for her positional and strategic mastery. Her deep understanding of chess fundamentals and ability to outmaneuver opponents in complex positions make her a formidable player.

Photo: Michal Walusza

A highlight of her career was winning the 2019 Women’s Candidates Tournament, which earned her the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Chess Championship. Although she narrowly lost in the tie-breaks, her performance earned her widespread acclaim. Recently, she won the 2023 FIDE Women’s World Cup and continues to be a dominant force in the Women’s Grand Prix series.

Kateryna Lagno

Former Women’s World Champion Kateryna Lagno, born on December 27, 1989, is celebrated for her dynamic and flexible chess style, with a peak rating of 2563. Achieving Grandmaster status at just 12 years and 4 months, she broke records and set new standards in women’s chess. Her career highlights include winning the European Women’s Championship twice and triumphs in the World Women’s Blitz Championship in 2010, 2018 and 2019.

Photo: Michal Walusza

Lagno’s consistent performance in the Women’s Grand Prix series, including winning the first leg of the 2022–23 series, showcases her versatility and strength. With a solid foundation in all phases of the game, she remains a formidable competitor in every tournament she enters.

Tan Zhongyi

Tan Zhongyi, born on May 29, 1991, is a former Women’s World Champion renowned for her solid and strategic playing style. Her deep opening preparation and exceptional endgame technique make her a challenging opponent. She won the Women’s World Chess Championship in 2017 after defeating Anna Muzychuk in the final. In 2024, she won the Cairns Cup, dominating a field of elite players.

Photo: Michal Walusza

She also won the Women’s Сandidates Tournament 2024, allowing her to compete against Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Chess Championship 2025. Tan has a history of strong performances in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series, and with her current momentum, she is one of the favorites in the Grand Prix 2024-2025.

Humpy Koneru

Humpy Koneru, with a peak rating of 2623, is India’s highest-rated female player and a dominant force in women’s chess. Known for her tactical acumen and excellent positional understanding, Humpy has secured numerous titles, including the 2011 FIDE Grand Prix series and the 2019 Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship.

Photo: Mark Livshitz

After a brief hiatus, she returned triumphantly to win the Cairns Cup in 2020. Humpy’s consistent top-three finishes in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series demonstrate her world-class skills and relentless pursuit of victory.

Elisabeth Paehtz

Elisabeth Paehtz, born on January 8, 1985, is one of Germany’s most accomplished female chess players. She has had a distinguished career marked by numerous titles and significant contributions to the game. In November 2022, at the age of 37, FIDE confirmed the Grandmaster title for Paehtz, making her the first German woman to receive this title. In a time of chess prodigies on the rise, Paehtz serves as an inspiration that anything is possible at any age.

Photo: Maria Emelianova

Elisabeth consistently plays and performs with the women’s elite and participated in both the 2019-2021 and 2022–2023 Women’s Grand Prix Series. Her consistent performances across different legs of the series highlight her capability to maintain a high standard of play over an extended period.

Nurgyul Salimova

Nurgyul Salimova, born on June 2, 2003, is a rising talent from Bulgaria who burst onto the elite chess scene by reaching the final of the 2023 FIDE World Cup, defeating several experienced IMs and GMs along the way. Despite losing to Goryachkina in the final, her silver medal earned her spots in both the 2024 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament and the 2024–2025 Women’s Grand Prix. Known for her dynamic and attacking style, Salimova frequently employs sharp tactical lines and takes calculated risks to gain an advantage.

Photo: Maria Emelianova

Her consistent performances indicate a bright future, and the chess world eagerly anticipates her continued development.

Batkhuyag Munguntuul

Mongolian chess player Batkhuyag Munguntuul, born on October 8, 1987, has a strong opening repertoire and impressive endgame skills. Representing her country at multiple chess Olympiads, she has consistently outmaneuvered opponents in technical positions. Her standout performance at the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss, where she placed fourth, earned her a spot in the Women’s Grand Prix Series.

Photo: Lennart Ootes

Munguntuul’s experience and skill make her a respected competitor in any tournament she enters.

Divya Deshmukh

Divya Deshmukh, born on December 9, 2005, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, is an Indian chess prodigy who holds the titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master. A multiple-time national champion, she has won gold at the World Youth Chess Championships in various categories, establishing herself as a top young talent. She won the 2022 Women’s Indian Chess Championship, the 2023 Asian Women’s Chess Championship, and the 2024 FIDE World Junior Girls Championship.

Photo: Michal Walusza

Divya is regarded as one of India’s brightest chess stars, and most recently won the team gold as well as the individual gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad in 2024. Her performance pushed her rating to its peak of 2501, putting her at the number one Female Junior (Under 20) spot on the FIDE rankings.

Venue

The event will be held at the Rixos Khadisha Shymkent Hotel, a fitting venue for the chess elite, known for its excellent facilities and warm Kazakh hospitality.

Pairings

About the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix

The Women’s Grand Prix Series 2024-25 will feature a total of 20 players, and each one of them will participate in three out of six WGP tournaments.

Each WGP tournament is played with ten (10) players round robin. In each WGP tournament, every player scores WGP points according to her position in the final standings; the winner of the WGP Series is a player who scores the most cumulative points earned in all three WGP tournaments she played.

The total prize fund for each one of the four events is EUR 80,000, with another EUR 120,000 being distributed among the top 10 finishers in the overall standings for the Grand Prix series.

The two (2) players who score more cumulative points in the WGP series qualify for the FIDE Women Candidates Tournament 2026.

Tied 1.5-1.5 on the scoreboard, the three final games will decide which of the two Chinese Grand Masters advances to the next stage of the cycle: challenging the current Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun, for the title in July.

Playing with Black, Tan Zhongyi deviated from the second game of the match with 3…Nf6 instead of 3…dxc4, a solid choice for this game. Lei Tingjie brought the trendy Catalan Opening to the table, a decision that caught her opponent off-guard, as she explained in her postgame interview.

Following seventeen moves of well-known theory, the first key moment of the game came on move eighteen when Tan Zhongyi created some weaknesses in her position by advancing 18…f5. 

According to the engines, Black is seriously worse after this move, as it weakens her kingside considerably. Tan Zhongyi explained that the structure was slightly unfamiliar to her and that she wanted to consolidate her central knight on d5. 

A few moves later, 21.f4 might have been a slightly better move than 21.Na5, preventing Black’s counterplay in the center, but even so, White still kept the upper hand. However, Tan Zhongyi graduallyfought back into the game, generating enoughinitiative on the kingside to compensate for her opponent’s queenside domination.

The second key moment could have turned the tables completely. Lei Tingjie blundered with 28.b3? but Tan Zhongyi’s reply 28…Nc8 was no good. Instead, she could have played 28…fxe4 29.fxe4 Rxf1 30.Bxf1 and now the masterstroke 30…Nxd5! sacrificing a piece that can’t be accepted.

The knight can’t be captured with the rook due to 31…Qe3+ winning, while 31.exd5 runs into 31…e4! and Black is winning wherever the rook moves to. It’s hard to say what Tan Zhongyi missed in this line – she had more than 50 minutes on the clock and only spent 4 minutes on her decision. In any case, in her postgame interview, she regretted not having played this move.

Lei Tingjie didn’t give her a second chance. She started piling up the pressure, and when Tan Zhongyi ventured her rook into Lei’s position to win a pawn, she struck hard and fast at her opponent’s king, building up a decisive attack that eventually forced her opponent to resign.

In her postgame interview, Lei Tingjie said that today’s game was very complicated. She mentioned that she saw Tan’s missed tactical opportunity and was very nervous. Finally, she explained that she was very lucky to win in the end. 

After answering the questions, Lei dashed off to dinner: she was so nervous during the game that she forgot to drink water for four and a half hours, and now she was very hungry!

Both players will return tomorrow for the fifth game. Tan Zhongyi will be playing with White for the final time, in a must-win situation. 

Playing with White, Tan Zhongyi switched back to her normal opening repertoire with 1.d4, side-stepping Lei Tingjie’s excellent opening preparation in the first game. Her bold play in that encounter was rewarded, but readers will recall that luck was definitely on her side in the critical moments – she didn’t seem to be so familiar with the nuances of the variation.

Lei Tingjie opted for the Tarrasch variation in the Queen’s Gambit, with 3…c5. According to my database, this is the first time she has played this line in her career: a risky choice.

Tan Zhongyi thought for a moment and decided to repeat the same variation she had played recently in an online blitz game. Instead of the most theoretical line with 6.g3 – which would have permitted the fashionable “Dubov “ 8…Bc5 system, Tan Zhongyi went for the solid 6.dxc5, considered to be very slightly better for White.

Both players demonstrated excellent opening preparation, blitzing out their moves at an unusual speed for this kind of event. The queens were exchanged very soon, and around move fifteen, both players were already facing the prospect of yet another minor piece ending.

White did enjoy the advantage of the two bishops in an open position, but the weak pawn on e3 somewhat restricted the activity of the dark-squared bishop. The engine suggests that the position is approximately equal. 

Shortly afterwards, Lei Tingjie correctly sacrificed a pawn to activate the rest of her pieces, receiving full compensation – both of her rooks occupied active lines while the bishop on a6 and the knight on f6 were on the lookout for a killing blow. 

In these positions, one has to be careful. Tan Zhongyi went into defence mode, swapping off all of her opponent’s active pieces, with the unfortunate downside that she wasn’t able to avoid transitioning into yet another opposite-coloured bishop ending. 

Although still enjoying the advantage of her extra pawn, Lei Tingjie had no trouble at all defending the very simple fortress that this type of endgame provides. A draw was agreed on move forty. According to the online precision ratings, both players scored 98%, with no mistakes and no imprecisions: a remarkable feat. 

“A calm game, with really not much happening. Both players played well and solid chess,” reflected GM Alik Gershon on the live stream. WIM QiuMengjie added: “This game had no mistakes, but the fourth game will be a crucial encounter for both players, with Lei Tingjie playing White.

Both players will enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow, and the match will resume on Sunday, April 2nd with Lei Tingjie conducting the White pieces.