Hou Yifan
Encyclopedia
Hou Yifan (born February 27, 1994, in Xinghua
, Taizhou, Jiangsu
, China) is a Chinese
chess prodigy
. She is the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever to win the title, as well as the youngest female player ever to qualify for the title of Grandmaster.
At the age of 12, Hou became the youngest player ever to participate in the FIDE Women's World Championship (Yekaterinburg
2006
) and the Chess Olympiad
(Torino 2006
). In June 2007, she became China's youngest National Women's Champion
ever. She achieved the titles of Woman FIDE Master in January 2004, Woman Grandmaster in January 2007, and International Master in September 2008 by reaching the final of the Women's World Championship
. In 2010, she became the youngest World Chess Champion in history (men's or women's) by winning the Women's World Championship
in Hatay
, Turkey
, at the age of 16. She then defended her title by defeating Indian GM Koneru Humpy
in November 2011
.
In the most recent (September 2011) FIDE rating list, Hou is ranked as the No. 1 girl player in the world, the No. 3 female player, the No. 19 junior player, and the No. 5 player of either sex born in 1994 or later. She is only the third female chess player to achieve a FIDE rating
of over 2600.
In January 2011, Hou was recognised as the best Sportsperson of the Year in China involved in a non-Olympic sport.
regularly at the age of 6, but was already fascinated with the game when she was 3 years old. Hou's father, Hou Xuejian, a magistrate, often took his young daughter to a bookstore after dinner. He noticed that the little girl liked to stare at glass chess pieces behind the window. He later bought his daughter her first chess set. The 3-year-old was able to beat her father and grandmother after a few weeks. In 1999, her father engaged a chess mentor, IM Tong Yuanming
, for his 5-year-old daughter. Tong later said that Hou was an unusual talent, showing "strong confidence, distinguished memory, calculating ability and fast reaction." The young girl's talent impressed many people.
In 2003, Hou played against the chief coach of the Chinese National men's and women's chess teams, Ye Jiangchuan
, for the first time. The chess master was surprised that the 9-year-old could identify almost all of his weak moves. "Then I knew she was an exceptional genius", Ye said. That year, Hou became the youngest member of the national team and won first place at the World Youth Championship for girls under age 10. In June 2007, she became China's youngest ever national champion.
She was admitted to the National Chess Center, an academy for young talented players from all over the country, in Beijing
when she was 10, with leading Chinese grandmasters Ye Jiangchuan
and Yu Shaoteng
as her trainers. In order to better support her chess career, her family relocated to Beijing
in 2003.
Hou's mother, a former nurse, accompanies her daughter on the international tournament circuit. Hou is homeschooled and lists her interests as reading and studying, and her favorite chess player as Bobby Fischer
.
Chess writer Leonard Barden
has said that she could rival Judit Polgár
as the best ever female player. Of her own career, Hou said in 2007:
. She scored 3/7 with a 2246 performance rating.
She won her first international tournament when she came first (9½/11; +8 =3 -0) in the girl's under-10 section of the World Youth Championship
in Halkidiki, Greece in 23 October-2 November 2003.
In November (15th-26th), she made her debut in the National Women's Chess Championship
, held at Shanwei
, Guangdong
. She finished in 14th place with 3½/9 with a performance rating of 2202.
of 2168, which automatically qualified her for the title of Woman FIDE Master (>2100 Elo points).
In April, she competed at the Chinese Team Chess Championship (Women's) in Jinan
, Shandong
. She scored 1½/7 having faced an average opposition rating (Rc) of 2316.
In 3–14 November, she finished joint first (along with Yu Yangyi, Jules Moussard and Raymond Song) but third on tiebreaks in the boy's under-10 section of the World Youth Championship
, held in Heraklio, Crete (9/11; +8 =2 -1).
At the 11th Asian Women's Championship
in Beirut
, Lebanon from 4–11 December 2004, she came 11th with a score of 4½/9 (+4 =1 -4; TPR 2278). The event was won by Wang Yu
with 6½/9.
In February, she competed at the 4th Aeroflot Open
(Group C) in Moscow, where she scored 2/5.
In April, she finished fifth with a score of 7/11 (+6 =2 -3) (tied for fourth) at the 3 Arrows Cup 2005 ladies tournament in Jinan
, China. In that tournament, she defeated international master Almira Skripchenko
and achieved a performance rating of 2393.
In 28 June - 6 July at the 2nd China-France Youth Match at Shenzhen
, Guangdong
, Hou Yifan scored 3/8 (+2 =2 -4). The Chinese team (Zhou Jianchao
, Zhao Jun
, Zhao Xue
and Hou) won the match 19-13.
In July, at the Festival Open International des Jeunes in Saint-Lô
, France, she came second out of 75 players with 6/8, behind Wen Yang
. In 18–29 July at the World Youth Chess Championship
in Belfort
, France, Hou Yifan came 5th in the Boy's Under-12 Section with 8/11.
In October, she managed to qualify for the World Women's Chess Championship to be held in March 2006. Despite being rated only 2220 and ranked women's number 28 in her own country, she qualified by winning the Chinese Women's Zonal (3.5
) tournament, scoring 6/9 points with a performance rating of 2401, ahead of several better-known Chinese players.
The sixth World Team Chess Championship
was staged in Beersheva, Israel
in 31 October-11 November. China fielded two teams - the men's and women's, which was only the second time in the championship history where a women's team competed in what has traditionally been a male team event. This was Hou Yifan's first major team tournament and she was the youngest participant there at 11 years of age. She played as second reserve and finished with 0/3. The Chinese women's team drew one match and lost all their others (+0 =1 -7) finishing last. The tournament was won by Russia, with China (men's) coming in second and Armenia third.
In December Hou came second at the China Women Selective Tournament in Beijing
for the 37th Chess Olympiad
to be held in May–June 2006 in Turin, Italy. She scored 16½/28 and gained a whopping 121 elo-points. She made the Olympiad team with Wang Yu
and Shen Yang, the other top three finishers.
in March 2006. Despite being rated 2269 and seeded 56th out of 64 players, she defeated IM Nadezhda Kosintseva
(rated 2480) of Russia 1½-½ in the first round, then the former 2000 European champion WGM Natalia Zhukova
(2432) of Ukraine 2-0 in the 2nd round,. She was beaten 0-2 by IM Nino Khurtsidze
(2430) of Georgia in the third round to finish with a performance rating of 2504.
In May–June 2006, China came third winning bronze at the 37th Chess Olympiad
in Turin
, Italy. Hou Yifan scored 11/13 (+10, =2, -1), all played on the fourth board, at her Olympiad
debut. For her winning percentage of 84.6%, she won a silver medal for fourth (reserve) board performance, and her performance rating of 2596 was the third highest overall.
The Chinese Championships
for men and women took place in Wuxi
, Jiangsu
25 June - 6 July 2006. Ni Hua
took the men's title and Li Ruofan
the women's. Hou Yifan came fourth in the women's category V (2369) event with a score of 7/11 (+5 =4 -2) and a performance rating of 2477.
In July–August, she performed badly at what has been traditionally the strongest women's tournament - the North Urals Cup in Krasnoturinsk, Russia. Although seeded third, she failed to win a game scoring 3/9 (+0 =6 -3) with a performance rating of 2357. She finished 8th out of 10 players.
In 10–20 August, Hou played in the China-Russia Summit Match in Ergun
, Mongolia
. The tournament was a two double round robin Scheveningen, one for men and one for women (category VIII (2444)). Russia won the men's event 26½-23½ but China won the women's section 28-22, winning the match 51½-48½. Hou Yifan was the highest scoring female player on tiebreak with 6½/10 (+5 =3 -2).
China and France played for the Trophée MULTICOMS in Paris 4–9 September 2006. This was also a Scheveningen team match with six men and three women in the teams. France edged out China 20-16 in the men's event. The women's section was a complete mismatch in terms of Elo ratings in favour of the Chinese and they confirmed this over the board winning 12½-5½. The overall result was China 28½ France 25½. Hou Yifan was again the highest scoring female player with 5/6 and a performance rating of 2498.
In October in Yerevan
, Armenia at the World Junior Chess Championship
(Girl's section) she went on to take second place on tiebreak with a score of 9/12 (+7 =4 -2; tied for first on points) behind her compatriot Shen Yang. Her rating performance was 2469.
with a score of 7/13 (+4 =6 -3) and a 2513 performance rating. This result, together with WGM norms she had earned at the 2005 Zonal 3.5 Women's Championship, the 37th Chess Olympiad
and the 2006 Chinese Championship
(Women's) won her the WGM title, formally conferred by FIDE in late January 2007.
At the Aeroflot Open
in February 2007, a few weeks before Hou's 13th birthday, she played in the A1 group for the first time. Hou started well with two wins out of, two defeating first the Russian IM Nikita Vitiugov (rated 2604) and then the 2001 European Champion, GM Emil Sutovsky
of Israel (rated 2629). However in the third round she was defeated by the Russian Championship runnerup
, Dmitry Jakovenko
, and managed only one draw in her next five games. She rallied in the final round with a victory against the Greek grandmaster, Vasilios Kotronias, and finished with a respectable 3½/9.
In March, at the 1st Ruy Lopez
International Festival (cat. XV (2607)) in Zafra
, Hou performed badly to finish last with 2/7 (+1 =2 -4). Her performance rating was 2462.
In April Hou came second at the China Women Selective Tournament in Ningbo
for the 2007 Asian Indoor Games
to be held in October. She scored 8/14 (+6 =4 -4).
In 1–11 May 2007, at the 8th Russian Team Chess Championship (Women's) in Dagomys
, Houplayed for Southern Ural Chelyabinsk on board one and scored 6½/10 (+5 =3 -2). At the 1st World Women's Team Chess Championship
in Ekaterinburg later that month, Hou was part of the winning China national team that also included Zhao Xue
, Ruan Lufei
, Shen Yang, and Huang Qian
. Hou Yifan played on board two in every round and scored 7½/9 (+7 =1 -1), winning the gold medal for that board. Her performance rating was 2559.
In June 2007, she won her first Chinese Women's Chess Championship
in Chongqing
. Hou was 13 years old at the time, breaking WGM Qin Kanying
's (who was 14 when she won the title in 1988) record as the youngest champion. Hou scored 9/11 (+7 =4 -0). Second and third place went to Zhao Xue
and Shen Yang, respectively.
In July, she improved on the previous year's performance at the North Urals Cup in Krasnoturinsk, finishing in 7th place out of 10 players. She scored 4/9 (+3 =2 -4) with a performance rating of 2436. The tournament was won by Zhu Chen
and with Zhao Xue
in second place.
In 4–15 August, she competed in what was then her strongest closed tournament - the 5th Győrgy Marx Memorial (Cat. 14, 2582) in Paks
, Hungary. Being the lowest rated player and the only non-Grandmaster (out of Pentala Harikrishna, Peter Acs
, Csaba Balogh
, Ferenc Berkes
and Viktor Korchnoi
), she finished in last place in the double round robin event
with 3/10 (+1 =4 -5; TPR 2444).
At the UK-China Match in Liverpool
3–9 September 2007, China defeated the UK team with a comfortable score of 28-20. Hou played for the men's team and scored 2½/6 (+1 =3 -2) with a performance rating of 2540. The average rating of her opponents (Rc) was 2598.
In late September, she came first at the 2007 Chinese Women's Zonal (3.5
) tournament in Tianjin
with a score of 8/9 (+7 =2 -0).
In October 2007, she competed at the 12th European Club Cup in Kemer
, Turkey for team Southern Ural Cheliabinsk. Hou played on board two for the team, which finished fourth in the women's tournament. In the individual women's standings, Hou came in fifth with a score of 5/7 (+3 =4 -0) and a performance rating of 2547.
From October 26 to November 3, she competed for Team China at the 2nd Asian Indoor Games
in Macau
. The national team won team gold in the classic chess mixed team event with 11 match points (18½ game points out of 24). The Chinese team were Zhao Xue
, Xu Yuhua, Hou Yifan, Wang Hao
, Ni Hua
and Bu Xiangzhi
. Hou Yifan also won an individual gold medal for her board two display with a score of 5½/6 (+5 =1 -0; 91.7%) and a performance rating of 2596.
in Wijk aan Zee
, Hou competed in Group B where she finished in a tie for 7-10th place (9th by tiebreak) achieving 6/13 (+3 -4 =6) with a performance rating of 2598. She scored victories over three grandmasters, including a 23 move win over former World Champion challenger Nigel Short
.
In February 2008, Hou gained her first Grandmaster norm
(GM norm) at the Aeroflot Open
in Moscow by finishing in 31st place with a score of 4½/9 (+2 =5 -2, TPR 2605). This was followed in March 2008 with a victory at the 1st Atatürk International Women Masters Chess Tournament (cat. IX (2461)) in Istanbul
, Turkey where she finished a point ahead of the rest of the field on 7/9 (+5 =4 -0) with a performance rating of 2674. Her victory in this tournament earned her a GM norm conditional on FIDE ratifying then WGM Zhao Xue
's attainment of her GM title. Eventually however this GM norm was not used in her official grandmaster title application.
In April 2008, she competed in Mérida, Spain
at the 2nd Ruy Lopez Chess Festival tournament. In the category XV (2616) round robin event she finished 7th out of 8 players with 2/7 (+1, =2, -4) and a rating performance of 2467.
In May–June 2008, she became the Chinese Women's Champion
for the second consecutive time with 9/11 points (+7 =4 -0) in Beijing
and a performance of 2599.
At the July 2008 First Saturday GM Tournament in Budapest
, Hou Yifan was the top seed but came in second place with 9/12, missing a GM norm by half a point. Her performance rating was 2574.
In August 2008 she competed in the World Junior Chess Championship
held at Gazientep, Turkey where she competed in the boy's section for the first time in her career. She was the only girl in the boy's section and was the 16th seed on the entrant's list. Hou finished joint 3rd-7th on 9/13 (+6 =6 -1), achieving a performance rating of 2661 and her second GM norm.
In September 2008, FIDE referred to her as a "GM-elect", indicating that her Atatürk norm had been confirmed. This meant that Hou Yifan qualified for the grandmater title in August at the age of 14 years 6 months 2 days, making her one of the youngest grandmasters in history, as well as the youngest female. She is also one of the very few players to achieve the Grandmaster title without first gaining the International Master title, and the first female player to do so.
In August - September 2008, Hou competed in her second Women's World Chess Championship
at Nalchik
, Russia. She had qualified by being one of the six highest rated players from the average of the July 2006-January 2007 period. In this knockout
tournament
, she was seeded 3rd out of 64 players. She defeated WGM Mona Khaled (Egypt) 2-0 in the first round and WGM Bathuyang Mongontuul (Mongolia) 2-0 in the second. In third round, she had to go to rapid playoff
s to eventually beat IM Elena Sedina (Italy) 3-1 (1-1, 2-0). In the quarterfinals she defeated Armenian IM Lilit Mkrtchian
1½-½, followed by Indian GM Humpy Koneru, the second seed, in the semifinals (4-2 overall, 1-1, 1-1, 2-0). She lost the final to Alexandra Kosteniuk
of Russia, 2½-1½. Nonetheless she became the youngest ever finalist for the Women's World Championship title, earning an automatic International Master (IM) title and a "runner-up 9-game grandmaster norm", her fourth GM norm overall.
Hou participated at the 1st World Mind Sports Games
in Beijing
on 3–18 October as a member of the Chinese team, winning the bronze medal in the Women's Individual Blitz event, the gold medal in the Mixed Pairs Rapid event (with Ni Hua
), the silver medal in the Women's Teams Blitz event, and the gold medal in the Women's Teams Rapid event.
She played in the Cap d'Agde
Rapid tournament from October 24 to November 1, losing to former world champion Anatoly Karpov
in a tiebreaker match at the end of the qualifying stage, despite winning the second tiebreak game.
At the 38th Chess Olympiad
in Dresden
from 12 to 25 November, she played at no. 1 board in the Chinese women's team. Although her team did not win a prize, she still placed third in the individual board prize. She played in every round with a final result of 7½/11 (+5, =5, -1, TPR 2563).
At the 79th FIDE Congress, held on 16–26 November 2008 in Dresden, Germany, her GM title was approved making her the 27th Chinese Grandmaster. Her three approved GM norms were:
in Wijk aan Zee
from January 16 to February 1, 2009. She was seeded 12th out of 14 players and finished joint 9th-10th with a performance rating of 2620.
On March 7–19, she finished third in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix Tournament
in Istanbul, scoring 8/11 (+6=4-1) with a 2648 performance.
From May 12–23, she competed at the 8th Asia Continental Chess Championship
at the Subic Exhibition and Convention Center, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
in Olongapo City
, Philippines
. She scored 7½/11 with a 2640 performance, finishing 7th out of 86 on tiebreak. By finishing in the top 10 she qualified for the 2009 World Cup
.
In 9–15 August at the Jubilee Open, Zürich
, she won the "best female player" prize by coming joint 17th with 6½/9.
In 19 August-1 September at the NH Hotels Risings Stars vs Experienced, Amsterdam
, she finished with a score of 3½/10
She was defeated in the first round at the Chess World Cup 2009
, Khanty-Mansiysk
, Russia, 20 November-15 December.
In February, she finished with 4/9 at the Aeroflot Open
.
In April, she won the third Kuala Lumpur
Open.
In August she won the 2010 Women's Grand Prix in Mongolia.
In November, she won the women's individual gold medal in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. She finished with 8½/9 and with a performance rating of 2798. She won another gold medal from the women's team event, representing China as the first board, along with her team mates Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Huang Qian and Wang Yu, beating Uzbekistan 2½-1½ in the final.
In December she won the Women's World Chess Championship 2010
in Hatay, Turkey, making her the youngest women's world champion in history. Her compatriot Ruan Lufei
was her opponent in the finals. After four games at classical time controls, the score was tied 2-2, but Hou won the rapid playoffs 3-1 to take the title.
.
In June, she took part in a tournament in India, the AAI International Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2011. She finished with a dismal last place, but in August, she rebounded to win clear first place in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011–2012
tournament in Rostov, Russia. She then went on to win the second Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen in September 2011.
In August, she took part in the Chess World Cup 2011
in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. She was one of the two female participants in the 128-player single-elimination tournament. Her opponent for the first round was Sergei Movsesian
, to whom she lost 2-0, resulting in her elimination.
Hou successfully defended her women's world champion title in the Women's World Chess Championship 2011
in Tirana
, Albania
against Koneru Humpy
. Hou won 3 games and drew 5 in the ten-game match, winning the title with two games to spare.
, officially known as the "Torch Real Estate Cup Chinese Chess League Division A". She played for Shandong Qilu Evening News Chess Team, who became the 2007 champions when they defeated the 2006 champion Beijing team, 3½ to 1½. In the 2008 season, there were 18 rounds in six different cities over a six-month period, from March to August. Hou's teammates were GM Bu Xiangzhi
, GM Zhao Jun
, GM Wen Yang
, and WGM Zhang Jilin
.
, Hou is the third highest rated female player and the highest rated girl player in the world. She is also the youngest person in any of the FIDE's "top players" lists.
On 1 July 2006, she was the youngest ever female player to enter the Top 50 Women (Number 8) and Top 20 Girls (Number 2) FIDE lists at age of 12 (rated 2488), since FIDE began releasing these lists in 2000.
Between the April 2006 and July 2006 FIDE rating lists, she gained an impressive 190 rating points from a rating of 2298 to a rating of 2488, which made her the eighth highest rated female player, and the second highest rated girl, in the world.
. As Black, she usually plays the Sicilian Defence
(including the Najdorf
, Dragon
and Closed variations) as well as the French Defence
against 1.e4, while against 1.d4 she plays the Nimzo-/Bogo-Indian
and Queen's Indian defences.
, in the Corus (Group B) tournament
, Wijk aan Zee
, Netherlands. This is, to-date, the third-highest rated opponent she has defeated – the top two players being Krishnan Sasikiran
and Francisco Vallejo Pons
, both rated above 2700 at the time.
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6
5. Qc2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. e4 d5 8. cxd5 Bxf1 9. Kxf1 exd5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nc3 Nxd2+
12. Nxd2 Qd7 13. Kg2 Nc6 14. Qa4 O-O 15. Rac1 f6?
16. f4 fxe5 17. dxe5 Bb4 18. Rhf1 Rac8 19. Ne2 Nxe5 20. Qxb4 Nd3 21. Qb3 Nxc1 22. Nxc1 Rce8 23. Nf3 Qf5 24. Rf2 c5 25. Qd3 Qe4 26. Rd2 d4 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 28. Nd3 Re6 29. h4 Rc8 30. a4 a6 31. Nfe5 b5 32. a5 g6 33. Rc2 c4 34. Nb4 Rf8 35. b3 d3 36. Rd2 Rc8 37. Rd1 Rd6 38. Kf3 d2 39. bxc4 bxc4 40. Nc2 c3 41. Ke2 Rd5 42. Ng4 Rxa5 43. Nge3 Rd8 44. Rb1 Ra2 45. Kd1 Rb2 46. Ra1 Rdb8 47. Rxa6 Rb1+ 48. Ke2 Rc1 49. Rc6 Re8 0–1
Xinghua
This article is about the city. For other uses, see Xinghua.Xinghua City is a county-level city in Taizhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China...
, Taizhou, Jiangsu
Taizhou, Jiangsu
Taizhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of eastern China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west....
, China) is a Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
chess prodigy
Chess prodigy
Chess prodigies are children who play chess so well that they are able to beat Masters and even Grandmasters, often at a very young age. Chess is one of the few sports where children can compete with adults on equal ground; it is thus one of the few skills in which true child prodigies exist...
. She is the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever to win the title, as well as the youngest female player ever to qualify for the title of Grandmaster.
At the age of 12, Hou became the youngest player ever to participate in the FIDE Women's World Championship (Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
2006
Women's World Chess Championship 2006
The Women's World Chess Championship 2006 consisted of a tournament for the Women's World Chess Championship which took place from March 10–27, 2006 in Ekaterinburg, Russia. It was won by Xu Yuhua, who beat Alisa Galliamova in the final by 2½ to ½....
) and the Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
(Torino 2006
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
). In June 2007, she became China's youngest National Women's Champion
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
ever. She achieved the titles of Woman FIDE Master in January 2004, Woman Grandmaster in January 2007, and International Master in September 2008 by reaching the final of the Women's World Championship
Women's World Chess Championship 2008
The Women's World Chess Championship 2008 consisted of a tournament for the Women's World Chess Championship which took place from August 28, 2008 to September 18 in Nalchik in Russia. It was won by Alexandra Kosteniuk, who beat Hou Yifan in the final by 2½ to 1½.-Participants:Players were seeded...
. In 2010, she became the youngest World Chess Champion in history (men's or women's) by winning the Women's World Championship
Women's World Chess Championship 2010
The Women's World Chess Championship, 2010 took place in Hatay, Turkey from December 2 through 25.The tournament was played in a 64 player knockout type. Each pairing consisted of two games, one with white and one with black. The winner advanced. In case of a tie, tiebreaks were played the next day...
in Hatay
Hatay
Hatay refers to the following places in Turkey:* Hatay Province, Turkey* Republic of Hatay, between 1938–1939.* Hatay, İzmir, Turkey, a district of İzmir...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, at the age of 16. She then defended her title by defeating Indian GM Koneru Humpy
Koneru Humpy
Humpy Koneru is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Her January 2010 FIDE Elo rating is 2614, placing her number two in the world for women . In 2007 she surpassed the rating of 2577 set by Susan Polgar to become the second-highest ranked female player in history...
in November 2011
Women's World Chess Championship 2011
The Women's World Chess Championship 2011 was the 34th women's world championship in history. It was organized by FIDE and was played in a match format between the champion and the FIDE Grand Prix winner as challenger. On 8 August 2011 the match was awarded to Tirana, Albania...
.
In the most recent (September 2011) FIDE rating list, Hou is ranked as the No. 1 girl player in the world, the No. 3 female player, the No. 19 junior player, and the No. 5 player of either sex born in 1994 or later. She is only the third female chess player to achieve a FIDE rating
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
of over 2600.
In January 2011, Hou was recognised as the best Sportsperson of the Year in China involved in a non-Olympic sport.
Career
Hou started playing chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
regularly at the age of 6, but was already fascinated with the game when she was 3 years old. Hou's father, Hou Xuejian, a magistrate, often took his young daughter to a bookstore after dinner. He noticed that the little girl liked to stare at glass chess pieces behind the window. He later bought his daughter her first chess set. The 3-year-old was able to beat her father and grandmother after a few weeks. In 1999, her father engaged a chess mentor, IM Tong Yuanming
Tong Yuanming
Tong Yuanming is a Chinese IM-titled chess player. He was National Chess Champion in 1993.Tong Yuanming plays for Bank of Qingdao chess club in the China Chess League .-External links:* - New In Chess. NICBase Online.*FIDE *Chessmetrics...
, for his 5-year-old daughter. Tong later said that Hou was an unusual talent, showing "strong confidence, distinguished memory, calculating ability and fast reaction." The young girl's talent impressed many people.
In 2003, Hou played against the chief coach of the Chinese National men's and women's chess teams, Ye Jiangchuan
Ye Jiangchuan
Ye Jiangchuan is a veteran Chinese chess player and has been one of China's leading players in modern history.In 1993, Ye became China's third Grandmaster, after Ye Rongguang and Xie Jun. On 1 January 2000, he became the first ever Chinese player to cross the 2600 elo rating mark...
, for the first time. The chess master was surprised that the 9-year-old could identify almost all of his weak moves. "Then I knew she was an exceptional genius", Ye said. That year, Hou became the youngest member of the national team and won first place at the World Youth Championship for girls under age 10. In June 2007, she became China's youngest ever national champion.
She was admitted to the National Chess Center, an academy for young talented players from all over the country, in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
when she was 10, with leading Chinese grandmasters Ye Jiangchuan
Ye Jiangchuan
Ye Jiangchuan is a veteran Chinese chess player and has been one of China's leading players in modern history.In 1993, Ye became China's third Grandmaster, after Ye Rongguang and Xie Jun. On 1 January 2000, he became the first ever Chinese player to cross the 2600 elo rating mark...
and Yu Shaoteng
Yu Shaoteng
Yu Shaoteng is a Chinese chess Grandmaster, and is the personal trainer of chess prodigy Hou Yifan. He took part in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002, but was knocked out in the first round by Zhang Zhong. In 2004, he became China's 17th Grandmaster at the age of 25.-Grandmaster title:He...
as her trainers. In order to better support her chess career, her family relocated to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 2003.
Hou's mother, a former nurse, accompanies her daughter on the international tournament circuit. Hou is homeschooled and lists her interests as reading and studying, and her favorite chess player as Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
.
Chess writer Leonard Barden
Leonard Barden
Leonard William Barden is an English chess master, columnist, author, and promoter. The son of a dustman, he was educated at Whitgift School, South Croydon, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He learned to play chess at age 13 while in a school shelter during a German air...
has said that she could rival Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
as the best ever female player. Of her own career, Hou said in 2007:
2003
Hou Yifan's first major tournament was on August 31 - September 12, 2003 at the Chinese Team Chess Championship (Men's) in TianjinTianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
. She scored 3/7 with a 2246 performance rating.
She won her first international tournament when she came first (9½/11; +8 =3 -0) in the girl's under-10 section of the World Youth Championship
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
in Halkidiki, Greece in 23 October-2 November 2003.
In November (15th-26th), she made her debut in the National Women's Chess Championship
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
, held at Shanwei
Shanwei
Shanwei is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong province of Southern China, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and Heyuan to the north, Huizhou to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. She finished in 14th place with 3½/9 with a performance rating of 2202.
2004
On 1 January 2004, she received her first International FIDE ratingElo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
of 2168, which automatically qualified her for the title of Woman FIDE Master (>2100 Elo points).
In April, she competed at the Chinese Team Chess Championship (Women's) in Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
. She scored 1½/7 having faced an average opposition rating (Rc) of 2316.
In 3–14 November, she finished joint first (along with Yu Yangyi, Jules Moussard and Raymond Song) but third on tiebreaks in the boy's under-10 section of the World Youth Championship
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
, held in Heraklio, Crete (9/11; +8 =2 -1).
At the 11th Asian Women's Championship
Asian Chess Championship
The 2007 championship was a FIDE Zone 3 qualification event for the 2007 Chess World Cup, the next stage in the 2009 World Chess Championship. Ten players were qualified for the 2007 World Cup: Zhang Pengxiang , Wang Hao , Abhijit Kunte , Zhao Jun , Susanto Megaranto , Wen Yang , Darwin Laylo ,...
in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon from 4–11 December 2004, she came 11th with a score of 4½/9 (+4 =1 -4; TPR 2278). The event was won by Wang Yu
Wang Yu (chess player)
Wang Yu is a Chinese chess player who holds the IM and the WGM titles.-Chess career:In 1996, she won the World U14 Girls Championship and in 1998, won the World U16 Girls Championship....
with 6½/9.
2005
Aeroflot Open
The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament. The first event had around 80 grandmasters, while in the second event 150 grandmasters participated...
(Group C) in Moscow, where she scored 2/5.
In April, she finished fifth with a score of 7/11 (+6 =2 -3) (tied for fourth) at the 3 Arrows Cup 2005 ladies tournament in Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, China. In that tournament, she defeated international master Almira Skripchenko
Almira Skripchenko
Almira Skripchenko is a French chess player who has achieved the FIDE International Master and Woman Grandmaster titles...
and achieved a performance rating of 2393.
In 28 June - 6 July at the 2nd China-France Youth Match at Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, Hou Yifan scored 3/8 (+2 =2 -4). The Chinese team (Zhou Jianchao
Zhou Jianchao
Zhou Jianchao is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2006, he became China's 21st Grandmaster at the age of 17. In March 2009, Zhou became for the first time in his career a player in the world...
, Zhao Jun
Zhao Jun
Zhao Jun is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2004, he became China's 19th Grandmaster at the age of 17.Zhao Jun plays for Shandong chess club in the China Chess League . He is ranked 11th in China ....
, Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue is a Chinese chess player who holds the Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster titles. In 2008, she became China's 24th Grandmaster.-Career:...
and Hou) won the match 19-13.
In July, at the Festival Open International des Jeunes in Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
, France, she came second out of 75 players with 6/8, behind Wen Yang
Wen Yang (chess player)
Wen Yang is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2008, he became China's 25th Grandmaster at the age of 19.-World Cup:He qualified for and competed in the Chess World Cup 2007 where he reached Round One, where he was defeated 0.5-1.5 by Zoltán Almási...
. In 18–29 July at the World Youth Chess Championship
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
in Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
, France, Hou Yifan came 5th in the Boy's Under-12 Section with 8/11.
In October, she managed to qualify for the World Women's Chess Championship to be held in March 2006. Despite being rated only 2220 and ranked women's number 28 in her own country, she qualified by winning the Chinese Women's Zonal (3.5
Chess around the world
Chess is played all over the world and is organised in different chess federations. These are organised on a national, supranational and international level...
) tournament, scoring 6/9 points with a performance rating of 2401, ahead of several better-known Chinese players.
The sixth World Team Chess Championship
World Team Chess Championship
The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent.-Men's team medals:-Women's team medals:-References:*...
was staged in Beersheva, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 31 October-11 November. China fielded two teams - the men's and women's, which was only the second time in the championship history where a women's team competed in what has traditionally been a male team event. This was Hou Yifan's first major team tournament and she was the youngest participant there at 11 years of age. She played as second reserve and finished with 0/3. The Chinese women's team drew one match and lost all their others (+0 =1 -7) finishing last. The tournament was won by Russia, with China (men's) coming in second and Armenia third.
In December Hou came second at the China Women Selective Tournament in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
for the 37th Chess Olympiad
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
to be held in May–June 2006 in Turin, Italy. She scored 16½/28 and gained a whopping 121 elo-points. She made the Olympiad team with Wang Yu
Wang Yu (chess player)
Wang Yu is a Chinese chess player who holds the IM and the WGM titles.-Chess career:In 1996, she won the World U14 Girls Championship and in 1998, won the World U16 Girls Championship....
and Shen Yang, the other top three finishers.
2006
Hou reached the third round (the last 16) of the Women's World Chess ChampionshipWomen's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
in March 2006. Despite being rated 2269 and seeded 56th out of 64 players, she defeated IM Nadezhda Kosintseva
Nadezhda Kosintseva
Nadezhda Anatolyevna Kosintseva is a Russian chess player. She holds the title of Grandmaster....
(rated 2480) of Russia 1½-½ in the first round, then the former 2000 European champion WGM Natalia Zhukova
Natalia Zhukova
Natalia Zhukova is a Ukrainian Grandmaster of chess. She won several age-group titles as a teenager, both at the European and World levels. She has also triumphed in several international women's tournaments...
(2432) of Ukraine 2-0 in the 2nd round,. She was beaten 0-2 by IM Nino Khurtsidze
Nino Khurtsidze
Nino Khurtsidze is a Woman Grandmaster of chess. She resides in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 2005 she was the number two rated woman chess player in Georgia with a FIDE rating of 2420. She won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship in 1993 and 1995.In 2004 she came second behind Evgeny Shaposhnikov in...
(2430) of Georgia in the third round to finish with a performance rating of 2504.
In May–June 2006, China came third winning bronze at the 37th Chess Olympiad
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy. Hou Yifan scored 11/13 (+10, =2, -1), all played on the fourth board, at her Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
debut. For her winning percentage of 84.6%, she won a silver medal for fourth (reserve) board performance, and her performance rating of 2596 was the third highest overall.
The Chinese Championships
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
for men and women took place in Wuxi
Wuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
25 June - 6 July 2006. Ni Hua
Ni Hua
Ni Hua is one of China's top chess grandmasters and is the national team captain. In 2003, he became China's 15th Grandmaster at the age of 19. On April 2008, Ni Hua and Bu Xiangzhi both became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
took the men's title and Li Ruofan
Li Ruofan
Li Ruofan is a Chinese chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster.Notable title victories include the 2001 Asian Women's Chess Championship in Chennai, and the 2006 Chinese Women's Chess Championship in Wuxi with a result of 8.5/12.She played for the China...
the women's. Hou Yifan came fourth in the women's category V (2369) event with a score of 7/11 (+5 =4 -2) and a performance rating of 2477.
In July–August, she performed badly at what has been traditionally the strongest women's tournament - the North Urals Cup in Krasnoturinsk, Russia. Although seeded third, she failed to win a game scoring 3/9 (+0 =6 -3) with a performance rating of 2357. She finished 8th out of 10 players.
In 10–20 August, Hou played in the China-Russia Summit Match in Ergun
Ergun
Ergun City , formerly Ergun Right Banner , is a county-level city in China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. Administratively, Ergun is part of the prefecture-level city of Hulunbuir...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. The tournament was a two double round robin Scheveningen, one for men and one for women (category VIII (2444)). Russia won the men's event 26½-23½ but China won the women's section 28-22, winning the match 51½-48½. Hou Yifan was the highest scoring female player on tiebreak with 6½/10 (+5 =3 -2).
China and France played for the Trophée MULTICOMS in Paris 4–9 September 2006. This was also a Scheveningen team match with six men and three women in the teams. France edged out China 20-16 in the men's event. The women's section was a complete mismatch in terms of Elo ratings in favour of the Chinese and they confirmed this over the board winning 12½-5½. The overall result was China 28½ France 25½. Hou Yifan was again the highest scoring female player with 5/6 and a performance rating of 2498.
In October in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, Armenia at the World Junior Chess Championship
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
(Girl's section) she went on to take second place on tiebreak with a score of 9/12 (+7 =4 -2; tied for first on points) behind her compatriot Shen Yang. Her rating performance was 2469.
2007
In January 2007, Hou achieved a respectable fifth place in Group C (Cat. 10, 2486) of the Corus Chess TournamentCorus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
with a score of 7/13 (+4 =6 -3) and a 2513 performance rating. This result, together with WGM norms she had earned at the 2005 Zonal 3.5 Women's Championship, the 37th Chess Olympiad
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
and the 2006 Chinese Championship
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
(Women's) won her the WGM title, formally conferred by FIDE in late January 2007.
At the Aeroflot Open
Aeroflot Open
The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament. The first event had around 80 grandmasters, while in the second event 150 grandmasters participated...
in February 2007, a few weeks before Hou's 13th birthday, she played in the A1 group for the first time. Hou started well with two wins out of, two defeating first the Russian IM Nikita Vitiugov (rated 2604) and then the 2001 European Champion, GM Emil Sutovsky
Emil Sutovsky
Emil Sutovsky is an Israeli chess Grandmaster. He is one of the several top chess grandmasters who were born in Baku, Azerbaijan .-Successes:...
of Israel (rated 2629). However in the third round she was defeated by the Russian Championship runnerup
Russian Chess Championship
-Imperial Russia:In 1874, Emanuel Schiffers defeated Andrey Chardin in a match held in St. Petersburg with five wins and four losses. Schiffers was considered the first Russian champion until his student, Mikhail Chigorin, defeated him in a match held in St. Petersburg in 1879...
, Dmitry Jakovenko
Dmitry Jakovenko
Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko is a Russian chess grandmaster. On the March 2010 FIDE Elo rating list, Jakovenko has a rating of 2725, making him the 20th highest ranked player in the world....
, and managed only one draw in her next five games. She rallied in the final round with a victory against the Greek grandmaster, Vasilios Kotronias, and finished with a respectable 3½/9.
In March, at the 1st Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
International Festival (cat. XV (2607)) in Zafra
Zafra
Zafra is a town situated in the Province of Badajoz , and the capital of the comarca of Zafra - Río Bodión. It has a population of 16,242, according to the figures of 2009....
, Hou performed badly to finish last with 2/7 (+1 =2 -4). Her performance rating was 2462.
In April Hou came second at the China Women Selective Tournament in Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...
for the 2007 Asian Indoor Games
2007 Asian Indoor Games
The 2nd Asian Indoor Games were held in Macau, China from 26 October 2007 to 3 November 2007. Most events of the games took place at the Macao East Asian Games Dome.-Emblem:...
to be held in October. She scored 8/14 (+6 =4 -4).
In 1–11 May 2007, at the 8th Russian Team Chess Championship (Women's) in Dagomys
Dagomys
Dagomys ; is a microraion of Sochi, Russia , known for its resorts, vacation spots and tea plantations. It was developed as a resort since before the Russian Revolution, when a botanical garden was founded by order of Nicholas II...
, Houplayed for Southern Ural Chelyabinsk on board one and scored 6½/10 (+5 =3 -2). At the 1st World Women's Team Chess Championship
World Team Chess Championship
The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent.-Men's team medals:-Women's team medals:-References:*...
in Ekaterinburg later that month, Hou was part of the winning China national team that also included Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue is a Chinese chess player who holds the Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster titles. In 2008, she became China's 24th Grandmaster.-Career:...
, Ruan Lufei
Ruan Lufei
Ruan Lufei is a Chinese chess player. She plays for Jiangsu chess club in the China Chess League .-Career:...
, Shen Yang, and Huang Qian
Huang Qian
Huang Qian is a Chinese WGM-titled chess player.She is currently the 47th ranked female chess player in the world. She had previously been in the FIDE Top 20 Girls List from 2003–2006, having reached a peak of 9th position on the April 2006 list....
. Hou Yifan played on board two in every round and scored 7½/9 (+7 =1 -1), winning the gold medal for that board. Her performance rating was 2559.
In June 2007, she won her first Chinese Women's Chess Championship
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
. Hou was 13 years old at the time, breaking WGM Qin Kanying
Qin Kanying
Qin Kanying is a Chinese chess player. She is a FIDE Woman Grandmaster. She is married to GM Peng Xiaomin, who is also her trainer. She won the Chinese Chess Championship five times: in 1988, 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2004.-External links:...
's (who was 14 when she won the title in 1988) record as the youngest champion. Hou scored 9/11 (+7 =4 -0). Second and third place went to Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue is a Chinese chess player who holds the Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster titles. In 2008, she became China's 24th Grandmaster.-Career:...
and Shen Yang, respectively.
In July, she improved on the previous year's performance at the North Urals Cup in Krasnoturinsk, finishing in 7th place out of 10 players. She scored 4/9 (+3 =2 -4) with a performance rating of 2436. The tournament was won by Zhu Chen
Zhu Chen
Zhu Chen is a chess Grandmaster. In 2001, she became China's second women's world chess champion after Xie Jun, and China's 13th Grandmaster.She today plays for Qatar.-Biography:...
and with Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue is a Chinese chess player who holds the Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster titles. In 2008, she became China's 24th Grandmaster.-Career:...
in second place.
In 4–15 August, she competed in what was then her strongest closed tournament - the 5th Győrgy Marx Memorial (Cat. 14, 2582) in Paks
Paks
Paks is a town in Tolna county, central Hungary, on the banks of the Danube River. Paks is the home of the only Hungarian nuclear power plant, which provides about 40% the country's electricity....
, Hungary. Being the lowest rated player and the only non-Grandmaster (out of Pentala Harikrishna, Peter Acs
Peter Acs
Péter Ács is a Hungarian chess grandmaster . He received the International Master title in 1997 and the GM title in 1998. In 2001 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2002 he won the Essent tournament in Hoogeveen ahead of Alexander Khalifman, Judit Polgár, and Loek Van Wely...
, Csaba Balogh
Csaba Balogh
Csaba Balogh is a Hungarian chess player. Balogh earned his International Master title in 2002 and in 2004 he was recognized as a Grandmaster. He won the U-16 section of the 2003 European Youth Chess Championship. Balogh was also a member of the national team that won both the U-16 World Team...
, Ferenc Berkes
Ferenc Berkes
Ferenc Berkes is a Grandmaster of chess from Hungary. He is a three-time Hungarian Chess Champion, winning in 2004, 2007 and 2010. In 2002, he was World Under 18 Champion. He took part in the Chess World Cup 2011, but was eliminated in the second round by Zahar Efimenko.-External links:*...
and Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
), she finished in last place in the double round robin event
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
with 3/10 (+1 =4 -5; TPR 2444).
At the UK-China Match in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
3–9 September 2007, China defeated the UK team with a comfortable score of 28-20. Hou played for the men's team and scored 2½/6 (+1 =3 -2) with a performance rating of 2540. The average rating of her opponents (Rc) was 2598.
In late September, she came first at the 2007 Chinese Women's Zonal (3.5
Chess around the world
Chess is played all over the world and is organised in different chess federations. These are organised on a national, supranational and international level...
) tournament in Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
with a score of 8/9 (+7 =2 -0).
In October 2007, she competed at the 12th European Club Cup in Kemer
Kemer
Kemer is a seaside resort and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, west of the city of Antalya.Kemer is on the Gulf of Antalya, of sea coast with the skirts of the western Taurus mountains behind. The coast has the typical Mediterranean hot, dry weather and warm sea...
, Turkey for team Southern Ural Cheliabinsk. Hou played on board two for the team, which finished fourth in the women's tournament. In the individual women's standings, Hou came in fifth with a score of 5/7 (+3 =4 -0) and a performance rating of 2547.
From October 26 to November 3, she competed for Team China at the 2nd Asian Indoor Games
2007 Asian Indoor Games
The 2nd Asian Indoor Games were held in Macau, China from 26 October 2007 to 3 November 2007. Most events of the games took place at the Macao East Asian Games Dome.-Emblem:...
in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
. The national team won team gold in the classic chess mixed team event with 11 match points (18½ game points out of 24). The Chinese team were Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue is a Chinese chess player who holds the Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster titles. In 2008, she became China's 24th Grandmaster.-Career:...
, Xu Yuhua, Hou Yifan, Wang Hao
Wang Hao (chess player)
Wang Hao is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In November 2009, Wang Hao became the fourth ever Chinese player to cross the 2700 Elo rating mark. He is the reigning Chinese Chess Champion, with a ranking of No. 1 in China, No. 2 in Asia behind Viswanathan Anand and No. 19 in the world...
, Ni Hua
Ni Hua
Ni Hua is one of China's top chess grandmasters and is the national team captain. In 2003, he became China's 15th Grandmaster at the age of 19. On April 2008, Ni Hua and Bu Xiangzhi both became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
and Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi is a Chinese chess grandmaster. In 1999, he became China's 10th Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 10 months, 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
. Hou Yifan also won an individual gold medal for her board two display with a score of 5½/6 (+5 =1 -0; 91.7%) and a performance rating of 2596.
2008
In the January Corus 2008 chess tournamentCorus 2008 chess tournament
The 2008 Corus chess tournament was a Grandmaster level chess tournament held in the de Moriaan Community Centre, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands from 12 January to 28 January 2008...
in Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
, Hou competed in Group B where she finished in a tie for 7-10th place (9th by tiebreak) achieving 6/13 (+3 -4 =6) with a performance rating of 2598. She scored victories over three grandmasters, including a 23 move win over former World Champion challenger Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
.
In February 2008, Hou gained her first Grandmaster norm
Grandmaster norm
A norm in chess is one of the requirements to receive a title such as Grandmaster from FIDE.- Grandmaster norm :In order to qualify for the title of Grandmaster of chess, a title awarded by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, a player must achieve three or more grandmaster norms in events covering a...
(GM norm) at the Aeroflot Open
Aeroflot Open
The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament. The first event had around 80 grandmasters, while in the second event 150 grandmasters participated...
in Moscow by finishing in 31st place with a score of 4½/9 (+2 =5 -2, TPR 2605). This was followed in March 2008 with a victory at the 1st Atatürk International Women Masters Chess Tournament (cat. IX (2461)) in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey where she finished a point ahead of the rest of the field on 7/9 (+5 =4 -0) with a performance rating of 2674. Her victory in this tournament earned her a GM norm conditional on FIDE ratifying then WGM Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue
Zhao Xue is a Chinese chess player who holds the Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster titles. In 2008, she became China's 24th Grandmaster.-Career:...
's attainment of her GM title. Eventually however this GM norm was not used in her official grandmaster title application.
Mérida, Spain
Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
at the 2nd Ruy Lopez Chess Festival tournament. In the category XV (2616) round robin event she finished 7th out of 8 players with 2/7 (+1, =2, -4) and a rating performance of 2467.
In May–June 2008, she became the Chinese Women's Champion
Chinese Chess Championship
The Chinese Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of China.-Winners:-Women's Crosstables:Average Elo: 2382 Cat: 6m = 6.60Average Elo: 2372 Cat: 5m = 7.04Average Elo: 2346 Cat: 4...
for the second consecutive time with 9/11 points (+7 =4 -0) in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and a performance of 2599.
At the July 2008 First Saturday GM Tournament in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hou Yifan was the top seed but came in second place with 9/12, missing a GM norm by half a point. Her performance rating was 2574.
In August 2008 she competed in the World Junior Chess Championship
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
held at Gazientep, Turkey where she competed in the boy's section for the first time in her career. She was the only girl in the boy's section and was the 16th seed on the entrant's list. Hou finished joint 3rd-7th on 9/13 (+6 =6 -1), achieving a performance rating of 2661 and her second GM norm.
In September 2008, FIDE referred to her as a "GM-elect", indicating that her Atatürk norm had been confirmed. This meant that Hou Yifan qualified for the grandmater title in August at the age of 14 years 6 months 2 days, making her one of the youngest grandmasters in history, as well as the youngest female. She is also one of the very few players to achieve the Grandmaster title without first gaining the International Master title, and the first female player to do so.
In August - September 2008, Hou competed in her second Women's World Chess Championship
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
at Nalchik
Nalchik
Nalchik is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It covers an area of...
, Russia. She had qualified by being one of the six highest rated players from the average of the July 2006-January 2007 period. In this knockout
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
tournament
Chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition among serious players.Today, the most recognized chess...
, she was seeded 3rd out of 64 players. She defeated WGM Mona Khaled (Egypt) 2-0 in the first round and WGM Bathuyang Mongontuul (Mongolia) 2-0 in the second. In third round, she had to go to rapid playoff
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
s to eventually beat IM Elena Sedina (Italy) 3-1 (1-1, 2-0). In the quarterfinals she defeated Armenian IM Lilit Mkrtchian
Lilit Mkrtchian
Lilit Mkrtchian is an Armenian grandmaster and four-times Armenian Women's champion.Mkrtchian won the silver medal in the European Individual Chess Championship in Varna, Bulgaria, scoring 8.5/11 points. She participated in the European Team Chess Championship 2003 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, helping...
1½-½, followed by Indian GM Humpy Koneru, the second seed, in the semifinals (4-2 overall, 1-1, 1-1, 2-0). She lost the final to Alexandra Kosteniuk
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a Russian chess Grandmaster and a former Women's World Chess Champion.-Chess career:Kosteniuk learned to play chess at the age of five after being taught by her father...
of Russia, 2½-1½. Nonetheless she became the youngest ever finalist for the Women's World Championship title, earning an automatic International Master (IM) title and a "runner-up 9-game grandmaster norm", her fourth GM norm overall.
Hou participated at the 1st World Mind Sports Games
World Mind Sports Games
The first World Mind Sports Games were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on 3–18 October as a member of the Chinese team, winning the bronze medal in the Women's Individual Blitz event, the gold medal in the Mixed Pairs Rapid event (with Ni Hua
Ni Hua
Ni Hua is one of China's top chess grandmasters and is the national team captain. In 2003, he became China's 15th Grandmaster at the age of 19. On April 2008, Ni Hua and Bu Xiangzhi both became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
), the silver medal in the Women's Teams Blitz event, and the gold medal in the Women's Teams Rapid event.
She played in the Cap d'Agde
Cap d'Agde
Cap d'Agde is the seaside resort of the town of Agde, France, on the Mediterranean sea in the département of Hérault, within the région of Languedoc-Roussillon. Agde can be reached by TGV SNCF train direct from Paris or Lille whilst the closest airports are Béziers-Cap d'Agde en Languedoc, with...
Rapid tournament from October 24 to November 1, losing to former world champion Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
in a tiebreaker match at the end of the qualifying stage, despite winning the second tiebreak game.
At the 38th Chess Olympiad
38th Chess Olympiad
The 38th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between 12–25 November 2008, in Dresden, Germany and was won by Armenia.The 2010 Olympiad is...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
from 12 to 25 November, she played at no. 1 board in the Chinese women's team. Although her team did not win a prize, she still placed third in the individual board prize. She played in every round with a final result of 7½/11 (+5, =5, -1, TPR 2563).
At the 79th FIDE Congress, held on 16–26 November 2008 in Dresden, Germany, her GM title was approved making her the 27th Chinese Grandmaster. Her three approved GM norms were:
- Aeroflot OpenAeroflot OpenThe Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament. The first event had around 80 grandmasters, while in the second event 150 grandmasters participated...
Tournament A1 in Moscow, February 2008; score 4½/9 (requirement=4½ pts) - World Junior Chess ChampionshipWorld Junior Chess ChampionshipThe World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
in GaziantepGaziantepGaziantep , Ottoman Turkish: Ayintab) previously and still informally called Antep; ʻayn tāb is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres northeast of Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of Aleppo, Syria...
, August 2008; score 9/13 (requirement=8 pts) - World Women's Chess Championship in NalchikNalchikNalchik is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It covers an area of...
, September 2008; reached the final round (equivalent to a 9-game GM norm)
2009
Hou Yifan competed in the Grandmaster Group B of the 71st Corus chess tournamentCorus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
in Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
from January 16 to February 1, 2009. She was seeded 12th out of 14 players and finished joint 9th-10th with a performance rating of 2620.
On March 7–19, she finished third in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix Tournament
FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2009/2010
The FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2009–2011 was a series of six chess tournaments exclusively for women, which formed part of the qualification cycle for the Women's World Chess Championship 2011. The winner of the Grand Prix was to challenge Hou Yifan - the 2010 Women's World Chess champion in the...
in Istanbul, scoring 8/11 (+6=4-1) with a 2648 performance.
From May 12–23, she competed at the 8th Asia Continental Chess Championship
Asian Chess Championship
The 2007 championship was a FIDE Zone 3 qualification event for the 2007 Chess World Cup, the next stage in the 2009 World Chess Championship. Ten players were qualified for the 2007 World Cup: Zhang Pengxiang , Wang Hao , Abhijit Kunte , Zhao Jun , Susanto Megaranto , Wen Yang , Darwin Laylo ,...
at the Subic Exhibition and Convention Center, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Subic Bay Freeport Zone , which is known simply as Subic Bay, is the Philippines' first success case of a into a tax- and duty-free zone similar to Hong Kong and Singapore, operated and managed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority or SBMA. It covers the fenced area of the former U.S...
in Olongapo City
Olongapo City
The City of Olongapo is a highly urbanized city located in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 227,270 people in 50,300 households.-History:...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She scored 7½/11 with a 2640 performance, finishing 7th out of 86 on tiebreak. By finishing in the top 10 she qualified for the 2009 World Cup
Chess World Cup 2009
The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2011. Boris Gelfand defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the...
.
In 9–15 August at the Jubilee Open, Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, she won the "best female player" prize by coming joint 17th with 6½/9.
In 19 August-1 September at the NH Hotels Risings Stars vs Experienced, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, she finished with a score of 3½/10
She was defeated in the first round at the Chess World Cup 2009
Chess World Cup 2009
The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2011. Boris Gelfand defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the...
, Khanty-Mansiysk
Khanty-Mansiysk
Khanty-Mansiysk experiences a subarctic climate . The climate is extreme, with temperatures as low as -49 C° and as high as 34.5 C°. On average, however, the region is very cold, with an average tempurature of -1.1 C°...
, Russia, 20 November-15 December.
2010
In January, she finished with 4½/9 at the Moscow Open.In February, she finished with 4/9 at the Aeroflot Open
Aeroflot Open
The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament. The first event had around 80 grandmasters, while in the second event 150 grandmasters participated...
.
In April, she won the third Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
Open.
In August she won the 2010 Women's Grand Prix in Mongolia.
In November, she won the women's individual gold medal in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. She finished with 8½/9 and with a performance rating of 2798. She won another gold medal from the women's team event, representing China as the first board, along with her team mates Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Huang Qian and Wang Yu, beating Uzbekistan 2½-1½ in the final.
In December she won the Women's World Chess Championship 2010
Women's World Chess Championship 2010
The Women's World Chess Championship, 2010 took place in Hatay, Turkey from December 2 through 25.The tournament was played in a 64 player knockout type. Each pairing consisted of two games, one with white and one with black. The winner advanced. In case of a tie, tiebreaks were played the next day...
in Hatay, Turkey, making her the youngest women's world champion in history. Her compatriot Ruan Lufei
Ruan Lufei
Ruan Lufei is a Chinese chess player. She plays for Jiangsu chess club in the China Chess League .-Career:...
was her opponent in the finals. After four games at classical time controls, the score was tied 2-2, but Hou won the rapid playoffs 3-1 to take the title.
2011
In April, she won the First Women Master Tournament in WuxiWuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
.
In June, she took part in a tournament in India, the AAI International Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2011. She finished with a dismal last place, but in August, she rebounded to win clear first place in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011–2012
FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011–2012
The FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011–2012 is a series of six chess tournaments exclusively for women, which formed part of the qualification cycle for the Women's World Chess Championship 2013...
tournament in Rostov, Russia. She then went on to win the second Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen in September 2011.
In August, she took part in the Chess World Cup 2011
Chess World Cup 2011
The Chess World Cup 2011 was a chess 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 26 August and 21 September 2011, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia...
in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. She was one of the two female participants in the 128-player single-elimination tournament. Her opponent for the first round was Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster who used to play for Slovakia, but as of late 2010, Movsesian announced that he plays for his home country of Armenia...
, to whom she lost 2-0, resulting in her elimination.
Hou successfully defended her women's world champion title in the Women's World Chess Championship 2011
Women's World Chess Championship 2011
The Women's World Chess Championship 2011 was the 34th women's world championship in history. It was organized by FIDE and was played in a match format between the champion and the FIDE Grand Prix winner as challenger. On 8 August 2011 the match was awarded to Tirana, Albania...
in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
against Koneru Humpy
Koneru Humpy
Humpy Koneru is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Her January 2010 FIDE Elo rating is 2614, placing her number two in the world for women . In 2007 she surpassed the rating of 2577 set by Susan Polgar to become the second-highest ranked female player in history...
. Hou won 3 games and drew 5 in the ten-game match, winning the title with two games to spare.
China Chess League
Hou Yifan has participated in the 2007 and 2008 seasons of the Chinese domestic leagueChina Chess League
The China Chess League is a Chinese professional league for chess clubs. The league is organized by the Chinese Chess Association. It is sponsored by Youngor Group and was sponsored by the Shandong and it has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. Seasons usually run from April...
, officially known as the "Torch Real Estate Cup Chinese Chess League Division A". She played for Shandong Qilu Evening News Chess Team, who became the 2007 champions when they defeated the 2006 champion Beijing team, 3½ to 1½. In the 2008 season, there were 18 rounds in six different cities over a six-month period, from March to August. Hou's teammates were GM Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi
Bu Xiangzhi is a Chinese chess grandmaster. In 1999, he became China's 10th Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 10 months, 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
, GM Zhao Jun
Zhao Jun
Zhao Jun is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2004, he became China's 19th Grandmaster at the age of 17.Zhao Jun plays for Shandong chess club in the China Chess League . He is ranked 11th in China ....
, GM Wen Yang
Wen Yang (chess player)
Wen Yang is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2008, he became China's 25th Grandmaster at the age of 19.-World Cup:He qualified for and competed in the Chess World Cup 2007 where he reached Round One, where he was defeated 0.5-1.5 by Zoltán Almási...
, and WGM Zhang Jilin
Zhang Jilin
Zhang Jilin is a Chinese chess Woman Grandmaster.Zhang Jilin plays for Shandong chess club in the China Chess League .She also has the titles of FIDE Arbiter and FIDE Trainer.-WGM title:...
.
Rating
Rated 2602 in the January 2011 FIDE rating listElo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
, Hou is the third highest rated female player and the highest rated girl player in the world. She is also the youngest person in any of the FIDE's "top players" lists.
On 1 July 2006, she was the youngest ever female player to enter the Top 50 Women (Number 8) and Top 20 Girls (Number 2) FIDE lists at age of 12 (rated 2488), since FIDE began releasing these lists in 2000.
Between the April 2006 and July 2006 FIDE rating lists, she gained an impressive 190 rating points from a rating of 2298 to a rating of 2488, which made her the eighth highest rated female player, and the second highest rated girl, in the world.
| Rating list | Rating | Games | Change | National women's ranking | Women's world ranking(Girl's) | World ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2004 | 2168 | 23 | - | 40 | 662-667 | - |
| April 2004 | 2168 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 657-659 | 23776 |
| July 2004 | 2153 | 7 | -15 | 63 | 755-763 | 20601 |
| October 2004 | 2153 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 782-788 | 27081 |
| January 2005 | 2144 | 3 | -9 | 44 | 834-845 | 28770 |
| April 2005 | 2158 | 13 | +14 | 42-43 | 763-769 | 26586 |
| July 2005 | 2158 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 760-763 | 26896 |
| October 2005 | 2220 | 25 | +62 | 28 | 470-475 | 16973 |
| January 2006 | 2269 | 12 | +49 | 21 | 291-294 | 10606 |
| April 2006 | 2298 | 6 | +29 | 16 | 204-207 | 7959 |
| July 2006 | 2488 | 41 | +190 | 3 | 8 (2) | 855 |
| October 2006 | 2481 | 19 | -7 | 4 | 10 (2) | 942 |
| January 2007 | 2509 | 30 | +28 | 3 | 8 (2) | 673 |
| April 2007 | 2513 | 22 | +4 | 2 | 6 (2) | 646 |
| July 2007 | 2523 | 25 | +10 | 2 | 4 (2) | 565 |
| October 2007 | 2502 | 19 | -21 | 3 | 8 (2) | 742 |
| January 2008 | 2527 | 67* | +25 | 2 | 5 (1) | 549 |
| April 2008 | 2549 | 22 | +22 | 2 | 4 (1) | 386 |
| July 2008 | 2557 | 35 | +8 | 2 | 4 (1) | 363 |
| October 2008 | 2578 | 40 | +21 | 1 | 3 (1) | 267 |
| January 2009 | 2571 | 15 | -7 | 1 | 3 (1) | 309 |
| April 2009 | 2590 | 29 | +19 | 1 | 3 (1) | 220 |
| July 2009 | 2584 | 21 | -6 | 1 | 3 (1) | 256 |
| September 2009 | 2585 | 9 | +1 | 1 | 3 (1) | 254 |
| November 2009 | 2588 | 30 | +3 | 1 | 3 (1) | 237 |
| January 2010 | 2590 | 14 | +2 | 1 | 3 (1) | 240 |
| March 2010 | 2570 | 18 | -20 | 1 | 3 (1) | 320 |
| September 2010 | 2578 | 25 | +8 | 1 | 3 (1) | 311 |
| November 2010 | 2591 | 23 | +13 | 1 | 3 (1) | 248 |
| January 2011 | 2602 | +11 | 1 | 3 (1) | 206 |
- bold, new peak rating
-
* Most number of games played in a quarter by a female player in FIDE rating history
Openings
Hou Yifan primarily plays 1.e4 as WhiteWhite and Black in chess
In chess, the player who moves first is referred to as "White" and the player who moves second is referred to as "Black". Similarly, the pieces that each conducts are called, respectively, "the white pieces" and "the black pieces". The pieces are often not literally white and black, but some...
. As Black, she usually plays the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
(including the Najdorf
Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most respected and deeply studied of all chess openings. Modern Chess Openings calls it the Cadillac or Rolls Royce of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf...
, Dragon
Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation
In chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves:The name "Dragon" was first coined by Russian chess master and amateur astronomer Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky who noted the resemblance of Black's kingside pawn structure to the constellation...
and Closed variations) as well as the French Defence
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
against 1.e4, while against 1.d4 she plays the Nimzo-/Bogo-Indian
Bogo-Indian Defence
The Bogo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-Variations:White has three viable moves to meet the check. 4.Nc3 is a transposition to the Kasparov Variation of the Nimzo-Indian, therefore the main independent variations are 4.Bd2 and 4.Nbd2.-4...
and Queen's Indian defences.
Notable games
On 25 January 2008, Hou as Black beat GM Gabriel Sargissian (2676) of Armenia, longtime second of Levon AronianLevon Aronian
Levon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
, in the Corus (Group B) tournament
Corus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
, Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
, Netherlands. This is, to-date, the third-highest rated opponent she has defeated – the top two players being Krishnan Sasikiran
Krishnan Sasikiran
Krishnan Sasikiran is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Among Indians, he is second, after Viswanathan Anand, No. 6 in Asia & ranked 56th in the world in FIDE rating as on September 2011....
and Francisco Vallejo Pons
Francisco Vallejo Pons
Francisco Vallejo Pons is a chess Grandmaster from Spain. He was a chess prodigy, achieving the grandmaster title at the age of 16 years and 9 months, which makes him the 20th youngest player to ever become a grandmaster...
, both rated above 2700 at the time.
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6
- Queen's Indian DefenseQueen's Indian DefenseThe Queen's Indian Defense is a chess opening defined by the movesBy playing 3.Nf3, White sidesteps the Nimzo-Indian Defense that arises after 3.Nc3 Bb4. The Queen's Indian is regarded as the sister opening of the Nimzo-Indian, since both openings aim to impede White's efforts to gain full control...
: Fianchetto. Nimzowitsch Variation (E15).
5. Qc2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. e4 d5 8. cxd5 Bxf1 9. Kxf1 exd5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nc3 Nxd2+
- Novelty.
12. Nxd2 Qd7 13. Kg2 Nc6 14. Qa4 O-O 15. Rac1 f6?
- 16.Nd1 Nxe5 17.Qxd7 Nxd7 18.Rxc7 Bb4 19.Nf3 +/−; better was 15...Rfd8.
16. f4 fxe5 17. dxe5 Bb4 18. Rhf1 Rac8 19. Ne2 Nxe5 20. Qxb4 Nd3 21. Qb3 Nxc1 22. Nxc1 Rce8 23. Nf3 Qf5 24. Rf2 c5 25. Qd3 Qe4 26. Rd2 d4 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 28. Nd3 Re6 29. h4 Rc8 30. a4 a6 31. Nfe5 b5 32. a5 g6 33. Rc2 c4 34. Nb4 Rf8 35. b3 d3 36. Rd2 Rc8 37. Rd1 Rd6 38. Kf3 d2 39. bxc4 bxc4 40. Nc2 c3 41. Ke2 Rd5 42. Ng4 Rxa5 43. Nge3 Rd8 44. Rb1 Ra2 45. Kd1 Rb2 46. Ra1 Rdb8 47. Rxa6 Rb1+ 48. Ke2 Rc1 49. Rc6 Re8 0–1
- The blockade by the knights is only imaginary. If 50.Kd3, then Rxc2 follows.
See also
- List of female chess players
- List of youngest grandmasters
- List of chess grandmasters
External links
, includes notable games- Profile at NICBase Online InfoNew In ChessNew In Chess is a chess magazine that appears eight times a year with chief editors International Grandmaster Jan Timman and Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam. It contains notes by top players and chess prodigies on their own games...
- Profile at Starz International Sports
- 2007 and 2008 short biographies at Corus Chess official website
- Profile and interview, ChessBase.com, 5 February 2009
- Hou Yifan interview at the 2009 World Cup
- Hou Yifan interview at the 2010 World Championship