The Cairns Cup, founded in 2019 by Jeanne Sinquefield, is the headline women’s tournament of the Saint Louis Chess Club’s annual calendar. Ten players in a single round-robin, classical time controls, $200,000 prize fund — making it one of the most lucrative women’s chess events in the world. The 2026 edition runs from 8 to 21 August at the club’s Central West End facility, coinciding with the Sinquefield Cup (which runs through 12 August) and the GCT Finals (21–28 August).
Origin
The Cairns Cup is named after Dr Rex Sinquefield’s mother Cairns and was created to give women’s elite chess the same kind of dedicated round-robin platform that men’s chess receives through the Sinquefield Cup. The format is identical: ten players, nine classical rounds, no rapid tiebreaks except in mathematical edge cases for first place. Prize money is similar in scale to the Sinquefield Cup, which is rare in women’s elite chess — the Women’s Candidates and the FIDE Women’s World Cup are the only other events at this prize level.
The 2026 edition
The 5th edition continues the tournament’s tradition of pairing established world-champion-class players (Hou Yifan, Vaishali, the top of the Women’s Grand Prix) with rising junior talent. The 2026 field, announced in late spring, includes the top six finishers of the 2026 Women’s Candidates plus four wildcard invites. The full lineup will be confirmed on the official Saint Louis Chess Club site closer to the event.