1. Who do you think will most likely to be the winner of the WWCC? And why? Could you please give some comment for Koneru and Kosteniuk?
My pre-tournament favorites were Koneru, Humpy and Xu, Yuhua. I think Humpy has improved the most and I also pick Xu because of her experience in this format, winning 2 World Cups before.
Kosteniuk is a good player. But I did not pick her to win because it is not easy to win a tournament like this for anyone. All the women want to win and it will become a battle of will and confidence. I think Xu’s experience will help her.
2. How do you evaluate the KO system? Do you like it?
I like the KO format but definitely NOT for a World Championship. KO format can be exciting but it is a terrible way to choose a World Champion. It is even worst when players have to play rapid and blitz chess to decide the winner. There is too much luck involved. FIDE changed this format for the men. It is time to change for the women as well.
It also says something when the top 3 rated women players in the world (Judit, Xie Jun and me) do not play. If the format and conditions would have been better, things could be different. It is too bad that women are competing for just a small fraction of the men’s prize funds. In big tennis tournaments, women earn about the same as men. Why not chess? The prize funds should be at least closer to the men. It is very low right now.
3. Is there any possibility for you to consider participating in this kind of WWCC?
In this format, no! In a more respectable format, yes! There would be 2 main factors for my decision: Better format and respectable prize funds.
I would love to be able to play Xie, Jun again, even if only an exhibition match to promote chess and friendship for China and the United States. I very much respect what she has done for chess in China. She’s a true ambassador for China.
We spoke when we saw each other again in Calvia in 2004. She is wonderful. We are now both Mothers. We were joking and said maybe there could be something we can still show the younger players, some only half our age. No young player has passed our ratings yet and we finished 1-2 in best performance in the Women’s Olympiad.
4. How do you think our Chinese chess player? (There a 9 Chinese player in this match, including Zhu Chen, Xu Yuhua, Qin Kanying, Zhao Xue, Wang Yu, Shen Yang, Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun and Ruan Lufei)
They are all very talented and well coached. Zhao Xue is still young, talented and most known internationally among the younger players. But in my opinion, if Zhao wants to go to the next level, she needs to modify a few weaknesses in her current game. She has the talent to do it. She just needs a little extra.
I like Zhu Chen as well. The problem is motherhood makes it hard to play well full time. I definitely see many more Women’s World Champions from China in the near future. That is a big credit to the federation and government of China for their support. 
To clarify how prize funds work in tennis, here is how a TV commentator explained it many years ago. In the tournament such as Wimbledon, first place men and women get the same prize, and so do second place, and so on. The men’s prize fund, however, goes deeper to account for the greater size of the men’s field, so perhaps there would be a prize for 15th for the men but not for the women. This seems to me to be a fair system.
The problem you will face in chess is the men’s and women’s championships are separate events with separate sponsors, so setting up such a prize system would be more difficult.
Would Judit really play in a women’s championship? I thought she shunned women-only events, which to me is unfortunate. While she is good enough to play in the men’s championship, if she did take part in women’s events once in a while it would only help boost the profile of women in chess.
I have no problem with equal prize funds but to less placements.
If FIDE organizes a Women’s World Championship with $500,000 – $1,000,000 prize fund for the winner, we will see if Judit, Sofia, Xie, Jun and I will compete.
With the current format and prize funds, it does not make any sense whatsoever.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
http://www.PolgarChess.com
I agree with your picks. Kosteniuk has no chance. She’s too busy being a model.