Alice Lee, a 13-year-old from Minneapolis, has set a new landmark for US women’s chess by qualifying as the third youngest female international master in chess history, outpaced only by the all-time No 1, Judit Polgar, who achieved it at 12, and the current world No 6, Kateryna Lagno.
Lee scored her third and final IM norm at the Montreal Classic, where she began with an unbeaten 4/6 against grandmasters, and narrowly missed a GM result. She chose that event in preference to the prestigious $175,000 Cairns Cup at St Louis, which also resulted in a surprise US success as Anna Zatonskih, the lowest rated player, defeated a high class international field.
