CHESS#1340

The Cairns Cup is the latest initiative from millionaire philanthropist Rex Sinquefield who sponsors the US Championships and the Sinquefield Cup. The Cairns Cup, named after his spouse, Jeanne Cairns-Sinquefield, aims to boost the women’s game. 

The first edition offers $150,000 prize money to a field of 10 strong GMs in a round-robin. After seven rounds, Valentina Gunina leads with 6 points. She’s followed by Alexandra Kosteniuk (5.5) and Irina Krush (4.5). Dronavalli Harika (4) is also doing well. 

Every so often, FIDE tries to slide chess into the Olympics. It was demonstrated by Viswanathan Anand and Alexey Shirov in Sydney (2000).