WWCh G8: Game drawn, Hou Yifan retains world title
Hou Yifan retained her world title on Thursday in Tirana, Albania after drawing the 8th match game with Humpy Koneru.
The reigning Women's World Champion was and is Hou Yifan | All photos © FIDE by Anna Burtasova & Anastasiya Karlovich
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Game 8
Achieving an easy draw in the final game, Hou Yifan won the 2011 Women's World Championship match 5.5-2.5 and so she remains Women’s World Champion for at last a few more years.
The 17-year-old Chinese grandmaster did so most convincingly, not allowing her opponent, 24-year-old Humpy Koneru of India, a single win. In the final game Koneru was in a must-win situation, but when her opponent had neutralized the position, the Indian threw in the towel and congratulated her opponent.
And so the match, which coud have lasted 10 games, finished a bit earlier than expected. The closing ceremony is scheduled for the 30th of November so the players have a few days to explore Tirana and Albania.
[Event "Women's World Chess Championship 2011"]
[Site "Tirana/Albania"]
[Date "2011.11.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Koneru, Humpy"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2578"]
[Annotator "Robot 4"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 dxc4 8.
Bxc4 e5 9. a3 Bd6 10. d5 Ne7 11. O-O a6 12. b4 Bd7 13. Bb2 Ng6 14. Ng5 Qe7 15.
Nge4 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Bf5 17. Bd3 Bxe4 18. Bxe4 Qg5 19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. e4 Rac8 21.
Qc3 Qh4 22. f4 f6 23. Qg3 Qxg3 24. hxg3 Rfe8 25. fxe5 Bxe5 26. Bxe5 Rxe5 27.
Rfe1 Kf7 28. Rac1 Ke7 29. Rc4 1/2-1/
Women's World Championship 2011 | Final Score
| Players | Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total | Perf. | +/– |
| Hou Yifan | 2578 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 2736 | +18 | ||
| Koneru Humpy | 2600 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 2.5 | 2442 | –18 |
Hou Yifan has had some mediocre results earlier this year, but today she proved to be a real champion: one who peaks at the right moment. Besides the prize of 120,000 Euro (Koneru gets 80,000), the young Chinese won 18 rating points (and saw her opponent lose those 18). This means that for the first time, Hou Yifan is now virtually the second highest rated female player behind Judit Polgar. However, as she will still play some games in the Chinese League before the years ends, this is not yet certain.
Hou Yifan: World Champion for at least a few more years
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