Carissa Yip
Birth nameCarissa Shiwen Yip
CountryUnited States
Birth dateSeptember 10, 2003 (age 23)
Birth placeBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Title
Fideid2090732
Peakrating2486 (March 2026)
Carissa Yip
T葉詩文
S叶诗文
PYè Shīwén
JJip6 Si1 Man4

Carissa Shiwen Yip (born September 10, 2003) is an American chess player and the winner of the 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025 U.S. Women's Chess Championship.[1][2] In September 2019, she was the top rated female player in the United States[3] and the youngest female chess player to defeat a grandmaster, which she did at age ten; in August 2025 Bodhana Sivanandan surpassed her record as youngest female player to defeat a grandmaster.[4] In October 2019, she became the youngest American woman in history to qualify for the title of International Master, a record surpassed by Alice Lee in June 2023.[5]

Early life and chess career

Carissa Shiwen Yip[6] was born on September 10, 2003, in Boston.[7][8] Her father Percy Yip (; Pinyin: Yè Péizhào) was from Hong Kong, and her mother Irene Yip (née Cheng, ; Pinyin: Chéng Huálín) was from mainland China.[9][10]

Taught chess moves at age six by her father, within six months she was able to beat him. Soon, she became the best eight-year-old girl chess player in the country.[11] In 2013, at the age of ten, she became the youngest female player to qualify for the USCF title of Expert (rating >2000) in history, and in 2015, at eleven years old, she became the youngest female national master.[12] These records were later broken by Rachael Li.[13]

In June 2014, at the age of 10, she became club champion of the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg, Massachusetts with a 7–0 score.[14]

Her first victory against a grandmaster came on August 30, 2014, when she defeated Alexander Ivanov at the New England Open.[12] At ten years of age, she was the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster;[15][3] this record was surpassed by Bodhana Sivanandan in August 2025.[4]

International Master

Yip competed in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship for the first time in 2016; she finished 9th out of 12, scoring 4½ points out of 11.[16] In 2017, she scored 4/11, finishing 11th.[17] In 2019, she finished 8th, with a score of 4½/11.[18] In June 2018, Yip earned her final Woman International Master (WIM) norm, first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm, and first International Master (IM) norm by winning clear first place in the Charlotte Chess Center's Summer 2018 IM Norm Invitational held in Charlotte, North Carolina with an undefeated score of 7/9.[19] In July 2018, she became the 2018 U.S. Junior Girls' Champion with a score of 7/9, as well as the 2018 World Open Women's Champion.[20][21] In late June 2019, she won the North American Junior Girls' Championship, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a score of 8½/9, earning the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster[22] in the process. She subsequently scored 7½/9 to win the 2019 U.S. Junior Girls' Championship, earning an invitation to the 2020 U.S. Women's Championship.[22] In 2020, Yip repeated as U.S. Junior Girls' Champion, again with a 7½/9 score, and placed second in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship with a score of 8/11, a ½-point behind Irina Krush. In 2023, Yip finished tied for third place in U.S. Junior Girls' Championship.[23]

Her performance at the 2019 SPICE Cup, where she scored 5/9, made her the youngest American female player to earn the title of International Master, at the age of 16 years, one month, and 18 days old. The previous such youngest was Irina Krush.[24] FIDE awarded Yip the title in February 2020.[25] Yip’s record was broken by Alice Lee in 2023.[5]

Yip was chosen for the Frank P. Samford, Jr. Chess Fellowship in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.[26][27]

In 2021, Yip competed at the FIDE Women's World Cup, a 103-player single-elimination tournament that took place in Sochi, Russia. She was seeded 28th coming into the tournament and defeated players Sharmin Sultana Shirin and Nataliya Buksa before being eliminated by Nana Dzagnidze in Round 3.[28] Yip won the 2021 U.S. Women's Championship in St. Louis, scoring 8½/11—1½ points ahead of second place—and defeated four former Women's champions in the tournament, those four being Irina Krush, Anna Zatonskih, Nazí Paikidze, and Sabina Foisor.[1] This made her the first woman to defeat four former U.S. Women’s champions in a U.S. Women's Championship.[29][30]

In 2022 Carissa Yip was a member of the U.S. women's team at the 44th Chess Olympiad;[31] the team finished as fourth.[32]

2023–2025

In 2023, she qualified for the FIDE Women's World Cup and won her first-round match, but was eliminated in the second round.[33] Also in 2023, Yip won the silver medal in the FIDE World Junior Girls Championship.[34] On October 17, 2023, Yip won the U.S. Women's Championship with a score of 8.5/11.[35] In December 2023, Yip won the Junior Open at the North American Junior Championships, and received her first grandmaster norm due to her performance there.[36][37]

In 2024, she won the individual gold and the team bronze playing on Board 2 at the women's event at the 45th Chess Olympiad.[38] Yip had the highest individual score in the tournament of 10 out of 11 with a performance rating of 2634.[39] Also in 2024, she won her third US Women's Championship, winning her first 8 games and inviting comparisons to Bobby Fischer's legendary 11–0 performance in 1964.[40][41]

In June 2025, Yip overcame a poor start (1.5/4) to win the Cairns Cup, winning the next four games and drawing Alice Lee in the final round to secure her second GM norm with a performance rating of 2614.[42]

Yip claimed her 4th US Women's title in October 2025, becoming one of only 4 women to win 3 straight US Championships. Despite losing her first match vs. Atousa Pourkashiyan, Yip finished with a final score of 8/11, including a stretch of scoring 6.5/7 to finish out the tournament.[43]

2026

She won the Tata Steel Chess India 2026's Women's Blitz section by scoring 10½/18 and defeating Vantika Agrawal in the tiebreaks in early January 2026.[44]

Notable games

Carissa Shiwen Yip vs Alexander Vladimirovich Ivanov (N.E. Open, 2014). Modern Defense: Standard Line (B06) 1-0. Ignoring a pin on the b-file, Yip earns her first win against a Grandmaster.[45]

Carissa Shiwen Yip vs Irina Krush, 2016 US Chess Championship (Women). Sicilian Defense: Kan. Yip defeats a six-time US Women's Champion. The final position contains a problem-like move.[46][a]

Education

Yip graduated from Phillips Academy in 2022[47] and then enrolled in Stanford University.[48] She is majoring in Computer Science and Math and Computational Science.[49]

Television game show appearance

Yip and former chess opponent Irina Krush appeared on a special primetime episode of The Price Is Right that aired on January 18, 2023. Yip never got out of Contestant's Row while Krush won the Clock Game but failed to advance to the Showcases.[50]

Notes

  1. ^ 53.Rg5! 1-0. If Black then captures the rook, White's f-pawn cannot be stopped from queening, whereas 53...Bd5 loses the bishop and Black is left with a lost endgame against the rook.

References

  1. ^ Jerauld, Brian (21 October 2021). "Wesley So, Carissa Yip are 2021 US Chess National Champions". US Chess.org. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Carissa Yip wins 2nd US Women's Championship at 20". Chess24. 2023-10-18. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. ^ Robertson, Noah (September 6, 2019). "Meet America's top-ranked female chess player: A teenager". The Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Svensen, Tarjei (August 12, 2025). "Bodhana Becomes Youngest Woman To Beat Grandmaster As Adams Wins 9th British Title"
  5. ^ Lawrence, AL (15 June 2023). "Alice Lee Breaks Yip's Record, Becomes Youngest American Female IM". US Chess. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  6. ^ "CARISSA SHIWEN YIP". chessstream.com. 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "IM title application". FIDE
  8. ^ "Weekly chess column – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com
  9. ^ Wong, Ling-Mei (April 18, 2016). "Carissa Yip to play in national women's chess competition". Sampan. Archived December 19, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  10. ^ Wong, Ling-Mei (April 18, 2016). "葉詩文參加全美女子象棋比賽" (in Chinese). Sampan. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  11. ^ Welker, Grant (June 28, 2012). "Chelmsford's Carissa Yip is top 8-year-old female chess player in nation". The Sun. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Smolensky, Nathan. "Carissa Yip: Milestones to Master". Massachusetts Chess Association. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  13. ^ Shahade, Jennifer (2019-11-21). "Rachael Li, 9, Youngest Female US Chess Master Ever". US Chess. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  14. ^ Enterprise (2020-12-20). "Wachusett Chess Club turns 60". Sentinel and Enterprise. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  15. ^ "Carissa Yip". US Chess Champs. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "2016 U.S. Women's Championship". US Chess Champs. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  17. ^ "2017 U.S. Women's Championship". US Chess Champs. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  18. ^ "2019 U.S. Women's Championship". US Chess Champs. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "CCC GM/IM Norm Invitational – Summer 2022 GM/IM Norm Invitational Chess Tournament". chess.stream
  20. ^ vwest (2018-07-05). "World Open: Yip and Norovsambuu Win Women's Open; Kovalyov Is Action Champion". US Chess.org. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  21. ^ "Awonder Liang and Carissa Yip are the 2018 U.S. Junior Champions". Chess News. 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  22. ^ "Carissa Yip Wins U.S. Junior Girls, Becomes Grandmaster!". ChessKid. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  23. ^ US Chess (25 July 2023). "Round Nine: Mishra Joins Lee and Khachiyan as U.S. Champion". US Chess. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  24. ^ Klein, Mike (October 30, 2019). "Yip Becomes Youngest American Female IM Ever". Chess.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "Titles approved by 2020 Executive Board in Abu Dhabi, UAE". FIDE. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  26. ^ US Chess (31 May 2023). "2023 Samford Fellowship Winners Announced". US Chess. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  27. ^ Lang, J. J. (June 12, 2024). "2024 Samford Fellowship Winners Announced". US Chess.org
  28. ^ "Tournament tree — FIDE World Cup 2021". worldcup-results.fide.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  29. ^ "Asian Americans dominate 2021 US Chess Championships, Wesley So joins Bobby Fischer in successive-win club". www.yahoo.com. October 21, 2021.
  30. ^ "2021 U.S. Chess Champions: Teenage Talent Yip Wins U.S. Women's Championship While Veteran So Claims Third U.S. Championship Title". October 20, 2021.
  31. ^ "2022 U.S. Olympiad Teams Revealed". new.uschess.org/. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  32. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com – 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 Women". chess-results.com. Archived 2023-01-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  33. ^ US Chess (11 August 2023). "Women's World Cup: Krush, Yip Bow Out of Baku". US Chess. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  34. ^ US Chess (2 October 2023). "Comebacks Come Up Short for Yip, Niemann at World Junior Championships". US Chess. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  35. ^ Colodro, Carlos Alberto (2023-10-19). "Carissa Yip grabs second U.S. women's title after dramatic final round". Chess News. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  36. ^ J.J. Lang. "Yip Wins North American Junior U20 Championship, Earns GM Norm". new.uschess.org. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  37. ^ "Ringing in the new year with some nice chess wins from the old – Washington Times". The Washington Times
  38. ^ Burtasova, Anna (2024-09-22). "Triumphant moments: Celebrating the winners of 45th Chess Olympiad | News". 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad Budapest 2024. Archived 2024-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  39. ^ "45th Olympiad Budapest 2024 Women – Board-prizes (Final Ranking after 11 Rounds)". Chess-results.com.
  40. ^ Chess.com, Yip Scores 8th Straight Win, 3 Away From Fischer's Record, October 22, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  41. ^ Chess.com, Yip Wins Women's Championship With Round To Spare; Caruana On Cusp Of Glory, October 23, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  42. ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (2025-06-20). "Carissa Yip Wins 2025 Cairns Cup". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  43. ^ "Women - Live Games". Chess.com
  44. ^ "Tata Steel Chess India, Blitz 2026 (Women>". Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  45. ^ "Carissa Shiwen Yip vs Alexander Vladimirovich Ivanov". Chessgames.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  46. ^ "Carissa Shiwen Yip vs Irina Krush". Chessgames.com. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  47. ^ Wakefield, Judy (February 27, 2020). "Andover's teen chess queen does it again; beats world champion from China at top tournament". The Andover Townsman. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  48. ^ III, Toyloy Brown. "'She's a blessing to us all': 18-year-old chess prodigy is special in more ways than one". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  49. ^ Stanford University, Carissa Yip student profile
  50. ^ "57SP". The Price is Right Episode Guide. Retrieved 2023-12-03.