“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.

Games will be live daily on Chessdom.com. More: Grand Prix Pune Tournament information / Live games / Details about the Women Grand Prix series

The game showcased is from Round 9 – Humpy Koneru – Kateryna Lagno.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Humpy Koneru – Kateryna Lagno, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent

The game showcased is from Round 8 – Aleksandra Goryachkina – Humpy Koneru.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Aleksandra Goryachkina – Humpy Koneru, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent

Round 1: Nurgyul Salimova – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Zhongyi Tan – Elisabeth Paehtz / Deshmukh Divya – Humpy Koneru / Kateryna Lagno – Aleksandra Goryachkina

Round 2: Aleksandra Goryachkina – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Nurgyul Salimova / Elisabeth Paehtz – Batkhuyag Munguntuul / Humpy Koneru – Zhongyi Tan / Kateryna Lagno – Deshmukh Divya

Round 3: Deshmukh Divya – Aleksandra Goryachkina / Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Humpy Koneru / Nurgyul Salimova – Elisabeth Paehtz / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Zhongyi Tan – Kateryna Lagno

Round 4: Aleksandra Goryachkina – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Elisabeth Paehtz – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Humpy Koneru – Nurgyul Salimova / Kateryna Lagno – Batkhuyag Munguntuul / Deshmukh Divya – Zhongyi Tan

Round 5: Stavroula Tsolakidou – Elisabeth Paehtz / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Humpy Koneru / Nurgyul Salimova – Kateryna Lagno / Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Deshmukh Divya / Zhongyi Tan – Aleksandra Goryachkina

Round 6: Zhongyi Tan – Batkhuyag Munguntuul / Deshmukh Divya – Nurgyul Salimova / Kateryna Lagno – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Humpy Koneru – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Aleksandra Goryachkina – Elisabeth Paehtz

Round 7: Elisabeth Paehtz – Humpy Koneru / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Kateryna Lagno / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Deshmukh Divya / Nurgyul Salimova – Zhongyi Tan / Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Aleksandra Goryachkina

Round 8: Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Nurgyul Salimova / Zhongyi Tan – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Deshmukh Divya – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Kateryna Lagno – Elisabeth Paehtz / Aleksandra Goryachkina – Humpy Koneru

Round 9: Humpy Koneru – Kateryna Lagno / Elisabeth Paehtz – Deshmukh Divya / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Zhongyi Tan / Nurgyul Salimova – Aleksandra Goryachkina / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Batkhuyag Munguntuul

Current standings after Round 8:

The game showcased is from Round 7 – Elisabeth Paehtz – Humpy Koneru.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Elisabeth Paehtz – Humpy Koneru, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent

The game showcased is from Round 6 – Humpy Koneru – Stavroula Tsolakidou.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Humpy Koneru – Stavroula Tsolakidou, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent

The game showcased is from Round 5 – Bibisara Assaubayeva – Humpy Koneru.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Bibisara Assaubayeva – Humpy Koneru, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent

The game showcased is from Round 4 – Humpy Koneru – Nurgyul Salimova.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Humpy Koneru – Nurgyul Salimova, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent

The game showcased is from Round 3 – Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Humpy Koneru.

Watch all the games: FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent LIVE

Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Humpy Koneru, FIDE Women Grand Prix 2024 Shymkent