2010 Women’s Chess Championship: Finals

2010 Women World Chess Championship FINALS (Hou Yifan vs. Ruan Lufei)
Player	ELO	Nation	Flag	Player	ELO	Nation	Flag
Hou	2591	CHN		Ruan	2480	CHN

Preview: The stage is set and at the end of this final match, the glory will be China’s once again. However, who will win the Women’s World Championship Chess match? If that question is asked, you may be inclined to reply either “Yes”, “No”, “Hou”, “Ruan” depending on how you understood the question. Journalists are getting ready with double entrendres seen in the comical YouTube video of George W. Bush asking about Hu Jintao.

While Hou Yifan may certainly be the favorite, it is not a forgone conclusion that she will win and certainly Ruan Lufei will give quite a valiant effort. For the 23-year old doctoral student, it is amazing that she has had much time to prepare for this tournament. Working on a Ph.D. usually means a chess hibernation, but Ruan is in good form eliminating defending champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

The four-game match will commence on Monday, December 20th after the rest day. There will be the standard tiebreak of two rapid, two blitz and an Armageddon game.

2010 Women World Chess Championship GM Hou Yifan vs. WGM Ruan Lufei
	Flag	G1	G2	G3	G4	-TIEBREAKS-				Pts.
Hou		½	1	½	0	½	1	½	1	5
Ruan		½	0	½	1	½	0	½	0	3