We have 39 guests and no members online

GP SHARJAH 2014 

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – FINAL RANKING

Final Ranking crosstable after 11 Rounds Rk. Name Rtg FED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts.…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – HOU YIFAN AND JU WENJUN ARE THE WINNERS OF GRAND PRIX IN SHARJAH

Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan became the winners of the 6th stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – ROUND 10: LEADERS KEEP THEIR POSITIONS

After the tenth round of the Women’s Grand Prix in Sharjah Ju Wenjun keeps leading. She…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – ROUND 9: HOU YIFAN WINS GRAND PRIX SERIES, JU WENJUN TAKES LEAD

After the end of 9th rounds it it became official - Hou Yifan has won the FIDE Women…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – ROUND 8: SAME LEADERS AT THE TOP

The central game of the eighth round between Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan finished in a draw…

OLYMPIAD 2014 

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - FINAL RANKING

Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Open Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 1 7…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 11

Board Pairings - Open Round 11 on 2014/08/14 at 11:00 Bo. 15 Poland (POL) Rtg - 7 China…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 10 INTERIM REPORT: LAWYERS & POLITICIANS

Tromsø had two not-quite chess events in focus today - the 9 a.m. hearing at the local…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - TROMSØ OLYMPIAD ORGANIZERS VS. RUSSIAN CHESS FEDERATION

The RCF sued the organizers for USD 200,000 for legal expenses connected to the dispute…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - TROMSØ’S AMAZING VOLUNTEER HOSTESS

Countless Norwegian and international volunteers are giving their all during the Chess…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 10 PREVIEW: PENULTIMATE CHANCE

Sometimes the pairings system throws up oddities during big team events, but in the…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 9: FRAYING NERVES?

Signs of accumulating fatigue or shaky nerves could be seen as Round 9 of the 2014 Chess…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - RD 9 INTERIM REPORT: ELECTION FOCUS

Today's play would have a hard time living up to the energy and excitement levels…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - BLITZ ON THE WAVES

The side tournaments in blitz during the 2014 Chess Olympiad move around the city of…

GP LOPOTA 

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA 2014 - FINAL RANKING

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA 2014 Lopota, Telavi, Georgia /June 18 - July 2 Final Ranking crosstable…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA.- ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

Even though Hou Yifan's tournament win has been predicable for quite a while and…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA.- D-DAY

The outside weather didn't improve for the tenth round and the players start displaying…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA - LIGHTNING BOLT

You may recognize the nickname of the world's fastest sprinter - Usain Bolt. In this…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA - WHERE MAMA MEANS FATHER

After it became clear that I couldn't attend all the activities planned for the second…

BORN IN 94: CHESS CHAMPION HOU YIFAN SHOT

 

20-year-old Hou Yifan is the reigning Women's World Chess Champion. She was also born in 94 — like us! We spoke to her about fashion and (of course) chess, inOyster 104: The Exposed Issue — out now!
 
Birthday: 27 February 1994
Birthstone: Amethyst
Star sign: Pisces
Ruling planet: Jupiter
Element: Water

 
Zac Bayly: How old were you when you started playing chess?
Yifan Hou: Five-and-a-half years old. But I didn't start playing seriously until I was more like eleven or twelve.
 
Wow! When you first became a chess Grandmaster did you throw a party?
Oh no. I find parties so stressful! That's no way to celebrate. Titles don't really matter anyway — it's your chess rating that matters. Whatever you are or not, it is more important to show your skill than to have a fancy title. If one day I can reach a rating of 2700 or higher then maaaybe I'll have a party. Maybe!

 
 So, do you and your friends talk about chess all the time?
[Laughs] Definitely not! Definitely not. We spend a lot of time talking about other things, like in any other sport. We talk about sports news and if we've travelled we talk about the local civilisations or local traditions. And, say, with the girls we are talking about something like fashion. I'm not quite fashionable. They're more fashion than me! I mean, when I was young...
 
When you were young they were teasing you about fashion?
Yes. When I started playing in tournaments I was very young — I was eleven years old, which is a bit young to know a lot of fashion things. So, I learned from the older players.
 
Don't listen to them — you're super chic, Yifan!
Thank you!
 

 

 
What are your tips for other young chess players?
Well, if she's quite interested in chess then firstly I'm very glad to hear that. And I think she should — most importantly — keep her energy on it, but also an education in other areas is very important too. She needs to improve herself by learning more about chess, because although they only have this chessboard and these pieces, that's quite... I mean, it's a big thing!
 
And should they practice online?
Computer chess programs are so strong these days that they will damage your confidence! When you play chess with a real person, you're not just playing a game — you're having a conversation with someone. Chess is like life. You need to play with real people in the real world. You learn from your and others' mistakes.
 

 

 
 
 
Photography: Ren Hang
Fashion: Mia Kong
Hair: Li Chunyu
Makeup: Pan Lifei

Design and Maintenance - "Mundo Digital Virtual" www.mundodigitalvirtual.com.mx