The defending champion of the women's section, Alice Lee, has strengthened her position as the clear favourite to win the Champions Bracket of the 2025 American Cup. The 15-year-old secured a crucial victory against Tatev Abrahamyan in the first classical game of their match.
Demonstrating remarkable strategic insight, Lee outplayed her opponent out of a King's Indian Defence, finding key manoeuvres that gradually increased her advantage. She concluded the game in style, leaving Abrahamyan unable to recover (see analysis of the game below). A draw in the second game on Thursday will be enough for Lee to secure a place in the Grand Final, where she will face the winner of the Elimination Bracket.
Meanwhile, the Elimination Bracket saw two players being knocked out of the competition. Irina Krush prevailed over long-time US Women's Championship rival Anna Zatonskih with a 3-1 score, eliminating her from contention. In the other match of the day, Nazi Paikidze managed to eliminate top seed Carissa Yip, the reigning US women's champion.
With the tournament progressing towards its final stages, all eyes will be on Lee's second game against Abrahamyan, as well as the upcoming decisive encounters in the Elimination Bracket, which will determine who earns a chance to challenge for the title.
Irina Krush knocked out Anna Zatonskih | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Nazi Paikidze scored a convincing 2-0 victory over Carissa Yip | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Alice Lee and Tatev Abrahamyan | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The final of the Champions Bracket in the open section began with a quiet encounter, as Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura quickly agreed to a draw in their first classical game. Playing with the white pieces, Nakamura chose to force a threefold repetition early in the game, recognising that Caruana was well-prepared in a sharp line of the Catalan.
In contrast, the Elimination Bracket provided plenty of drama, with two players being knocked out of the competition. Levon Aronian secured a crucial victory over Wesley So, ending So's campaign in this year's tournament. Meanwhile, the longest match of the day saw Sam Sevian eliminating Leinier Dominguez after a gruelling battle that extended into multiple tiebreakers.
After losing the first rapid game, Sevian managed to win on demand in the rematch, keeping his hopes alive. Dominguez had a worse yet defensible position in the second game, but a costly blunder in mutual time trouble immediately lost the game.
45...Qxf2 simply gives up the queen - 46.Qxf2 prompted Dominguez's resignation.
The players then proceeded to a series of blitz tiebreaks, where they traded wins in the first two games before Sevian secured a victory and a draw, thus advancing to the next stage of the Elimination Bracket.
Sam Sevian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Levon Aronian knocked out Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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