Gender chess match: Karpov beats Hou plus nice article on chess growth in China

Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hou Yifan and Anatoly Karpov at the start of

their Gender Chess Match. Photo: Sina Sports Blog

Find great portraits of top chess players at www.chesspics.com

Hello Everyone,

Only the other day we were discussing how Chess has grown in China over the last couple of decades. Interestingly, we also found this really nice article that explores this aspect of chess in China.

In this nice article for The Star, Quah Seng Sun writes:

"Forty years ago, if I were to mention that chess was a popular game in China, I'm sure that you wouldn't be thinking of any other type of chess than xiangqi, better known to many of us as Chinese Chess.

And you wouldn't be wrong. Yes, down the centuries, xiangqi was the most popular board game in China and really, nothing has changed till today. It will always remain their most popular board game.

But there was a small section of people in China who decided on the big step to cross over and play what is known to you and me as international chess. It wasn't that they were abandoning the game that was their heritage but more that they were the innovators who decided to explore beyond their cultural boundaries."

You can read the full article here.

Meanwhile, Anatoly Karpov has won the Gender Chess Match against the teenager Hou Yifan - 43 years his junior! Karpov had won the first of the four standard games and then drawn the remaining three. Both of them also drew the remaining two rapid games leaving Karpov ahead with a point.

Also, GM Ye Rongguang has some very nice photos of Hou Yifan practising yoga and martial arts! Check them out at the Sina Sports Blog and at www.chessbase.com.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com