Inside Story: Short of a Sweep, but Still Smooth

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the February 2025 issue of Chess Life magazine, and is re-published here with six additional annotated games courtesy of the author. Consider becoming a US Chess member for more content like this — access to digital editions of both Chess Life and Chess Life Kids is a member benefit, and you can receive print editions of both magazines for a small add-on fee.

A downloadable pdf of the print version of this article is available here.

On a dreary October night after the fourth round of the U.S. Championships in St. Louis, GM Sam Shankland, GM Awonder Liang, and I nursed various liquids at the hotel bar and discussed fascinating topics such as baseball, the stock market, and yogurt.

I was fresh off a win against GM Irina Krush, sitting at 4/4 and feeling good about my chances at the title. I was quietly enjoying the conversation but mostly focused on my tall glass of water when suddenly Awonder broke the unspoken “no chess” rule of our discussion.

The end of Krush – Yip in round four (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

“Carissa’s going to go 11 out of 11,” he insisted; “I’m calling it right now.” Sam, ever the optimist, was not buying it, and whipped out his phone to calculate the probabilities. (The odds were not in my favor.) I, ever the realist, tried my best to dissuade Awonder of this crazy notion, but the boy might have felt a bit too positive after his beers: Despite my valiant efforts, by the time we left the bar that night Awonder and Sam had bet $100 on whether I’d win the Fischer Prize, a $64,000 bonus for repeating Bobby Fischer’s perfect score in the 1964 championship.

There hadn’t been a clean sweep in either the open or women’s section in 60 years, and it was looking even less likely: With each passing year, the tournament only gets stronger.

The field of the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women's Championship may be getting stronger every year, but that hasn't stopped Caruana and Yip from each winning back-to-back championships (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

The 2024 U.S. Chess Championships featured 24 of the top players in the country. In the Open section, GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Leinier Dominguez, and Levon Aronian were the favorites, all with very decent chances of winning. Meanwhile, in the Women’s, the rating gap was even narrower, with Krush and IMs Begim Tokhirjonova, Alice Lee, and myself all looking toward the title.

I’d just come fresh off a decent tournament at the 2024 Chess Olympiad (Yip's undefeated 10/11 score netted her an individual gold medal and a 2634 performance rating - Ed.), which had concluded only two weeks prior to the Championships. Afterward, I went straight to school and spent two weeks focused on academics, ensuring I would not fail. This did not go so well, but I was still feeling quite optimistic about my chances at defending my 2023 title — especially since I got to finish up some last-minute homework at the opening ceremony.

Yip brought her homework with her to the opening ceremony, but decided to leave it at home during the actual games. (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Once the tournament started, though, I got ultra-serious. I didn’t bring homework to do during the round, instead leaving the scintillating activities to the remaining waking hours of the day.

In Round 1, I faced off against St. Louis native WGM Thalia Cervantes. I was hoping to avoid theory, and caught her off-guard in the opening with an unexpected first move.

(Next are Yip's second- and third-round wins. An online exclusive! - Ed.)

My biggest challenge came in Round 4. Irina and I have played many times, and she is always formidable. I was a full point ahead, so I was quite fine taking a draw with the black pieces. But the game didn’t quite go as either of us had planned. (This game was originally annotated for New In Chess - Ed.)

The fourth round finished the evening before the first rest day, and Awonder was feeling a bit down after his game, so I suggested the bar, which is where the bet with Sam began.

Yip, and several other places, visited the World Chess Hall of Fame across the street after round 2. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

On the day off, I spent my free time doing exactly what I had been doing every day and would continue doing every day: homework. Hallelujah.

My fifth-round game was against IM Begim Tokhirjonova, whom I expected to be my biggest competition. Begim is a very strong player — she played admirably on board one at the Olympiad, scoring key victories for our team. I was a full point ahead of the field, but she was hot on my heels, and I knew she would be gearing up for a bloodbath.

The bloodbath of round 5. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Typically, I would be fine with a draw in this situation: I was halfway through the tournament with a sizeable lead on the rest of the field and facing one of my main competitors. But since I had to prove the haters (Sam) wrong, I also prepared for a fight.

Begim had been my closest rival, and she was now two points behind. But next up was WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, who stood second in the standings. I knew I couldn’t let my guard down, especially against such a resourceful and tactical player. It was only after I won that game that I really started thinking about the Fischer Prize. If I could win six games in a row, I could surely do it again with five games? (The next two games are also online exclusives. - Ed.)

After a win over IM Nazi Paikidze in Round 7, I hoped that Sam was at least a bit worried about his money.

Then came a win in Round 8:

Before the last three games came the second rest day. I felt immense pressure at this point, but I attempted to keep my mind off everything. The evening after Round 8, I went out to dinner with some friends, played card games with some other friends, called some other other friends. On the actual rest day, I spent hours doing homework (again!) and as a reward for finishing everything, bought myself some yogurt. Hurrah.

The start of Yip's eighth-round game against Pourkashiyan. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Everyone at the tournament had heard about the infamous bet between Awonder and Sam by now, and as we joked around waiting for the ninth round to start, Wesley So was trying to get in on the action.

Yip after her eighth consecutive victory. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

Mere minutes before the game, Awonder and Wesley shook hands on a second bet, with another $100 on me winning the last three games. I sat down laughing at the board, though my good mood soon dissipated. (The below game is also online-only. - Ed.)

To be honest, despite all the jokes I’ve been making, after losing to IM Megan Lee in Round 9 I really was quite devastated. It wasn’t even so much about the prize itself, but the chance to do something truly historic.

The giant-killer, Megan Lee, after her ninth-round win. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

I have learned, however, that you really can lose yourself in all the ways things could have gone differently. Regrets are a funny thing, because in the end, this is the situation you have. Thinking about all the what-ifs is a natural and human instinct, but it rarely goes anywhere truly productive.

Of course, this was all easy for me to say, but much harder to actually put into action. I wish now that I could’ve understood at the time that I was still at 8/9, that I’d played a fantastic tournament anyway, that there were still two games to go.

Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC

But because I am young and foolish and prone to being deeply moved by my emotions, I couldn’t quite do it. I curled up in a ball on my bed, drowned my sorrows in carbs at Shake Shack, called my friends. None of it helped too much. It would have made a great story if I’d bounced back and finished strong with two wins. It didn’t pan out that way, though, and that’s OK. Some things hurt more than others, and we are all only human.

Many chess players struggle with resilience, and unfortunately this trait is primarily built by painful experience. I have lost plenty of bad games and spent plenty of hours of life upset over chess, but it has all made me a better player. Resilience doesn’t come naturally to me, and I suspect it doesn’t for almost everyone who cares very deeply about chess. But we can get better and better at it if we put ourselves into situations that demand mental fortitude. I know that the next time I lose a bad game, I’ll be a little bit better at bouncing back, because of this experience.

Life goes on anyway! In Round 10, Anna played a very nice game to emerge victorious in our matchup; however, Alice won over Begim to clinch the championship for me with a round to spare!

After this — as seen at right — I absolutely had to buy Alice a scoop or two of ice cream.

Lee's tenth-round victory over Tokhirjonova clinched the tournament for Yip. (Photo courtesy of Lennart Ootes/SLCC)

In the end, all was well. I’d played good chess; I’d defended my title; I’d been compared to Bobby Fischer (for the right reasons!). It’s true that sometimes things don’t work out. But they turn out pretty well anyway, and I really do believe this is one of the most important lessons life has to offer. As always, my gratitude and love to all my supporters, friends, and family.