In the first round of the women's super tournament Cairns Cup-2026 in the USA, grandmaster from Kazakhstan Bibisara Assaubayeva, playing black, drew with Anna Muzychuk. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The tournament's top-rated favorites (22-year-old Kazakhstani – 2538, 36-year-old Ukrainian – 2529) agreed to a draw on move 43.

About the tournament

Seven grandmasters and three international masters are competing for the trophy and a solid prize fund of $250,000, one of the largest in women's chess tournaments.

In the first round, victories were won by 16th world champion Tan Zhongyi (2520) from China, Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh (2490) from India, and American Alice Lee (2430).

Second round

In the second round, Assaubayeva will play against another representative of India, Vaishali Rameshbabu (2489), a participant in the upcoming match for the chess crown, who lost to Deshmukh with white pieces at the start.

Venue

The prestigious super tournament is taking place in Saint Louis (Missouri), the Mecca of American chess. Incidentally, the local university team just won silver at the FIDE World University Team Chess Championship-2026 in Almaty.

Assaubayeva's history

Now Assaubayeva is making a return visit to Saint Louis. Last year, Bibisara took seventh place here. Earlier, our Zhansaya Abdumalik played in the Cairns Cup twice.

Origin of the tournament name

The Cairns Cup is named after Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield, co-founder of the Saint Louis Chess Club and a member of the World Chess Hall of Fame. The 80-year-old chess philanthropist is also known for establishing the "Cairns Queens Chess" award in 2024. It is the first initiative of its kind, offering $100,000 to any American woman who achieves the title of International Grandmaster within five years. The program, running until July 2029, greatly contributes to the popularity of women's chess in the USA.

Tournament regulations

The first Cairns Cup took place in 2019. Since then, its regulations have not changed. Ten chess players who received personal invitations from the organizers play in a round-robin format. The time control is classical – 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes until the end of the game, plus 30 seconds per move starting from the first.

Prize fund

The tournament winner will become richer by $60,000. The vice-champion will add $50,000 to her bank account. The third prize winner will receive $40,000. All other participants will not be left without cash bonuses; the outsider will receive $7,000.

Men's tournament

In parallel, a major men's tournament, the Sinquefield Cup, also named after Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield, has started in Saint Louis. It features contender for the chess crown Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan. In the first round, Assaubayeva's boyfriend drew with American Levon Aronian.