Kazakh grandmaster Bibisara Assaubayeva scored her first win at the women's super tournament Cairns Cup-2026 in St. Louis, USA, reports infohub.kz.
In the fourth round, Assaubayeva needed just 23 moves to defeat Alexandra Kosteniuk, the 12th women's world champion, who plays for Switzerland. The 42-year-old former Russian, a regular at the Cairns Cup, is clearly out of form: after losing her first three games, she capitulated against the Kazakh as well. In a sharp position, Kosteniuk saw inevitable defeat after White's 23rd move, with Assaubayeva playing White.
With the win, Assaubayeva reached 2.5 points and climbed the standings. The three-time world blitz champion (2021, 2022, 2025) now joins the chasing pack behind leader Tan Zhongyi of China, 35. The 16th women's world champion (2017-2018) beat current title challenger Vaishali Rameshbabu with White in the fourth round.
In round five, Assaubayeva will face Divya Deshmukh of India with Black. At the triumphant Norway Chess-2026 in Oslo, the Kazakh beat the 2025 Women's World Cup winner with the black pieces. With White, Assaubayeva drew with Deshmukh and lost the armageddon.
St. Louis leader Tan Zhongyi will play Alice Lee in round five, with Lee having White.
The prestigious women's super tournament Cairns Cup, with a prize fund of $250,000, takes place in the Mecca of American chess, St. Louis, Missouri. The tournament is named after Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield, co-founder of the local chess club and a member of the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Ten players, all personally invited by the organizers, compete in a round-robin format. The time control is classical: 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, plus 30 seconds per move from move one.
In parallel, the men's Sinquefield Cup-2026 is also held in St. Louis, also named after Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield. The competition, with a prize fund of $475,000, features world title contender Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan. In round four, Assaubayeva's boyfriend, with an extra pawn, agreed a draw on move 38 with Anish Kumar Giri, born in St. Petersburg and playing under the Dutch flag.