Iris Mou Wins XVII Women's Continental Championship of the Americas, Earns WGM Title

The U.S. has a new WGM, thanks to the XVII Women’s Continental Chess Championship of the Americas, held in Lima, Peru from March 30 to April 6.

16-year-old Iris Mou, who entered the event as a WIM, took clear first with a 7½/9 performance, earning the direct WGM title and a spot in the next FIDE Women’s World Cup (see full event regulations). The New Yorker also won $2,000 for her victory.

Photo courtesy Federacion Deportiva Peruana de Ajedrez.

It was a strong showing for the USA delegation, which finished with four of the top five players in the standings. Colombian WIM Valentina Argote Heredia finished second with 7/9, and Americans WGM Sabina Foisor, WGM Thalia Cervantes, and WIM Omya Vidyarthi tied for third with 6½/9 scores. The three Americans won $866 apiece, with Cervantes taking the third-place trophy on tiebreaks.

Graphic courtesy Federacion Deportiva Peruana de Ajedrez.

Mou showed serious resilience, coming back from a Round 3 loss to Peruvian IM Deysi Cori by finishing the event with a 5½/6 score, including three straight victories to conclude the event. Her wins from Rounds 7 and 8 are below:

In Round 9, Mou was paired against Foisor with a trip to the Women’s World Cup on the line. Mou jumped out to an early initiative, but Foisor fought back to muddy the waters, reaching the below position:

Foisor shook up the standings with her win over Cori in Round 8:

This was Cori’s second consecutive loss after Cervantes scored a big win against her in Round 7:

Cervantes was in position to tie for first entering the final round, too, but came up short against Heredia:

Finally, here is Vidyarthi’s most compelling win, from Round 6:

Overall, 55 players representing 17 federations competed, including a total of eight Americans. More photos are available on the organizer’s Facebook page.

An earlier version of this report mistakenly stated that Foisor finished third on tiebreaks. This has been corrected to reflect that Cervantes finished third. Thanks to reader Michael Aigner for the correction.