Women's world chess champion Hou Yifan, 17, of China completed the successful defence of her title this afternoon when she drew the eighth game of the best of ten match against challenger Humpy Koneru, 24, of India. This made the score 5½-2½ so there was no need to play the remaining two games. Hou Yifan won three games to her opponent's zero, with five draws.
Humpy Koneru, needing three straight wins to force the match into a rapidplay tie-break, had the advantage of the white pieces. She emerged from the opening with a slight edge but then tried to force the issue with an f-pawn advance and only succeeded in worsening her game. It came down to a double rook endgame where White was significantly worse and had no realistic chances of trying for a win. Black was content to accept a draw offer as it was sufficient to win the match.
Official website: http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com
Photo by Anastasiya Karlovich and Anna Burtasova with kind permission of FIDE
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