Hou Yifan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hou Yifan | ||
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| Corus chess tournament, Wijk aan Zee, 2007 | ||
| Full name | Hou Yifan | |
| Country |  China |
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| Born | February 27, 1994 [1] Nanjing, Jiangsu, China |
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| Title | Woman Grandmaster (WGM) | |
| FIDE rating | 2549 (No. 4 on the April 2008 FIDE rating list for women and No.1 on the April 2008 FIDE rating list for girls) |
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| Peak rating | 2549 (April 2008) | |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hou.
Hou Yifan (Chinese: 侯逸凡; pinyin: Hóu Yìfán) (born February 27, 1994, in Nanjing, Jiangsu) is a Chinese chess player. She is currently China's youngest ever Women's National Champion.
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[edit] Career
Hou Yifan started playing chess at the age of 6. She was admitted to the National Chess Center in Beijing when she was 10,[2] and has leading Chinese grandmasters Ye Jiangchuan and Yu Shaoteng as her trainers.[3][4]
Hou Yifan's early tournament successes came in the form of first place in the girls' under 10 section of the World Youth Championships in 2003[5] and third place (tied for first) in the boys' under 10 section in 2004.[6]
She first came to the notice of the international chess community for her fifth placing (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.[7]
Hou proved that this was not a fluke by reaching the third round (the round of 16) of the Women's World Chess Championship in 2006.[8] She confirmed her talent at the 37th Chess Olympiad with a score of 11.0 out of 13 games, all played on the third board, finishing with a performance rating of 2596.[9] She went on to take second place (tied for first) at the World Girls' Championship in that same year.[10]
In June 2007, she won China's Women's National Chess Championship in Chongqing, breaking WGM Qin Kanying's record as youngest champion[11] with a score of 9/11.[12] She also took a respectable fifth place in Group C of the Corus chess tournament.[13]
Hou followed that with a seventh to tenth place finish in Group B of the Corus event in January 2008, achieving a performance rating of 2598 and victories over three grandmasters, including Nigel Short.[14] In February 2008, Hou gained her first GM norm with a performance rating of 2605 at the Aeroflot Open by finishing in 31st place (4.5/9 score).[15][16] In March 2008, she won the 1st Atatürk International Women Masters Chess Tournament in Istanbul with a point ahead of the rest of the field at 7/9. Her tournament performance rating was 2674. This tournament was the first chess super-tournament for female players.[17]
[edit] Rating
Rated 2549 in the April 2008 FIDE rating list, Hou is ranked as the 4th highest rated female player in the world. 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,[18] which made her the eighth highest rated female player, and the second highest rated girl, in the world.
Chess writer Leonard Barden believes she could rival Judit Polgar as the best ever female player.[19]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Hou Yifan New in Chess NICBase Online Info.
- ^ Biography of Yifan Hou. V. Marx György Memorial, 4th - 15th August 2007 Paks, Hungary.
- ^ Interview at the Women's World Chess Championship 2006 by the tournament's organisers. Accessed March 24, 2006.
- ^ [1] ChessBase.
- ^ World Youth Chess Championships 2003 Girls Under 10 Standings. Accessed March 26, 2006.
- ^ World Youth Chess Championships 2004 Boys U10 Standings. Accessed March 26, 2006.
- ^ ChessBase news article on the World Ladies Tournament in Jinan. Accessed March 24, 2006.
- ^ ChessBase news article on the Women's World Championship 2006, round two. Accessed March 24, 2006.
- ^ 37th Chess Olympiad official homepage Women's Team Composition with Round Results. Accessed June 6, 2006.
- ^ ChessBase news article on the World Junior Championship 2006. Accessed December 25, 2006.
- ^ Youngest Hou Yifan wins national chess title. Accessed June 19, 2007.
- ^ 2007 China Women's Indivi - CHN. FIDE.
- ^ Corus Grandmaster Group C Final Standings. Accessed February 15, 2007.
- ^ Wijk R13: Aronian, Carlsen win Wijk aan Zee 2008. Accessed January 29, 2008.
- ^ Nepomniachtchi wins Aeroflot Open 2008
- ^ Yifan Hou scored GM norm at Aeroflot
- ^ Atatürk International Women Masters Chess Tournament - Home
- ^ Rating progress chart for Hou Yifan. Accessed July 5, 2007.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (2008-03-15). Chess. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
[edit] External links
- FIDE rating card for Hou Yifan
- Hou Yifan at ChessGames.com
- Rating data for player Hou, Yifan, (CHN)
- Elo rating with world rankings and historical development since 2004 for Hou, Yifan (benoni.de/schach/elo)
- Biography of Yifan Hou. Corus Chess 2008.
- Biography of Yifan Hou. Corus Chess 2007.
| Preceded by Li Ruofan |
Women's Chinese Chess Champion 2007 |
Succeeded by TBD |
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