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Hou Yifan facts for kids

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Hou.
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Hou Yifan
Hou Yifan (29762728494) (cropped).jpg
Hou in 2016
Born (1994-02-27) 27 February 1994 (age 31)
Xinghua, China
Education Peking University (BA)
St Hilda's College, Oxford (MPP)
Chess career
Country China
Title Grandmaster (2008)
Women's World Champion 2010–2012
2013–2015
2016–2017
FIDE rating 2658 (June 2025)
Peak rating 2686 (March 2015)
Peak ranking No. 55 (May 2015)
Chinese name
Chinese 侯逸凡
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Hóu Yìfán
Wade–Giles Hou I-Fan
IPA [xǒu̯ îfǎn]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization Haùh jaht fàahn
IPA [hɐ̏u jɐ̀t fȁːn]
Jyutping Hau4 jat6 faan4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ Hâu E̍k-hōan

Hou Yifan (Chinese: 侯逸凡; pinyin: Hóu Yìfán ; born 27 February 1994) is a famous Chinese chess player. She is a Grandmaster and has won the Women's World Chess Championship four times. She is also a professor at Shenzhen University.

Hou Yifan is known as a chess prodigy. This means she was incredibly talented at chess from a very young age. She became the youngest female player ever to earn the Grandmaster title at 14 years old. She also became the youngest person to win the Women's World Chess Championship when she was just 16.

At age 12, Hou was the youngest player to join the Women's World Championship in 2006. She also played in the Chess Olympiad that year. In 2007, she became the youngest Chinese Women's Champion. She earned her first major chess titles quickly: Woman FIDE Master in 2004, Woman Grandmaster in 2007, and Grandmaster in 2008.

She won the Women's World Championship in 2010. She defended her title successfully in 2011, 2013, and 2016. She is considered one of the best female chess players of all time. Since 2015, she has been the top-ranked woman in the world. In 2017, she was named one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Since 2018, Hou has played less competitive chess. In 2020, at age 26, she became the youngest professor at Shenzhen University.

Becoming a Chess Star

Hou Yifan started playing chess regularly when she was five. But she was interested in the game even earlier, at age three! Her father noticed she loved looking at chess pieces in a bookstore. He bought her a chess set, and within weeks, she could beat him and her grandmother.

In 1999, her father hired a chess teacher, IM Tong Yuanming. Tong said Hou was a special talent. He noticed her strong confidence, great memory, and quick thinking. Hou herself said she loved chess because the pieces fascinated her.

In 2003, when Hou was nine, she played against Ye Jiangchuan, the head coach of China's national chess teams. Ye was amazed that she could spot almost all his weak moves. He knew then that she was a genius. That same year, Hou became the youngest member of the national team. She also won first place at the World Youth Championship for girls under ten. In 2007, she became China's youngest national champion.

When she was ten, Hou joined the National Chess Center in Beijing. This academy was for talented young players. Her trainers included leading Chinese grandmasters Ye Jiangchuan and Yu Shaoteng. To support her chess career, her family moved to Beijing in 2003. Her mother, a former nurse, traveled with her to many international tournaments. Hou was homeschooled. As a teenager, she enjoyed reading and studying. Her favorite chess player was Bobby Fischer.

Life Beyond the Chessboard

Hou Yifan has always tried to balance chess with other parts of her life. In 2012, she enrolled in Peking University to study International Relations. She took many classes and joined extracurricular activities, even though her trainer preferred her to focus only on chess.

She later received a Rhodes Scholarship. This allowed her to study for a Master of Public Policy at St Hilda's College, Oxford. Other chess players admire her for what she has achieved while also having a life outside chess. Even though she knows focusing only on chess could make her even better, she chooses to treat chess as a hobby, not her only career. In 2018, she said, "I want to be the best, but you also have to have a life."

In 2020, at just 26 years old, Hou became the youngest professor at Shenzhen University. She teaches at the School of Physical Education, which includes chess in its Sports Training Program.

Key Achievements

Hou Yifan has achieved many amazing things in her chess career:

  • In 2006, at age 12, she became the youngest player to compete in the Women's World Championship and the Chess Olympiad.
  • In 2007, she became the youngest Chinese Women's Champion.
  • In August 2008, she earned the Grandmaster title. At 14 years, 6 months, and 16 days old, she was the youngest female player ever to do so.
  • She won the Women's World Chess Championship 2010 at age 16, becoming the youngest women's world champion in history.
  • She successfully defended her Women's World Champion title in 2011, 2013, and 2016.
  • From 2015 onwards, she has been the top-ranked woman chess player in the world.
  • In 2012, she won the Caissa Cup, an award for the best female player of the year. She won this award again in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014.
  • In 2017, she won the 50th Biel Chess Festival, a strong tournament, with an impressive performance.

Chess Ratings and Rankings

Hou Yifan's chess rating has always been very high. In March 2015, her rating reached 2686. This made her the world's 59th best player overall and the number one woman player. She passed Judit Polgár's rating, ending Polgár's 26-year reign as the top-rated female player.

In July 2006, at age 12, she was the youngest player ever to enter the Top 50 Women and Top 20 Girls FIDE lists. Between April and July 2006, she gained 190 rating points, showing how quickly she improved.

How She Plays Chess

When Hou Yifan plays as White, she usually starts with the move 1.e4. This is a very common and aggressive opening.

When she plays as Black, she often uses the Sicilian Defence against 1.e4. This includes variations like the Najdorf and Dragon. Against 1.d4, she prefers defenses like the Nimzo-Indian, Bogo-Indian, and Queen's Indian defenses.

Her favorite opening is the Sicilian Defence.

A Famous Game

Here is a very interesting game Hou Yifan played as Black against Grandmaster Gabriel Sargissian in 2008. She was only 13 years old!

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Sargissian vs. Hou, 2008
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 2
1 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Final position after 49...Re8
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 This is part of the Queen's Indian Defense. 5. Qc2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. e4 d5 8. cxd5 Bxf1 9. Kxf1 exd5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nc3 Nxd2+ This was a new move in chess theory! 12. Nxd2 Qd7 13. Kg2 Nc6 14. Qa4 0-0 15. Rac1 f6? This move was not the best. 16. f4 fxe5 17. dxe5 Bb4 18. Rhf1 Rac8 19. Ne2 Nxe5 20. Qxb4 Nd3 21. Qb3 Nxc1 22. Nxc1 Rce8 23. Nf3 Qf5 24. Rf2 c5 25. Qd3 Qe4 26. Rd2 d4 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 28. Nd3 Re6 29. h4 Rc8 30. a4 a6 31. Nfe5 b5 32. a5 g6 33. Rc2 c4 34. Nb4 Rf8 35. b3 d3 36. Rd2 Rc8 37. Rd1 Rd6 38. Kf3 d2 39. bxc4 bxc4 40. Nc2 c3 41. Ke2 Rd5 42. Ng4 Rxa5 43. Nge3 Rd8 44. Rb1 Ra2 45. Kd1 Rb2 46. Ra1 Rdb8 47. Rxa6 Rb1+ 48. Ke2 Rc1 49. Rc6 Re8 0–1 White resigned because if they move their King, Black can win easily.

Her Thoughts on Chess

Hou Yifan believes there are many reasons why there are fewer top female chess players. She thinks long chess games can be physically tiring, which might favor men. She also believes that men often work harder at chess when they are growing up.

She uses Chinese girls as an example. She says many prefer a balanced life, focusing on things like university and family, rather than spending all their time on chess. She also points out that girls playing chess are often only encouraged to compete for girls' titles. This might lower their motivation to aim for the highest overall titles.

Images for kids

  • Hou Yifan 2005

    Hou Yifan, when she was 11, at the 2005 World Team Chess Championship, Beersheva, Israel

  • HouyifanCorus2007

    Hou Yifan at the 2007 Corus Chess Tournament

  • Hou Yifan

    Hou Yifan at the 2008 World Junior Chess Championship, Gaziantep, Turkey where she gained a GM norm

  • Хоу Ифань - Серии Гран-При 2013-2014 в Шардже

    Grand Prix Cup award ceremony, Sharjah, UAE

  • Хоу Ифань - «Каисса»

    Hou receiving the Caissa Cup in 2012

See also

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