2024 U.S. Women's Championship | The Field

Irina Krush is an eight-time U.S. Women’s Champion and current U.S. Women’s No. 1. Originally from Ukraine, Krush immigrated to the United States at the age of five in 1989. She has represented the U.S. Women’s National Team since 1998, winning team silver in the 2004 Chess Olympiad and team bronze in 2006. In 2013, Krush became the first and only American woman to earn the Grandmaster title. In addition to her eight U.S. Championship titles, Krush also won the 2022 and 2023 American Cup.

Anna Zatonskih is a 4-time U.S. Women’s Champion and former Ukrainian Women’s Champion. She represented Ukraine in two Olympiads before switching to the United States in 2004, winning team silver for the U.S. in the 2004 Chess Olympiad, team bronze in 2006, and an individual gold medal for the first board in the 2008 Chess Olympiad. Last year, Zatonskih won the 2023 Cairns Cup, earning a grandmaster norm.

Tatev Abrahamyan is an Armenian-American Women’s Grandmaster and current #10 ranked woman in the United States. In 2006, she won the Girls Under 18 section of the Pan American Youth Chess Festival with a perfect 9/9 score. Tatev has come close to winning the U.S. Women’s Championship multiple times, with second place finishes in 2004, 2010, and 2011. Abrahamyan is also a longtime member of the U.S. National Team, and was part of the bronze medal winning squad in the 2008 Chess Olympiad.

“Begim” Tokhirjonova is an International Master and current #4 ranked woman in the United States. Originally from Uzbekistan, she is a former Asian Girls Champion U20. In 2021, Begim finished second in the U.S. Women’s Championship, while in 2022 she placed fourth in the Women’s American Cup. In 2022 Tokhirjonova made her debut appearance as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, which earned fourth place in the 2022 Chess Olympiad, and she has since represented the U.S. in multiple international competitions. Tokhirjonova graduated from the University of Missouri in 2023, where she played for the collegiate chess team.

Megan Lee is a FIDE Master originally from Washington state. Her tournament achievements include winning the 2020 and 2022 Washington State Championships, as well as the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open. Other highlights include winning the 2013 North American Youth U18 Girls Championship and the 2009 Kasparov All-Girls Nationals Championship. Outside of chess, Megan attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she graduated with a degree in industrial design. This will be Megan’s second U.S. Women’s Championship. In 2022, she tied for fifth place with a score of 7/13 points.

Atousa Pourkashiyan is an Iranian-American Woman Grandmaster and current #12 ranked woman in the United States. She is a former Girls Under 12 World Youth Champion, four-time Asian Youth Champion, and seven-time Iranian Champion. Pourkashiyan was also the winner of the 2010 Asian Women’s Championship, and represented Iran in nine straight chess Olympiads from 2000-2016. This will be her second U.S Women’s Championship appearance.

Alice Lee is an International Master and two-time U.S. Girls Junior Champion, originally from Minnesota. She is currently ranked #1 among U.S. Girls under 21 and #2 among women overall. She is also ranked #6 on the FIDE Top 100 Girls list. Lee is a three-time gold medalist at the World Youth Championships, winning the Girls’ U10 section in 2019 and then back-to-back titles in the 2020-2021 Girls’ U12. Earning her IM title in 2023, she became the youngest American woman ever to do so. Recently, Lee won the 2024 American Cup, defeating GM Irina Krush in the final. In September 2024, Lee made her debut appearance for the U.S. National Team, participating in the Budapest Olympiad.

Carissa Yip is an International Master and defending U.S. Women’s Champion, originally from Andover, Massachusetts. She is currently ranked #3 among women overall. Yip’s tournament achievements include winning the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship three straight years (2018, 2019, 2020), as well as the 2021 and 2023 U.S. Women’s Championships. Yip also set records for being the youngest American woman to achieve the titles of Expert, National Master, and International Master in history. Yip represented the U.S. National Team in both the 2022 and 2024 chess Olympiads, helping the team earn fourth place in 2022.

Jennifer Yu is an American Woman Grandmaster and two-time U.S. Women’s Champion, originally from Ashburn, Virginia. She is a former Girls U12 World Youth Champion and won the National Girls Tournament of Champions three times. She also scored a bronze medal in the 2017 World Junior Girls’ Championship and earned an individual bronze medal while representing the U.S. at the 2018 Women’s Chess Olympiad. In 2019, Yu won her first U.S. Women’s Championship with a score of 10/11. She then won the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship as well as the 2022 U.S. Women’s Championship after defeating GM Irina Krush in a tiebreak playoff. Jennifer is currently a student at Harvard University.

Rose Atwell is a FIDE Master representing Southern California. She is currently ranked #6 among U.S. Girls under 21 and #1 for age 15 overall. Atwell’s tournament achievements include beating her first GM at the Larry Evans Memorial in April 2023, as well as earning her FM title in January 2024. As of July 2024, Rose was ranked #22 on the FIDE Top 100 Girls list. Earlier this year, Rose placed second in the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. This will be her first U.S. Women’s Championship appearance.

Nazi Paikidze is a two-time U.S. Women’s Champion and current #7 ranked woman in the United States. She is also a four-time European Youth Champion and two-time World Youth Champion (Girls U14 & U16). Originally from Irkutsk, Russia, Paikidze spent her childhood in Georgia before moving to Moscow in 2006, where she achieved a number of excellent results, including winning the Moscow Women’s Open, Moscow Women’s Championship, and Russian Women’s Higher League all in 2010. After moving to the U.S. in 2012, Paikidze won the 2016 and 2018 U.S. Women’s Championship. She has also represented the U.S. Women’s National Team at multiple Olympiads and international events.

Thalia Cervantes is a Cuban-American Woman Grandmaster and current #11 among U.S. women overall. Originally from Havana, Cervantes moved to Saint Louis in 2014 at the age of 11. Her tournament achievements include earning first place in the 2018 Pan-American Championship Girls U20, second in the 2022 U.S. Girls Junior Championship, and a team silver while playing for the U.S. team in the 2021 Online Chess Olympiad. Thalia currently attends Saint Louis University, where she competes for their chess team and is pursuing a degree in sports business.