Lviv will host the match between Maria Muzychuk and Hou Yifan in 2016

The women’s championship match, pitting current champion Maria Muzychuk from Lviv against Chinese contender Hou Yifan, will start in Lviv on March 1, 2016. Under the agreement, the championship match will be known as the women’s world chess championship, and the winner will be declared the world women’s chess champion for the 2015-16 season. The Potocki Palace will serve as the venue of the sporting event. “The match will take place from March 1 through 18,” we learned from vice-president of Lviv Regional Chess Federation Nazar Firman. “There will be 12 games, with every two of them followed by a rest and preparation day. In case of a tie, tie breakers will determine the champion.”

Let us recall that the rivals already met twice in classical chess, with one game ending in a draw, and another won by the Chinese player.

“In general, events of this level are very entertaining for the whole country,” world women’s chess champion Maria Muzychuk believes. “Lviv has a highly developed chess tradition, and we have over 20 grandmasters based in the city as of today, meaning it has few equals in the world on this measure.”