British Chess Magazine Octubre 2013 | Page 2

506 The British Chess Magazine THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE Founded 1881 Monthly Women’s World Championship Chairman Shaun Taulbut Director Stephen Lowe Editorial James Pratt, Shaun Taulbut Photography John Upham Taizhou, a city in North Eastern China (about 100 miles from the Yellow Sea, we think – Ed.) was the site of the World Championship Match between the holder, Anna Ushenina, 28, of Ukraine and her challenger, Hou Yifan, 19, from China. €200,000 was the purse for this projected ten-game match, which started on 10th September and was scheduled for 18 days. In the event it did not run its full course. In 2010, Hou Yifan first became the youngest ever Women’s World Champion, but was surprisingly defeated in the knockout tournament for the title a year ago. In this encounter, however, she came armed to the teeth and iPod. The defending champion won the title in a knockout tournament in 2012, where the short match format led to the favourites being upset early on. Ushenina beat former title-holder Antoaneta Stefanova in the final. In this year’s match the Chinese grandmaster won games 2, 4, 5 and 7, the remainder being drawn. Poor clock-handling cost the Champion, who had clearly prepared thoroughly enough, dearly. On this occasion, Hou was 109 rating points ahead of her opponent and, having regained the crown so promptly, she may now look forward to a longer reign – provided the knockout format does not trip her up again. © The British Chess Magazine Company Limited by Shares Registered in England No 334968 ISSN 0007-0440  Newsdesk [email protected]  [email protected] Albany House, 14 Shute End Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ non-subscription correspondence only.  BCM Subscription Department, Warners, West Street, Bourne, Lincs, England PE10 9PH Tel: [phone] [email protected] 1, 2, 3 years, 12 issues p.a. UK: £45/£85/£125 Europe (air): £57/£107/£160 RoW (air): £68/£125/£180 Typeset by Ian Kingston Publishing Services, Sutton Coldfield Printed in the UK by Lavenham Press Ltd Anna Ushenina 1.5–5.5 Hou Yifan  Photo credits Hou Yifan: FIDE; Jones: Carl Portman