Mercy of a single off day

Hou Yifan undone by a combination of bad weather and a curious format
Leonard Barden 
The Guardian, Friday 23 November 2012 17.55 EST 

Vishy Anand won the world crown in 2007 and has since defended it by defeating three challengers in matches. The Indian’s form has dipped in the past two years and he is currently only No6 in the rankings, yet he will not face a match challenge from the No1, Magnus Carlsen, until at least late 2013.

Contrast that with the plight of Hou Yifan. China’s 18-year-old was runner-up for the women’s world title in 2008, won it in 2010, then defended it in a match in 2011. She is clearly the all-time female No2 after Hungary’s Judit Polgar, who does not play in women’s events.

But last week Hou suddenly became an ex-champion in banal circumstances. She wilted in the -17C weather in Siberia which staged the 2012 knockout title contest, developed a heavy cold, and crashed 3-1 in the second round to Poland’s Monika Socko, the last two games rapid chess. The world KO reaches its semi-finals today and can be viewed free and live online with computer commentary starting at 9am.

Hou has the right to a 2013 title match, not as ex-champion but because she was first in the women’s Grand Prix elite tournament series. Fide, the global chess body, used knockouts for its men’s title in 1997-2004, but the system was widely derided for its erratic results. Many lists of historic world champions now exclude the KO winners in favour of Garry Kasparov and Vlad Kramnik who played traditional matches lasting several weeks.

The men’s knockout is now downgraded to a World Cup which only qualifies its winner as one of eight title candidates, but the women’s championship remains at the mercy of a single off day, as Hou discovered.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk