Gibraltar Round 7: Hou Yifan Vs. Judit Polgar!
January has been an excellent month for fans of top-quality chess, and with the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Masters in full swing the excitement isn't over yet!
After six completed rounds the big English guns of Nigel Short and Mickey Adams claim their place at the top of the leaderboard, but there is a huge array of talent chasing them in this 10th Anniversary edition of the tournament.
The line-up in this 10-round Swiss competition includes the most impressive collection of female chess talent ever to grace an Open event, including the women's #1 for more than two decades, Judit Polgar, and the 17 year-old women's world champion Hou Yifan.
As chance would have it (and perhaps a helping hand from the organisers?
), Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan faced each other today in round seven. This was the first time that Polgar had faced Hou and the game attracted a massive amount of interest. The result was sensational...
The start of the historic game between Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan (photo from the official website)
A fantastic result for Hou Yifan! Is there any stopping the young champion from China?
The top standings going into the seventh round:
| Name | Nat | Elo | Pts | |
| 1 | Short Nigel D | ENG | 2677 | 5.0 |
| 2 | Adams Michael | ENG | 2724 | 5.0 |
| 3 | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | AZE | 2747 | 5.0 |
| 4 | Sasikiran Krishnan | IND | 2700 | 5.0 |
| 5 | Howell David W L | ENG | 2603 | 5.0 |
| 6 | Gopal G N | IND | 2566 | 5.0 |
| 7 | Dzagnidze Nana | GEO | 2535 | 5.0 |
| 8 | Negi Parimarjan | IND | 2641 | 5.0 |
| 9 | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2714 | 4.5 |
| 10 | Hou Yifan | CHN | 2605 | 4.5 |
| 11 | Polgar Judit | HUN | 2710 | 4.5 |
| 12 | Almasi Zoltan | HUN | 2717 | 4.5 |
| 13 | Movsesian Sergei | ARM | 2700 | 4.5 |
| 14 | David Alberto | LUX | 2598 | 4.5 |
| 15 | Bologan Viktor | MDA | 2680 | 4.5 |
| 16 | Felgaer Ruben | ARG | 2571 | 4.5 |
| 17 | El Debs Felipe De Cresce | BRA | 2497 | 4.5 |
| 18 | Akobian Varuzhan | USA | 2617 | 4.5 |
| 19 | Nabaty Tamir | ISR | 2563 | 4.5 |
| 20 | Salem A R Saleh | UAE | 2505 | 4.5 |
The official website is excellent, with extensive coverage of the games and much more.
