Women's World Championship Goes To Tiebreaks

In a dramatic twist Ruan Lufei won the last game of the Women's World Championship final match against Hou Yifan to equal the scores and force rapid tie-breaks to decide the fate of the title.

Hou Yifan had managed to hold on for a draw in a difficult position in game three, but Ruan Lufei (pictured) was not to be denied, winning a nerve jangling fourth game. 

Astonishingly, that now means that Ruan Lufei has played tie-breaks in every single round of the competition.  Each time she has proved victorious in the rapid games, not needing blitz or sudden-death.

After losing to Alexandra Kosteniuk last time, is 16-year old Hou Yifan's heart about to be broken again?  Ruan Lufei has shown amazing resilience to get this far, and she could yet take the title.

The tie-break games take place on 24 December, starting at 15:00 local time in Turkey. The official site should have live coverage, as usual, of what is sure to be a tense and exciting finish.

The start of the crucial final game (picture from the official website)