Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
It is clear that we would have a new world women's chess champion this year whose name begins with 'H'. Yes, it would either be Hou Yifan or Humpy Koneru. We would like to tell our readers that in Southern India the name is derived from the parents' name so, in fact, Koneru is Humpy's father's name as in Koneru Ashok which she has adopted as a patronymic.
In an interesting interview to Indian newspaper Times of India, Humpy says:
"This is the first time I will be playing a match and I fancy my chances if I prepare well. I have to be careful in my choice because I have seen other women GMs in the World championships coming with trainers who had been working with their rivals before."
Of course, she does not detail her prep plans and rightfully so. Meanwhile, Leonard Barden, writing in The Guardian, says, "The world championship for men is beset by controversy, yet top women are enjoying a financial bonanza. Though female players have competed for meagre rewards in the past, each of the six recently finished Grand Prix tournaments had €40,000 (£34,447) prize money."
Also, earlier this year, Hou Yifan had told the China Daily that she wanted to focus on becoming the No. 1 rated women's chess player and was training with focus on that rather than against any particular player.
Very interesting. All in all, 2011 is going to be a landmark year what with the parallel men's candidates chess matches and a prospective challenger for the men's world chess champion also coming forth.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Hi everyone,
It is clear that we would have a new world women's chess champion this year whose name begins with 'H'. Yes, it would either be Hou Yifan or Humpy Koneru. We would like to tell our readers that in Southern India the name is derived from the parents' name so, in fact, Koneru is Humpy's father's name as in Koneru Ashok which she has adopted as a patronymic.
In an interesting interview to Indian newspaper Times of India, Humpy says:
"This is the first time I will be playing a match and I fancy my chances if I prepare well. I have to be careful in my choice because I have seen other women GMs in the World championships coming with trainers who had been working with their rivals before."
Of course, she does not detail her prep plans and rightfully so. Meanwhile, Leonard Barden, writing in The Guardian, says, "The world championship for men is beset by controversy, yet top women are enjoying a financial bonanza. Though female players have competed for meagre rewards in the past, each of the six recently finished Grand Prix tournaments had €40,000 (£34,447) prize money."
Also, earlier this year, Hou Yifan had told the China Daily that she wanted to focus on becoming the No. 1 rated women's chess player and was training with focus on that rather than against any particular player.
Very interesting. All in all, 2011 is going to be a landmark year what with the parallel men's candidates chess matches and a prospective challenger for the men's world chess champion also coming forth.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Hou's comment is disappointing - why concentrate on only being "highest rated female" player? Why not shoot for the Moon? I don't get it. Does she not trust in her own talent? Or is she receiving bad advice? There is a world of difference between being an M. Carlsen and a J. Polgar. Why settle for being a footnote in "his"tory?
ReplyDeletethis cannot be the way of Yifan! She never said that!
ReplyDelete