Hou Yifan Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Hou Yifan

• At the age of three, Hou Yifan developed an interest in chess.

• Once, her father noticed that she stared continuously at chess pieces during a visit to a library.

• Within seven days of buying a new chess set, Hou Yifan began defeating her father and grandmother in chess games.

• When she was five years old, in 1999, she began learning chess from IM Tong Yuanming, who often praised her for her rare aptitude, confidence, sharp and calculative mind, and quick decisions.

• Once, during a media talk, Hou Yifan shared that she became interested in chess as she likes its pieces.

• When she was ten years old, she was enrolled in the National Chess Centre in Beijing. There, she received training from Ye Jiangchuan and Yu Shaoteng, the noted Chinese grandmasters.

• When Hou Yifan was nine years old, she played a game with Ye, the head coach of the National Chinese chess teams. Hou identified all of his weak moves, which left Ye in surprise. Ye praised Hou in the media. He said,
  

  Then I knew she was an exceptional genius.”

• That same year, the national chess team of China introduced her as its youngest member.

• Hou Yifan then participated in the under-ten World Youth Chess Championship for girls and stood first.

• In 2003, she shifted to Beijing from Xinghua, Jiangsu, with her parents.

• During her early career, her mother accompanied her to international tournaments.

• Hou Yifan has completed her schooling at home.

• She likes reading books in her free time. Her favourite chess player is Bobby Fischer.

• She received a Woman Grandmaster norm in 2005 when she was eleven years old and became the youngest chess player to earn it. Bodhana Sivanandan, a ten-year-old chess player, broke her record in 2025.

• In June 2007, Hou Yifan became the youngest national champion of China.

• In 2012, her coach did not like her decision to study International Relations at Peking University.

• During her studies at Peking University, she participated in many extracurricular activities and studied full-time. She then received a Rhodes Scholarship.

• After that, Hou Yifan was enrolled at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, to pursue a post-graduation in Public Policy.

• Some noted chess players then commented on her participation and preparation for chess. Vladimir Kramnik said,
  

  Hou was focused on her academics. She chose chess as a hobby, not a career.

• During a media talk in 2018, she stated,
  

  I want to be the best, but you also have to have a life.”

• From 31 August 2003 to 12 September 2003, Hou Yifan played in the Chinese Team Chess Championship (Open), which was held in Tianjin.
  

  A childhood picture of Hou Yifan while playing chess

• Her performance rating was 2246, and she scored 3/7.

• In the 2003 World Youth Championship, which was held in Halkidiki, Greece, she stood first in the girls’ under-10 category and won her first International championship.

• Hou Yifan stood 14th in the National Women’s Chess Championship in November 2003, which was organised at Shanwei, Guangdong. Her performance rating was 2202, and she scored 3½/9.

• She then qualified for the title of Woman FIDE Master when she obtained the International FIDE rating of 2168 for the first time in January 2004.

• Hou Yifan then scored 1½/7 with a performance rating of 2096 at the Women’s Chinese Team Chess Championship, held in Jinan, Shandong.

• She then played in a team with Yu Yangyi, Jules Moussard, and Raymond Song and stood first in the World Youth Championship, held in Heraklio, Crete, in November 2004. However, they stood third after being tied with the boys’ under-ten category. Her performance rating was 2119.

• In December 2004, Hou Yifan competed in the 11th Asian Women’s Championship, which was held in Beirut, Lebanon. She stood eleventh with a score of 4½/9. Her performance rating was 2278.

• In February 2005, she scored 2/5 with a performance rating of 2111 at the fourth Aeroflot Open (Group C) championship organised in Moscow.

• Hou Yifan then participated in the Three Arrows Cup 2005 Ladies’ championship in Jinan, China, and stood fifth with a score of 7/11. Her performance rating was 2393 after defeating her opponent, Almira Skripchenko.

• After that, she competed in the second China-France Youth Match, which was organised from 28 June 2005 to 6 July 2005 in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Her score during the tournament was 3/8 with a performance rating of 2324. She, along with her teammates Zhou Jianchao, Zhao Jun, and Zhao Xue, won the match by 19-13.
  

  Hou Yifan at the 2005 World Team Chess Championship, Beersheva, Israel

• In July 2005, Hou Yifan participated in the Festival International d’Échecs de Saint-Lô, which was organised in France. Her score was 6/8 and performance rating was 2305. Wen Yang was first, and she stood second in the championship.

• She stood fifth, scored 8/11 with a performance rating of 2171, in the Boys’ Under-12 Category at the World Youth Chess Championship held in Belfort, France.

• After that, Hou Yifan qualified for the March 2006 World Women’s Chess Championship.

• In 2006, she scored 6/9 points and won the Chinese Women’s Zonal (3.5) championship with a performance rating of 2526. At that time, she was ranked 28th in the Chinese women’s chess.

• After that, both Men’s and Women’s Chinese teams competed in the sixth World Team Chess Championships, which were organised in Beersheva, Israel, from 31 October 2006 to 11 November 2006.

• This championship was earlier regarded as male-dominated, but it was the second time in history that a women’s team competed in this championship. At the age of eleven, Hou Yifan became a part of its women’s team and was the youngest of the three girls participants. She scored 0/3 in this championship.

• In December 2006, she participated in the China Women Selective Tournament, held in Beijing, and stood second.

• She then scored 16½/28 points with a performance rating of 2433 at the 37th Chess Olympiad held in Turin, Italy, in May-June 2006. During this Olympiad, he received 121 elo-points with Wang Yu and Shen Yang as her teammates.

• Chinese chess team won a bronze medal during the 37th Chess Olympiad, held in Turin, Italy.

• In March 2006, Georgian player Nino Khurtsidze defeated Hou Yifan by 0-2 points in the Women’s World Chess Championship.

• She then participated in the Chinese Championships, which were held in Wuxi, Jiangsu, and stood fourth, scoring 7/11 points with a performance rating of 2477 in Women’s V category.

• She then competed in the North Urals Cup organised in Krasnoturinsk, Russia in July-August 2006 and lost the game with a score of 3/9. Her performance rating was 2357 and she stood eight.

• In August 2006, Hou Yifan participated in the China-Russia Summit Match, which was organised in Ergun, Inner Mongolia. During this event, Russia won the men’s event and scored 26½–23½ points, while the women’s event was won by China, earning 51½–48½ points. Hou Yifan became the high scorer female player. She scored 6½/10 points with a performance rating of 2563.

• In October 2006, she participated in the World Junior Chess Championship (Girls’) and scored 9/12 points. She earned second place on a tiebreak, a 2481 FIDE Rating, and became a top-rated contestant.

• In January 2007, she participated in the Corus Chess Tournament and scored 7/13 points. Her performance rating was 2513.

• That same month, she received the Woman Grandmaster title. It was awarded to her after combining the points from the 2007 Corus Chess Tournament, the WGM title she received at the Zonal 3.5 Women’s Championship in 2005, the 37th Chess Olympiad, and the Chinese Championship (Women’s) in 2006.
  

  Hou Yifan at the 2007 Corus Chess Tournament

• In February 2007, she competed in the Aeroflot Open (A1 Group). In the final round, she defeated Vasilios Kotronias, a Greek grandmaster, and scored 3½/9 points with a performance rating of 2540.

• In March 2007, she finished last, scoring 2/7 points and 2462 as a performance rating at the first Ruy Lopez International Festival, which was organised in Zafra, Spain.

• In April 2007, Hou Yifan participated in the China Women’s Selective Tournament held in Ningbo and stood second. She then qualified for the Asian Indoor Games to be held in October 2007.

• In May 2007, she competed in the eighth Russian Team Chess Championship (Women’s) held in Dagomys. She played for Chelyabinsk, Southern Ural. She scored 6½/10 points with a performance rating of 2523.

• That same month, she participated in the 1st World Women’s Team Chess Championship held in Ekaterinburg and won alongside her teammates Zhao Xue, Ruan Lufei, Shen Yang, and Huang Qian. She scored 7½/9 points and a 2559 performance rating and won a gold medal.

• In June 2007, when she was thirteen years old, she made a record by becoming the youngest champion after winning her first Chinese Women’s Chess Championship held in Chongqing. She scored 9/11 points with a performance rating of 2585. Earlier, in 1988. Qin Kanying made the record, who was fourteen years old at that time.

• In July 2007, she earned seventh place at the North Urals Cup organised in Krasnoturinsk. She scored 4/9 points, and her performance rating was 2436.

• In August 2007, she was placed in last place in the double round-robin event at the fifth Győrgy Marx Memorial chess tournaments organised in Paks, Hungary. She scored 3/10 with a performance rating of 2444.

• In September 2007, during the UK-China Match organised in Liverpool, the UK team lost to China. Hou Yifan played for the Men’s team and scored 2½/6 points, with a performance rating of 2540.

• That same month, she competed at the Chinese Women’s Zonal (3.5) tournament held in Tianjin. She stood first and scored 8/9 points, with a performance rating of 2675.

• In October 2007, she played for the team South Ural (Chelyabinsk), at the twelfth European Chess Club Cup organised in Kemer, Turkey. Her team stood fourth in the women’s tournament. Her individual score was 5/7, and her performance rating was 2556.

• She then competed in the team at the second Asian Indoor Games organised in Macau from 26 October 2007 to 3 November 2007. Her teammates were Zhao Xue, Xu Yuhua, Wang Hao, Ni Hua, and Bu Xiangzhi. They played the classic chess mixed team event and won a gold medal. Her individual score was 5½/6 points with a performance rating of 2649 and an individual gold medal.

• After that, she participated in the Torch Real Estate Cup Chinese Chess League Division A, where she played for the Shandong Qilu Evening News Chess Team, which won the championship by defeating the Beijing team.

• In January 2008, Hou Yifan competed at the Corus Chess tournament organised in Wijk aan Zee. At the end, she tied for seventh to tenth place (ninth by tiebreak). She scored 6/13 points, and her performance rating was 2598. During this championship, she defeated three grandmasters.

• In February 2008, she competed at the Aeroflot Open organised in Moscow and received her first Grandmaster norm (GM norm). She scored 4½/9 points, and her performance rating was 2605. She finished in 31st place.

• In March 2008, she participated in the Atatürk International Women’s Masters Chess Tournament organised in Istanbul, Turkey, where she scored 7/9 points. Her performance rating was 2674. She earned a point more than others, which gave her GM norm; however, it depended on FIDE’s terms, as it approved WGM Zhao Xue for the GM title.

• In April 2008, she competed at the Ruy Lopez Chess Festival organised in Mérida, Spain. She played in the XV (2616) category of a round-robin event and earned seventh position. She scored 2/7 points, and her performance rating was 2467.

• From March 2008 to August 2008, she, along with her teammates GM Bu Xiangzhi, GM Zhao Jun, GM Wen Yang, and WGM Zhang Jilin, competed in the eighteen rounds of the Chinese Chess League organised in six different cities.

• In June 2008, with 9/11 points and a 2599 performance rating, Hou Yifan became the Chinese Women’s Champion for the second time in Beijing, China.

• In July 2008, she earned a second place in the First Saturday GM Tournament organised in Budapest. She scored 9/12 points, and her performance rating was 2574.

• In August 2008, she competed for the first time in the general (boys) category at the World Junior Chess Championship organised at Gaziantep, Turkey. She finished third-seventh with 9/13 points with her team, and her performance rating was 2661. She then achieved her second GM norm.
  

  Hou Yifan at the 2008 World Junior Chess Championship, Gaziantep, Turkey where she gained a GM norm

• She then became one of the six highest-rated players from July 2006 to January 2007 and qualified for the Women’s World Chess Championship organised at Nalchik, Russia. In these championships, she defeated Italian IM Elena Sedina by 3-1 in the third round.

• Hou Yifan then beat Armenian IM Lilit Mkrtchian by 1½-½ points in the quarterfinals of this match. After that, in the semifinals, she beat Indian GM Humpy Koneru (4-2 overall, 1-1, 1-1, 2-0). In the finals, Russian player Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated her by 2½-1½ points.

• After that, she became the youngest finalist ever in the Women’s World Championship.

• She then received the International Master (IM) title and finished second in a 9-game Grandmaster (GM) norm tournament. During this championship, her performance rating was 2536.

• That same year, she represented China in many championships, including the World Mind Sports Games, the thirteenth European Club Cup, the Cap d’Agde Rapid Tournament, and the 38th Chess Olympiad.

• In November 2008, she became the 27th Chinese Grandmaster after playing the 79th FIDE Congress in Dresden, Germany.

• From 16 January 2009 to 1 February 2009, Hou Yifan competed in the Grandmaster Group B of the 71st Corus Chess Tournament. Her performance rating was 2620.

• She then stood third at the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Tournament, which was held in Istanbul. She scored 8/11 points, and her performance rating was 2649.

• She then scored 7½/11 points in the 8th Asia Continental Chess Championship, and her performance rating was 2640.

• After that, she represented China in the Jubilee Open and the Chess World Cup, which was organised in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

• In 2010, she played at the Moscow Open, the Aeroflot Open, the third Kuala Lumpur Open, and the Women’s Grand Prix.

• That same year, Hou Yifan represented China in the 15th European Club Cup for Women, the 16th Asian Games, and the Women’s World Chess Championship.

• In 2011, she played the First Women’s Master Tournament, the AAI International Grandmasters Chess Tournament, and the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Tournament.

• She then played the FIDE Grand Prix, the Chess World Cup, the 16th European Club Cup for women, and the Women’s World Chess Championship.
  

  Hou Yifan during the Grand Prix Cup award ceremony in Sharjah, UAE

• In 2012, she played for China in the Gibraltar Chess Festival with her teammate Nigel Short and stood first. She scored 8/10 points with a performance rating of 2872.

• That same year, she participated in the Reykjavik Open, the China Chess Individual Tournament Group A, the Bangkok Chess Club Open, the Hainan Danzhou Grand Master Chess Tournament, the 4th leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, and the Chinese Men’s Super Tournament.

• Hou Yifan then participated in the 40th Chess Olympiad organised in Istanbul, Turkey. Individually, she won a gold medal by scoring 6.5/9 points and 2645 as her performance rating. She won the Caissa Cup during the competition.

• She then competed in the European Chess Club Cup and the 16th Univé Hoogeveen Chess Festival.

• After that, in a media conversation, she stated that she was enrolled in Beijing University and would attend the classes in September 2012. She added that she supported the decision to remove the one-child policy in China as she felt the pain of the women who had abortions under this policy.

• She then appeared in the Women’s World Chess Championship and the SportAccord World Mind Games.

• In 2013, Hou Yifan played the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, the China Chess Individual Tournament, the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, and the CEZ Chess Trophy.

• After that, she scored 6.5/7 points in the 4th Asian Martial Arts Games, which were organised in Incheon, South Korea. In the classical portion of the event, she won a gold medal.

• That same year, she scored 5/6 points in the European Chess Club Cup, and her performance rating was 2736. After that, she played the SportAccord World Mind Games.
  

  Hou Yifan while playing chess at an event

• In 2014, she competed in the men’s section of the China Chess Individual Tournament Group A championship organised in in Xinghua. She scored 5.5/11 points and a performance rating of 2558. She then Represented China in the Biel Chess Tournament. After that, she went to in Tromsø, Norway, to play the 41st Chess Olympiad.

• Hou Yifan scored 5/6 points in the 18th European Club Cup with a performance rating of 2749. She then won an individual gold medal. Her team finished at second place.

• After that, she competed in the Corsican Chess Circuit.

• In the blitz event of the SportAccord World Mind Games, she won a gold medal. After that, she scored 8.5/10 points in the final Basque System event and won a gold medal.

• At the end of 2014, her FIDE rating was 2673, and she became the Women’s World Chess Champion.

• She was also recognised as the fourth-highest-rated junior, the second-highest-rated female player, and the 71st-highest-rated active player.

• In 2015, Hou Yifan started playing senior championships at the age of 21.

• In January 2015, she stood 11th in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. She scored 5/13 points during this event, and her performance rate was 2670.

• From 27 January to 4 February, she competed in the Gibraltar Chess Festival. During these tournaments, she stood third and received 7.5/10 score points.

• After that, she played the Hawaii Grandmaster Challenge, the Nakhchivan Open, the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, the Russian-Chinese Match of Friendship Chess Festival, and the Qatar Masters Open.

• In 2016, she earned 12th position in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. She scored 5/13 points, and her performance rating was 2672.

• She then competed in the Bicontinental Chess Match and the Vugar Gashimov Memorial.
  

  Hou Yifan at the Women’s World Chess Championship 2016

• In the Eurasian Blitz Cup, she earned 29th position. She scored 12.5/22 points, and her performance rate was 2650.

• In 2017, Hou Yifan scored 6/10 points in the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, which is organised at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar every year.

• After that, she was one of the twenty-four players who were selected to play the FIDE Grand Prix. She stood 17th in this tournament and, therefore, was disqualified from the World Chess Championship.

• She then participated in the Grenke Classic at Baden-Baden.

• In June 2017, she earned the 85th position in the top 100 players. She then competed in the 50th Biel Chess Festival and Chess World Cup.

• In January 2018, Hou Yifan was placed last in the Tata Steel tournament organised in Wijk aan Zee. She scored 2.5/13 points.

• She then placed 8th-9th out of ten participants in the 5th Grenke Chess Classic championship, scoring 3½/9 points.

• In December 2019, she participated in the Belt and Road World Chess Woman Summit and won with 5/7 points.

• In 2025, she began teaching at Peking University.

• She has worked on the technical aspects of the book ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ when it was translated into Mandarin.

• In 2025, she participated in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League and won the Women’s Player of the Season title.
  

  Hou Yifan at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League

• In chess, Sicilian Defense is her favourite opening technique.