About the Tournament
For the second time, the Saint Louis Chess Club will host the Cairns Cup, an elite level tournament for the top female players from around the world. Inspired by its mission to further promote the game of chess to females, the Chess Club aptly chose the name Cairns Cup in honor of co-founder Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield’s maiden name. Fans can look forward to a chess tournament similar in style to the prestigious Sinquefield Cup with the ten best female players from around the world including: Wenjun Ju, Humpy Koneru, Mariya Muzychuk, Kateryna Lagno, Harika Dronavalli, Nana Dzagnidze, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Irina Krush and Carissa Yip.
Started in 2019 and carried into 2020, a fresh new design for the Commemorative Cairns Cup Chessmen has been selected. The chessmen are a reproduction of the earliest Staunton chessmen produced between 1849-1850, but with the magnificent new Camaratta Knight design. And the Cairns Cup Official Chessmen were born!
In cooperation with the Chess Club and Scholastic Chess Center of St. Louis, the House of Staunton is offering the 2020 Cairns Cup Commemorative Chessmen. It is a limited edition chess set, with a total of only 10 units available, with each chess set coming with a hand-signed certificate of authenticity that was signed by each of the 10 players. Chess sets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis; purchase quickly to insure yourself a low production number!
NOTE - These are NOT DGT-Enabled Chess Sets.
Meet the Players
Rank and Name:
FIDE Ranking - 2552
Country - Ukraine
GM Kateryna Lagno
FIDE Ranking - 2518
Country - India
GM Nana Dzagnidze
FIDE Ranking - 2515
Country - Geogria
FIDE Ranking - 2504
Country - Russia
GM Valentina Gunina
FIDE Ranking - 2461
Country - Russia
FIDE Ranking - 2422
Country - United States
FIDE Ranking - 2412
Country - United States
The event is a ten-player, round robin, that began on February 6th. The players compete for a $45,000 prize, and the right to hoist the coveted Cairns Cup.
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $45,000 |
| 2nd | $35,000 |
| 3rd | $25,000 |
| 4th | $20,000 |
| 5th | $15,000 |
| 6th | $10,000 |
| 7th | $9,000 |
| 8th | $8,000 |
| 9th | $7,000 |
| 10th | $6,000 |
About the Chessmen
The House of Staunton is proud to offer another masterpiece - Camaratta Signature Series Cooke Luxury Chess Set! Combining the Staunton perfection of the Cooke set with the Maestro's Knight design from the Craftsman set, these Chessmen showcase the Maestro's passion for Greek architecture, as well as the highest standard of the Staunton pattern.
The Cooke design is a perfect reproduction of the original Staunton-pattern chessmen, the standard by which every tournament Chess set has been designed.
The Chessmen are new and each set consists of 34 Chessmen, including four Queens, a standard that was introduced by The House of Staunton over 10 years ago.
The chess set comes with an original manufacturer's plaque indicating the production number, with an adhesive backing that would allow it to be affixed to the underside of a Chess box.
About the Chess Box
Each chess set comes packed in a House of Staunton Mahogany premium Chess Box with the Cairns Cup name and logo laser engraved on the lid.
About the Signed Certificate of Authenticity
Each Chess Set comes with a certificate of authenticity that was hand-signed by all ten of the participants in the match - Wenjun Ju • Humpy Koneru • Mariya Muzychuk • Kateryna Lagno • Harika Dronavalli • Nana Dzagnidze • Alexandra Kosteniuk • Valentina Gunina • Irina Krush • Carissa Yip. Upon the completion of the event, we will put up a sample of the Signed 2020 Cairns Cup certificate.
ALL PURCHASES BENEFIT THE CHESS CLUB AND SCHOLASTIC CHESS CENTER OF ST. LOUIS
