The chances of winning the prestigious Cairns Cup, one of the strongest women's tournaments of the year, do not seem to faze Carissa Yip, who, after three consecutive victories, also won confidently against Bibisara Assaubayeva in round 8 with Black. After the opening, Assaubayeva failed to find a plan and was outplayed step by step.

Alice Lee, Carissa Yip’s main rival, had White against Harika Dronavalli, but in a line of the Queen’s Gambit, she still emerged slightly worse from the opening and was lucky to escape with a draw.

Tan Zhongyi and Mariya Muzychuk also drew their game. After a mishandled opening by Tan, Muzychuk had promising attacking chances, but she chose not to press her luck and instead went for a perpetual.

Humpy Koneru, who had been tied for the lead with Yip and Lee before the round, had White against Nino Batsiashvili. Wanting to win at all costs, she played aggressively, but Batsiashvili calmly repelled Koneru’s overly direct attack and then successfully exploited the weaknesses in White’s position to win the game.

Alina Kashlinskaya, by contrast, was unable to make use of her chances against Nana Dzagnidze. The Najdorf Variation with 6.f4 gave Kashlinskaya a clear advantage in the middlegame, but she couldn’t find a way to increase it. As a result, Dzagnidze gradually gained the upper hand and eventually won the game.

The tournament will be decided in the ninth and final round in the direct encounter between Carissa Yip and Alice Lee. Yip leads Lee by half a point, has White, and needs only a draw to win the Cairns Cup 2025.

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