Fresh off her third consecutive (and fourth overall) U.S. Women’s Championship title, I was honored to catch up with 22-year-old IM Carissa Yip. Carissa has taken a gap year from Stanford University and is immersed in a demanding schedule of training and competition. She’s had some excellent results this year and is now ranked #21 among women in the world.

Despite her success, Carissa has also experienced the emotional ups and downs that every serious chess player can relate to. In our conversation, she discusses:

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  Her personal recollections of GM Daniel Naroditsky, including how he once went out of his way to help her prepare during a major tournament.

  
  


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  The helpful opening advice recently shared with her by her friend and coach, GM Awonder Liang.

  
  


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  How she overcame sluggish starts to win both the 2025 U.S. Women’s Championship and the Cairns Cup.
  

  
  

  Carissa shared a mix of funny stories and thoughtful reflections on her training regimen, the gender gap in chess, and her advice for improvement. She even recommended a novel to read and touched on her passion for writing. I really enjoyed catching up with Carissa and am excited to see her bright future continue to unfold. 

  
  

0:00- Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! If you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

And you can check out their new offerings here:

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

0:02- Carissa joins the pod. She begins by sharing her recollections of GM Daniel Naroditsky 

Mentioned: Zatonskih-Yip 2020

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2011266

0:05- Carissa had slow starts at both Cairns Cup and this US Champs- Why? 

0:07- Carissa’s training regimen

Mentioned: Killer Chess Training

0:09- Carissa’s Opening Approach

Mentioned: GM Awonder Liang

Check out Carissa’s US Championship Games here:

https://lichess.org/study/etqoyX0E/QRi8cCdw

17:00- How to approach a new opening

19:00- Carissa’s approach to training games

22:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Would Carissa prefer a corporate career or to pursue chess professionally?” 

24:30- Carissa retells the story of a funny bet between GM Awonder Liang and GM Sam Shankland

Mentioned: February 2025 Chess Life Magazine

https://new.uschess.org/magazine/feb-25-chess-life

28:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How can I overcome a slow start, as Carissa has done repeatedly?” 

36:00- Carissa’s fiction recommendation:

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

38:00- Carissa’ passion for writing 

40:00- How does Carissa describe the  e-sports experience of the recent USA vs. India match? l 

48:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Why does Carissa think no female player subsequent to Judit has reached her level of dominance?” 

54:00- Patreon mailbag question: “If Carissa could ask men in chess to do one thing differently, what would it be?” 

57:00- Carissa discusses her friendship with rising American star, IM Alice Lee

59:00- Carissa’s upcoming tournaments

1:01- Carissa’ chess improvement advice!

Thanks to Carissa for joining me again! Be sure to follow her on X and Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/carissayip/

https://x.com/carissayipchess?lang=en

Image in thumbnail by Lennart Ootes for the St. Louis Chess Club

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stlchessclub/54876804247/in/album-72177720329882462

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