Women in Corus

Four Women Compete in Historic Tata Steel Challengers 2026

For the first time in its 88-year history, the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, held in Wilk Ann Zee, Netherlands, featured four female competitors in the Challengers sections. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva, IM Carissa Yip, IM Lu Miaoyi, and IM Eline Roebers all competed in the 14-player field and all achieved victories against strong players.

Three-time Women's World Blitz Chess Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva finished highest among the four women, taking fifth place with 7.5/13. She started the tournament strong, with a win against the eventual winner of the section, Andy Woodward. She also held draws against runner-up Vasyl Ivanchuk (9.5/13) and third-place finisher Aydin Suleymanli (9.0/13). Her performance included four wins, eight draws, and one loss, an impressive 2600+ performance against such a strong field.

Four-time U.S. Women's Champion Carissa Yip tied for sixth place with 7.0/13, narrowly missing her third and final GM norm. The 21-year-old needed a performance rating of approximately 2600 to earn the norm, and was half a point under that performance. She already has two GM norms. Despite the near miss, it was still a successful tournament for Yip. She gained 20 rating points, putting her only 14 points away from the 2500 rating mark. Yip's tournament included notable victories over Max Warmerdam, Aydin Suleymanli, and Velimir Ivic, plus an opening-round draw against Ivanchuk.

Fifteen-year-old Lu Miaoyi, the world's No. 1 junior girl, opened with consecutive victories over Max Warmerdam and Panesar Vedant to briefly lead the tournament at 2/2. She finished with 3.5/13. Dutch player Eline Roebers, 19, competed in front of her home crowd and finished with 2.5/13, with victories over Daniil Yuffa and Max Warmerdam.

It is especially important to see four women competing at such a high level chess tournament. The presence of four women in the section marks a milestone for the prestigious tournament. It’s inspiring to see them competing at an elite level in the open section, and I hope to see this more often!