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:
- Her personal recollections of GM Daniel Naroditsky, including how he once went out of his way to help her prepare during a major tournament.
- The helpful opening advice recently shared with her by her friend and coach, GM Awonder Liang.
- 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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