GM-elect Yifan Hou needs a win with the Black pieces to get to the playoff. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, who has played very well, could have won all three games, needs only a draw with the White pieces to win the title.
What is your prediction? Who will win game 4?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Kosteniuk’s preparation is somewhat better, and she does better in strategic positions. Therefore, I think Sascha will do well again since it’s too late to turn things around. I predict Kosteniuk will win the final game.
Susan,
If Hou, that would be second or third Chinese Woman World Champion? Would Kosteniuk be the first Russian? In reference to the WWC, readers would be interested to have a brief review of the history: Champions and dates. Is that available somewhere? If you could post that it would be nice.
Here is a list and back ground on WWC matches.
http://chess.about.com/library/weekly/aa04c20.htm
Who will become the 12 champion?
The first women’s international chess competition took place in the beginning of the XX century.
The title of the woman champion was officially approved in 1927 on the initiative of FIDE which began holding World Championships under its auspices. Seven events and a championship were held in 1927-1939. Vera Menchik won all of them. After her death in 1944 FIDE organized in Moscow a tournament in 1949-1950 which was won by Liudmila Rudenko who became the second world chess champion. In 1953 Liudmila Rudenko lost the return match to Elizaveta Bikova. In 1956 Olga Rubtsova won the title of the Champion.
The era of Gaprindashvili was set in 1962. For 16 years she had kept the title. Gaprindashvili became the first woman to be awarded the (men’s) international Grandmaster title. The first women Chess Oscar was awarded to Gaprindashvili.
In 1978 Gaprindashvili lost to Maia Chiburdanidze with the score of 8,5:6,5 and became the sixth Women’s World Champion.
After Maia Chiburdanidze Chinese player Xie Jun got into the chess Olymp. But her triumph didn’t last long. A Hungarian Zsuzsa Polgar burst into the chess elite like a hurricane and had kept the champion title for a long time.
The Chinese dominance was reconfirmed when Zhu Chen won the title of the ninth world chess champion.
The tenth champion Antoaneta Stefanova became a deserved “ornament” of the chess queens dynasty. In 2004 she managed not only to get into the history but to conquer the wise game’s admirers’ hearts. The eleventh champion Chinese player Xu Yuhua who won the champion title in 2006 will add immensity to the intrigue of the coming event in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Who will become the twelfth champion? We shall it very soon.
Love you all, bye.
Stefanova Anty is Miss Nalchik 2008.
I say Kosteniuk will suffer her first loss. Can’t win em all. Tiebreak and the real Hou Yifan will show up.
Boo Hou!
I’d guesstimate 15% white win, 60% draw, 25% black win.
It seemns Black wins more often in games among top women players (versus the male top ten), and Hou is dangerous. Hou’s inexperienced and so far shown herself unstable to a degree, but she’s certainly dangerous and capable of winning any single game with black.
The probability of a white win is rather low because Kosteniuk is always satisfied with forcing a draw over risking for a win.
The result is essentially unpredictable except in probabilities.
Another draw.
Women’s World Champions (From Wikipedia)
Name Years Country
Vera Menchik 1927–1944 Czechoslovakia / United Kingdom
Lyudmila Rudenko 1950–1953 Soviet Union / Ukraine
Elisabeth Bykova 1953–1956 Soviet Union / Russia
Olga Rubtsova 1956–1958 Soviet Union / Russia
Elisabeth Bykova 1958–1962 Soviet Union / Russia
Nona Gaprindashvili 1962–1978 Soviet Union / Georgia
Maya Chiburdanidze 1978–1991 Soviet Union / Georgia
Xie Jun 1991–1996 China
Susan Polgar 1996–1999 Hungary / USA
Xie Jun 1999–2001 China
Zhu Chen 2001–2004 China
Antoaneta Stefanova 2004–2006 Bulgaria
Xu Yuhua 2006–present China
I Hope Alexandre Kosteniuk wins.
She has done so much for making chess popular.
A draw is enough 🙂
“After Maia Chiburdanidze Chinese player Xie Jun got into the chess Olymp. But her triumph didn’t last long. A Hungarian Zsuzsa Polgar burst into the chess elite like a hurricane and had kept the champion title for a long time.”
???
Xie Jun was champion from 1991 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2001.
Susan Polgar was champion from 1996-1999.
So how exactly didn’t Xie Jun’s triumph last long, while Susan kept the title for a long time???
7 is more than 3. Even 5 is more than 3.
it often gets punished when one misses a win. That question can only be answered after the game today.
It is time for Judit to get on the scoreboard of WWC’s now, as it became apparent that she will not be able to make it all the way to the top on the man’s side.
In fact I am surprised she has not already done it and still keeps on the sidelines.
i think 4 games is not enough it should be at least 12 game match for world champion match. i think foxy mama wins.
Kosteniuk needs to draw: I don’t think she will win the tiebreak though she is not inexperienced in Rapid play.
I expect Hou to play much better and K to hang on to a draw, possibly successfully.
I have not seen any conclusive evidence that K should have won games 2 or 3 yet. Susan asks the questions but does not provide answers.
I think …Kosteniuk win the match.
Draw…
It looks like Kosteniuk thinks that the best way to secure a draw is to go for a win
Kosteniuk deserves to win… and I guess another decisive game is going to be seen!
So for me… she’s the chess Queen! 🙂
Where are your comments to the game Susan?
Susan doesn’t comment unless the game is interesting. So far it’s just a rather dull Sicilian, with safe, thematic manuevering by Kosteniuk.
This game is boring me. Looks like any old Sicilian; however, black retains chances because of the fluid pieces and asymetric pawn structure.
White must be careful not to play passively for draw, yet not risk too much for win. Kosteniuk probably considers this risk/fatal-passivity tradeoff on every move.
19..Nxd4 looked questionable to me. Would rather retain tension with something like Qc8 than simplify position and bring White’s rook to d4 where it can slide along the fourth rank harassing black’s queenside pawns.
(I’m giving commentary because Susan’s not, and I’m bored. I’m a low-expert, btw, and without a chess program. Which means I basically am unqualified to commentate.)
Xie Jun, Xu Jun, Zhu Chen..this all has gotten complicated! – I can’t tell who’s who (Hou) – No pun intended!
Why should Karpov, Kasparov and Kamsky be better understood by – let’s say – chinese peolple?
Or Akobian, Akopian and Aronian?
okay
what happened to the endgame problem from yesterday’s game?
I think that Kosteniuk will win – no -draw
“what happened to the endgame problem from yesterday’s game?
“
Good question! I still think the “inexperienced” Hou evaluated it better than anyone else here, including all the experience. She seems to have known it was drawn at least after move 47, or even earlier(?).