Sixteen-year-old International Master Alice Lee has claimed the Women's American Cup 2026 title for the third consecutive year by defeating Carissa Yip 1.5-0.5 in the Grand Final Reset. The victory earns Lee $40,000 plus a $9,000 bonus from the champions bracket. The tournament, held in St. Louis from March 3 to 12, featured top U.S. women's players in a double-elimination format.
The Women's American Cup 2026 concluded with Alice Lee securing her third title in as many years, solidifying her dominance in U.S. women's chess. In the decisive Grand Final Reset against Carissa Yip, Lee won the first rapid game with Black in the Caro-Kann Defense and drew the second with White to clinch the match 1.5-0.5.
Lee reflected on the previous day's loss, where Yip had prevailed: "She deserved to win the match yesterday. I think she just played better and she was able to keep her nerves, but today I just thought, okay, I can play against her again, and it will be a very interesting match." In the first game, Yip missed a breakthrough opportunity on move 17, allowing Lee to equalize and win with 30...Rxd4!.
The second game saw Lee gain a winning advantage but simplify into a drawable opposite-color bishop endgame. Yip prolonged the game to move 117, even accidentally missing a check, leading to laughter between the friends. The tournament, organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club, offered a $150,000 prize fund and used classical (90+30) and rapid (25+10) time controls, with blitz tiebreakers if needed.
Lee has reached the Grand Final every year since the event began in 2022. She thanked supporters including the Sinquefields, tournament staff, family, teachers, the Kasparov Chess Foundation, and ChessKid. Meanwhile, GM Wesley So won the open section on Wednesday after previous runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024.
Yip, with a 2486 rating, remains the U.S. women's rating leader and frontrunner for the grandmaster title and its $100,000 award.
