Hou Yifan wins first Women's Chess Grand Prix 2011/12

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everyone,

Congratulations to Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan for winning the first Women's Chess grand Prix of the 2011/12 series in Rostov with a very impressive performance. It was an extremely challenging event for all the girls who played and displayed some of the finest chess to the world. Congratulations everyone.

Hou Yifan lost just one game to Kateryna Lahno in Round 9 but secured overall victory with a one point lead over the rest of the field. The FIDE Women Grand Prix took place August 2-14 in Rostov, Russia. It was the first of six tournaments in the Women’s GP Series 2011-2012. The prize fund for each event was 40,000 Euro with a first prize of 6,500 Euro. The overall winner of the Women’s Grand Prix will win a further 15,000 Euros at the end of the series. Players can only offer draws through the chief arbiter in special cases and the 'zero tolerance' rule is also in effect, which requirer chess players to be seated at their boards when the games are scheduled to start.

You can find a nice report in English at www.chessvibes.com and access the official website at this link.

The next Women Grand Prix starts already next month; it will take place 6-20 September 2011 in Shenzhen, China. The third tournament will be held 8-23 October 2011 in Nalchik, Russia. Then there’s a long break, as the fourth will be 30 May-13 June 2012 in Kazan, Russia. The fifth event is scheduled for 16-30 July 2012 in Jermuk, Armenia and the final tournament will take place 16-30 November 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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