SAINT LOUIS, MO — The 2025 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship commenced with a significant upset in Round 1, as Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Atousa Pourkashiyan defeated the top-seeded and defending champion, International Master (IM) Carissa Yip.
WGM Pourkashiyan, competing while pregnant, secured the full point against the highest-rated player in the tournament.
This outcome, along with a victory by eight-time champion GM Irina Krush over IM Alice Lee, immediately introduced a theme of early challenges for the pre-tournament favourites in the 11-round classical round-robin event.
Reflecting on her win, which was a tough fight from start to finish, Pourkashiyan expressed her satisfaction with the outcome: “It feels great and I’m happy that I could win the first game, but it was a very complicated game.”
She further pointed to the move 36…f4! as the critical juncture where her advantage became clear, although she acknowledged that a difficult endgame still had to be navigated before the victory was finalised.
The game continued until move 54.Nf3, after which Yip had resigned, not because checkmate was inevitable or forced, but because the game could only be won if the opponent made a mistake, and Yip knew the opposing WGM better than to waste time on a gamble.
The 2025 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, featuring 12 of the nation’s elite female chess players, will be held at the newly expanded Saint Louis Chess Club from October 12 to 25, 2025.
The tournament is renowned for its competitive field and substantial prize fund, and Pourkashiyan’s victory sets the tone for a challenging event.
