Hou Yifan (China 🇨🇳): a player who perfectly combines traditional strategy with dynamic, aggressive play, this chess genius is now representative of a new generation of grandmasters.
Yifan was born in 1994 in Xinghua, where she learned chess at the age of 5. Early on in her life, she was seen as one of the most promising players in her age category. This was later confirmed by the grandmaster title she earned when she was only 14 years old. Two years later, in 2010, she won her first of four women’s World Chess Championships. After years of dominance in woman-only tournaments, she followed the path of Judit Polgár by entering mixed-gender tournaments.
Hou’s playing style is characterised by her fearless and refined moves, which make her strong both in adapting to the opponent and in being explosive herself. Just like Polgár, she defeated the world’s greatest male players, establishing her position as one of the best chess players in the world. Next to her chess career, she also advocates actively for gender equality and education. Due to her socially active presence, the World Economic Forum recognised her as a Young Global Leader. Hou also is a highly rated academic, resulting in her being one of the youngest professors at a university in China.
References:
Encyclopedia Britannica
Chess.com
World Economic Forum