Cairns Cup 2026: Tan Zhongyi and Alice Lee Lead After Round 3

Tan Zhongyi and Alice Lee share the Cairns Cup 2026 chess lead on 2.5/3, while India's Divya Deshmukh sits just behind on 2 points.

The Cairns Cup 2026, one of the strongest women's chess tournaments of the year, is running alongside the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. After three rounds former women's world champion Tan Zhongyi and American Alice Lee share the lead with 2.5 points each.

The Cairns Cup is a 10-player round-robin at a classical time control. Three Indian stars are in the field: Koneru Humpy, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Divya Deshmukh.

Tan Zhongyi has made an excellent start. She beat Carissa Yip in round 1, then beat Koneru Humpy in a 62-move game in round 2, and drew with Anna Muzychuk in round 3. Alice Lee has been just as impressive. She beat Alexandra Kosteniuk in round 1 and then won with Black against Divya Deshmukh in round 2.

Divya Deshmukh is right behind them on 2 points. In round 1 she won an all-Indian game against Vaishali, and in round 3 she beat Alexandra Kosteniuk with Black in the Closed Sicilian. Koneru Humpy has drawn her other two games. Vaishali drew her two games after the opening-round loss and has 1 point.

Former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk is having a very tough start. She has lost all three games, including a round 2 defeat to Carissa Yip.

There is a good lesson in Alice Lee's round 2 win. Divya had the white pieces, which usually gives a small advantage, but Alice stayed solid with Black and won in the end. Many students feel they must "only defend" with Black. In fact, a solid position with Black often gives you good chances, because the opponent may overpress trying to win. Play sound moves, wait for your chance, and be ready to take it.

Six rounds remain, and with so many strong players close together the title race is wide open.