Hou Yifan Prevails In Clash Of World Champions

GM Hou Yifan defeated GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 12.5-9.5 to secure her spot in the Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship 2023 Final. 

The hotly contested 22-game match saw just three draws. Kosteniuk led by one point at the end of each of the first two segments, but in the bullet games, the women's world number-one took over and won nearly every single one.

In the upcoming Final, Hou will play against the winner of GM Kateryna Lagno vs. GM Harika Dronavalli. 

Edited on 11/17/2023: The semifinal match is rescheduled from Friday, November 17, to Tuesday, November 21, at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CET / 7:30 p.m. IST.

Hou 12.5-9.5 Kosteniuk | Semifinals 

• 5+1: Hou 3.5-4.5 Kosteniuk
• 3+1: Hou 3.5-3.5 Kosteniuk
• 1+1: Hou 5.5-1.5 Kosteniuk

Last year, Hou eliminated Kosteniuk in the Quarterfinals after winning 14.5-11.5. In this year's edition Hou again won the match with a three-point margin, one point more than predicted by SmarterChess. 

Hou's stellar performance in the bullet portion came as a surprise.

5+1: Hou 3.5-4.5 Kosteniuk

The first two segments were closely contested, though Kosteniuk kept the edge with a nagging one-point lead.

The very first game, which looked to be heading toward a draw, suddenly ended with Hou's king getting checkmated.

A tense first game seemed to be headed to a draw, but Kosteniuk pounced on a Hou Yifan blunder to give checkmate and take the early lead! #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/KaCih5nbcG

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 16, 2023

After Kosteniuk missed a win in the second game, which ended in one of the rare draws of the match, it was Hou who hit back with two back-to-back wins.

In the second, a greedy pawn grab led to quick capitulation from the white pieces.

After Kosteniuk won games six and seven back-to-back, each player won with the white pieces to close out the segment, leaving the Swiss grandmaster in the lead. 

The last game was a nice lesson in using the king as an active piece in the endgame.

3+1: Hou 3.5-3.5 Kosteniuk

Once again, a closely fought segment left Kosteniuk up by a point in the bullet.

Hou won the first game with a kingside attack that worked without sacrificing any material. Although the first wave didn't break the defense, her forces got to the king when they tried again. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes our Game of the Day below.

But Kosteniuk won the next game, albeit only on the clock after a long time in a losing position.

Hou Yifan barely reacts after losing on time when trying to convert a winning position! #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/g6zk1CPcLo

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 16, 2023

After losing another game, Hou was down two points in the match, but she evened the score once again over the next two games.

In the first, she won a pure opposite-color bishop endgame despite its high drawish tendencies.

The final position of the second was like a painting. After 52...Qe6!, setting up the deadly discovered checks, one of the top engine moves is already 53.Qxc4. So, instead, White chose to resign.

Just as Hou brought the match back to a balance, Kosteniuk won the last game on time—in a position where she was much better but not yet clearly winning. Game on!

1+1: Hou 5.5-1.5 Kosteniuk

Well, the close match of the first two segments did not last, as the bullet portion turned out to be a blowout. Hou revealed in the interview that she consciously tried to play faster, and it evidently worked. Kosteniuk managed to win only the very last game, when it was already too late to come back in the match.

Hou started with four straight wins before they made their third and last draw in the match.

We're talking about one-minute chess here, of course, so there were a few mistakes. In the first game, White missed a hanging rook and went on to lose:

Hou Yifan levels the scores again in the first bullet game, though mistakes were made: here Kosteniuk moved her king out of check... instead of just taking the rook on f8! https://t.co/3DefT8ZlLS#SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/hMpG6RcVOP

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 16, 2023

Hou then squeezed with the space advantage to win another, captured a blundered piece to win the next, and, finally, traded into a trivially winning opposite-color bishop endgame to win after that. 

After a draw, she won the penultimate game in 28 moves with a brutal attack and a satisfying geometric pattern in the end:

Kosteniuk won the last game and, although it didn't matter for the match, this final position is also like a painting and is worth sharing. Black can do nothing about the mate on g7:

Hou takes home $6,000 for winning the match plus $3,409.10 by win percentage. Kosteniuk exits the tournament earning $2,590.90 by win percentage.

After her amazing performance in the bullet segment, Hou quipped in the interview: "Am I playing sharp!?"

How does Hou Yifan stay sharp despite not playing often nowadays?
"Am I playing sharp!? I didn't really feel like that. It's hard to say, probably it's something born in nature..." #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/XSz7j31MyI

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 16, 2023

Hou's played both Harika and Lagno in WSCC Final before. In 2021, she beat Harika to win the title; but she lost against Lagno last year. Whomever she plays next Wednesday, it's bound to be an exciting match considering the recent history.

The 2023 Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship (WSCC) is an online competition featuring some of the strongest women chess players in the world, with the main event starting on November 13. The WSCC features a $75,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage

• 'Chess Queen' Kosteniuk Wins Battle Of Generations Vs. Vaishali
• Lagno Clinches With Double-Digit Margin, Advances To Semifinals
• Harika Wins All 3 Segments, Hou Yifan Cranks Out 7-Game Winning Streak
• Shuvalova, Priyanka Qualify For Julius Baer WSCC 2023
• 'Hou Yifan Out For Revenge Against Lagno In 2023 Julius Baer Women’s Speed Chess Championship