Carissa Yip Wins U.S. Junior Girls, Becomes Grandmaster!

Are you having a good summer? We hope so, but one thing is for sure: ChessKid's own Carissa Yip is having a GREAT summer!

She has been crossing all over the United States playing in many tournaments, but two of them stand out.

In late June, Carissa (also known as Magician4MA in her articles and videos) traveled to Charlotte, NC and won the 2019 North American Junior Girls Championship with an amazing score of 8.5/9.

WGM-elect Carissa Yip and Charlotte Chess Club founder FM Peter Giannatos. Photo: Percy Yip.

Many FIDE-titled players competed, but for Carissa, she "leveled up" from FIDE Master to Women's Grandmaster (WGM)! That makes her one of the youngest American females ever to capture that title.

As if that wasn't enough, after a break of only a few days, Carissa then traveled the World Open and made two draws with grandmasters, then quickly hopped to St. Louis for the 2019 U.S. Junior Girls' Championship.

Carissa hard at work at the U.S. Junior Girls' Championship. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

This tournament was different in that you had to be invited, and only 10 of the top girls in the United States competed. Still, that didn't stop Carissa. This time she again came in clear first with 7.5/9!

The win gets her a national title, an automatic spot into the 2020 U.S. Women's Championship, and a nice bit of spending money for her next iPhone.

Carissa (in hat) watching the remaining games with friends. That's U.S. Women's Champion and fellow WGM Jennifer Yu on far left. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Maybe Carissa will get interviewed again by FunMasterMike at the next U.S. Women's Championship!

Congratulations to Carissa for a fantastic month of chess and check back to ChessKid.com soon for some analysis and behind-the-scenes moments from her summer of a lifetime.

Saint Louis Chess Club Director Tony Rich, Carissa, and club founder Rex Sinquefield at the closing ceremony of the U.S. Junior Girls' Championship. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.