Garifullina Wins Blitz, Joins Yip in Grand Final Lineup
Leya Garifullina won the Blitz knockout at the WR Women's Chess Tour 2026 Americas Leg, avenging her Rapid semi-final defeat to Carissa Yip along the way and sealing her own place at the Grand Final in Stuttgart this November, alongside Yip herself. Live commentary again came from José Martínez Alcántara and Harshit Raja.
Garifullina opened with a 2.5-0.5 win over Ashley Castillo. Alice Lee swept Carolina Luján 3-0, Carissa Yip swept Patricia Castillo Peña 3-0, and, in the day's biggest shake-up, Megan Paragua beat Rapid runner-up Deysi Cori 3-1, ending Cori's run in the Americas leg at the quarter-final stage.
Alice Lee eased past Paragua 2.5-0.5 to reach the final. In the other half, Garifullina came from behind against Yip, losing the first game before winning the next three, to close out the match 3-1 and reverse the result of their Rapid semi-final, where Yip had swept her 2-0 the day before.
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