Hou Yifan Becomes GM, Breaks Record
Monday December 8, 2008
Hou Yifan, the 14-year-old Chinese chess prodigy, has recently been awarded the grandmaster title by FIDE. In doing so, she has broken the record set by Judit Polgar in 1991 to become the youngest female grandmaster in the history of chess.
These days, more and more youngsters are becoming grandmasters early; while becoming a GM at 14 is still extraordinary, it’s nowhere near the overall record, which is now held by Sergey Karjakin (12 years, 7 months). Amazingly, when Polgar became a GM back in 1991, she set the overall record for becoming the youngest grandmaster ever. In the last two decades, advances in computer technology have allowed exceptional students to improve at a much faster rate, allowing some to reach unprecedented heights.
Yifan is an exceptional talent who has been on the radar screens of most chess followers for a couple years now. China has produced a great deal of chess talent in the past few years, and Yifan may move right to the top of that list in time. While it remains to be seen if she’ll be able to reach the heights of the 2700+ club, she’s certain to be a strong contender for the Women’s World Championship for many years to come.
Source: http://chess.about.com
Slight correction: Hou beat the record of Humpy and not the Polgar sister. No disrespect meant to very significant achievement in 1991.
From wikipedia:
Humpy held the record from 2002 to 2008 for the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster (not merely a Woman Grandmaster), which she achieved in 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgar’s previous record by 3 months.[3]
I hope Hou Yifan will become a world champion one day. She got such a pleasant personality – always smiling. Best wishes to her future chess career.
No doubt Hou is exceptional talented. However, her age may not be true.