Thursday, May 31, 2012

Bangkok Carousel

万云国 (Wàn Yúnguó) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
12th Bangkok Chess Club Open; Bangkok, April 15, 2012
Sicilian Defence B88

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Bb3 a6 8. Be3 Qc7 9. f4 Na5 10. g4 Nc4 11. Bxc4 Qxc4


12. Qf3!? Not all the new is better than all the old. Better is 12. g5 Nd7 13. Rf1!↑ T. A. Kosintseva – Gara, 35th Women’s Chess Olympiad, Bled 2002. 12. ... Nd7 13. 0-0-0 b5 14. e5 Rb8 15. Qc6


15. ... Qxc6. International Master Oleg Vladimirovich Stetsko recommends 15. ... Bb7! 16. Qxc4 bxc4 17. Rhe1 dxe5 18. fxe5 Bb4⩱ — instead after the text the game moves rapidly towards a draw: 16. Nxc6 Ra8= 17. Rhf1 dxe5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. fxe5 Bb7 20. Rf4 Be7 21. Ne4 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. g5 Kd7 25. c4 Rb8 26. Rf4 Ke8 27. h4 bxc4 28. Rxc4 Rb5 29. Bd4 h6 30. gxh6 gxh6 31. Bc3 h5 32. Kd2 Kf8 33. Ra4 Rb6 34. Rc4 Kg7 35. a4 Kg6 36. Ke3 Kf5 37. Rf4+ Kg6 38. Rd4 Kf5 39. Rf4+ ½ : ½.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Dragon Ladies

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012 13th Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gave a 30-board simultaneous exhibition in the Blue Room of Government House of Thailand in Bangkok, her most notable opponent being none other than 28th Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra. Photos: Salita Susing.

Monday, May 28, 2012

At Last

刘庆南 (Liú Qìngnán) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
43rd Chinese Chess Championship; 兴化 (Xīnghuà), March 29, 2012
Sicilian Defence B25

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Bc4 e6 5. Nge2 Nf6 6. 0-0 a6 7. d3 b5 8. Bb3 Nxb3 9. axb3 Bb7 10. Bg5 d6 11. f4 Be7 12. Ng3 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. f5 (14. Qe2 b4 15. Nd1 0-0 16. Kh1 g6 17. e5 dxe5 18. fxe5 Bg7 19. Nf2 h5 20. Nh3 Qd4 21. Rae1 Qxb2 22. Ng5 Qd4 23. Nxh5 Qh4 24. Nxg7 Qxg5 25. Rf6 Kxg7 26. Qf2 Rae8 27. h3 Re7 28. Kg1 Rc8 29. h4 Qh5 30. Rf1 Rcc7 31. Qg3 Bc6 32. R1f4 Be8 33. Rg4 Rcd7 34. Rg5 Qd1+ 35. Kh2 Qxc2 36. Rf3 Rd4 37. h5 Qd2 38. Rf6 Rxd3 39. hxg6 fxg6 40. Rgxg6+ Kh8 41. Rh6+ 1 : 0 Degraeve – Roser, 23th Cappelle-la-Grande Open, Cappelle-la-Grande 2007) 14. ... Bd4+ 15. Kh1 Qg5 16. Nge2 Be5 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Ng1 Qg6


Now Black might pay the price for her failure to castle: 19. Nxb5! d5! The best reply. If 19. ... axb5? then 20. Rxa8+ Bxa8 21. Qa1! Bc6 (or 21. ... Bb7 22. Qa7 Bc8 23. Qc7+−) 22. Qa6 Kd7 23. Qa7+ Kc8 24. Rf7+− winning at once. 20. Nc3 Bxc3 21. bxc3 dxe4 22. dxe4 Qxe4 23. Rf2 Qd5 24. Rd2 Qg5 25. Rf2 Rf8 26. Rxf8+ Kxf8 27. Qd6+ Kg8 28. Qxe6+ Kh7 29. Nf3 Qh5 30. Qe2 Re8 31. Qf2 Qf5 32. Rf1 Re6 33. Kg1 Bxf3 34. gxf3 Qg5+ 35. Kh1 Re3 36. c4 Qe5 37. Qg3 Qf5 38. Rf2 Re1+ 39. Kg2 Re6 40. Qh4 Qe5 41. Qe4+ Qxe4 42. fxe4 Rxe4 43. Kf3 Re6 44. Rd2 Kg6 45. Rd8 Kf5 46. Rc8 Ke5 47. Rxc5+ Kd4 48. Rd5+ Kc3


49. Rd3+ Kxc2? After defending wonderfully, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) finally misses her best opportunity: 49. ... Kb4! 50. Re3 Rf6+ 51. Ke4 Re6+ 52. Kd3 Rd6+ 53. Ke2 a5 with a likely draw. 50. Re3 Rb6 51. Ke4 a5 52. c5 Rb8 53. Kd5 Rd8+ 54. Kc4 Rd2 55. h3 Kb2 56. Kb5 Rc2 57. c6 g5 58. Kb6 Ka3 59. c7 1 : 0.

Dance on stage

Traduzione istantanea

The game of life

The soul of music

The sound of silence

Principessa in Rosso

Principessa in Rosso

Giovani danzatrici

Diploma dal Console

Foto di gruppo

Apple of my eye

Foto: Isadora Duncan

ACLIC ARCI

ACLIC ARCI

Sunday, May 27, 2012 16,00. While our young friends Costantino and Giacomo are patrolling our chess960 outpost at Parco del Neto in Calenzano, there we are before the gates of the Associazione Culturale Linguistica Italo-Cinese in Prato, the most beautiful Chinese school in the world.

Canicola al Neto

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Le Match des Championnes

On May 21–22, 2012 13th Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) from China and 2011 European Women’s Champion Viktorija Čmilytė from Lithuania met each other in the Match des Championnes, which took place at Porto-Vecchio (Portivechju), Corsica, as a highlight of the 16th Corsican Circuit. The match consisted of only two games with time control of 10 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) won the first one and drew the second.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Viktorija Čmilytė
Match des Championnes; match gane 1; Porto-Vecchio, May 21, 2012
Sicilian Defence B30

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. 0-0 Nge7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. Qe2 Ng6 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 Rc8 11. Nc3. The dernier cri is 11. a3 Be7 12. Nc3 0-0 13. Rd1 Na5 14. g3 Nc4 15. h4 Nxa3 16. bxa3 Rxc3 17. h5 Qc7 18. Bd3 Nh8 19. Bb2 Rb3 20. Rac1 Qa5 21. d5 Bxa3 22. Bxa3 Rxa3 23. Qe3 f5 24. exf5 Bxd5 25. Ne5 Qd8 26. fxe6 dxe6 27. Bxh7+ Kxh7 28. Qxa3 Rf5 29. Qd3 Kg8 30. Qe2 Nf7 31. Ng6 Kh7 32. Nf4 Ng5 33. Qg4 Qa8 34. Nxd5 Rxd5 35. f4 Rxd1+ 36. Qxd1 Ne4 37. Qd3 Qd5 38. Qxd5 exd5 39. Kg2 a5 40. g4 b4 41. Rc8 b3 42. g5 g6 43. h6 Nd6 44. Rb8 a4 45. Rb4 d4 46. Rxa4 d3 47. Kf3? (47. Kf1 Nb5 48. Rb4 Nc3 49. Ke1+−) 47. ... Nb5 48. Rb4 (48. Ke3 b2 49. Rb4 Nc3=) 48. ... Nc3 49. Rb7+ Kg8 50. Rb8+ Kh7 51. Ke3 b2 52. Rb7+ Kg8 53. Rb8+ Kh7 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Radjabov, 26th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez Ciudad de Linares, Linares 2009. 11. ... b4 12. Na4 Nh4 13. Be3 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Qh4 15. Rfd1 Bd6 16. e5


16. ... Nxe5! 17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. Kf1 Qh3+ 19. Ke1 Bxf3 20. Qd3 d5?! (20. ... 0-0 21. Nb6 Rcd8) 21. Nb6 Rc7? (21. ... Bxd1 22. Rxd1 0-0 23. Nxc8 Rxc8 24. Qxa6⩲/±) 22. Ba4+ Ke7 23. Rdc1 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Qg4 25. Bc5+ Kd8 26. Be3 Ke7


27. Qxa6? (27. h3!+−) 27. ... Bxb2 28. Rc7+ Kf6 (28. ... Kd6?? 29. Nc4++ Kxc7 30. Qb6+ Kc8 31. Nd6#) 29. Nd7+ Kg6 30. Bc2+ Kh5 31. Kd2? (31. Qf1) 31. ... Qg1 (Δ 32. ... Qc1+ 33. Kd3 Qf1+ 34. Kd2 Bc1#) 32. Bb3 Bc3+ 33. Rxc3 (33. Kd3?? Qg6#) 33. ... bxc3+ 34. Kxc3 Qa1+? (34. ... Qe1+!−+ Δ 35. Kb2 d4!) 35. Kb4 Qe1+ 36. Kc5 Qc3+ 37. Kd6 Rc8? (37. ... Qb4+ 38. Bc5 Qf4+ 39. Ke7 Qg5+ 40. Kd6 Qf4+=) 38. Nc5 Rd8+ 39. Kc7 (39. Nd7 Qb4+ 40. Kc7 Qe7 41. Ba4 Re8 42. Qf1 Qd8+ 43. Kd6 Qe7+=) 39. ... Re8? 40. Qb5? (40. Kd7!) 40. ... Qe5+ 41. Kd7 Rb8 42. Qc6 Qf6 43. Qc7 Ra8 44. Qb6? (44. Nd3 g5 45. Ne5) 44. ... g5 (44. ... d4−+) 45. Qc7 Kh6? (45. ... e5−+) 46. Kc6? (46. h4!) 46. ... Re8? (46. ... d4+−+) 47. Nd7 d4+ 48. Kb6 Qg7 49. Bd2 e5 50. Qd6+? (50. h4!+−) 50. ... Qg6 51. Qxg6+ Kxg6 52. a4 e4 53. a5 e3 54. fxe3 dxe3 55. Be1 e2 56. a6 f5 57. a7 f4 58. Nb8 g4? (58. ... Ba8!=) 59. Ba4 Re6+ 60. Bc6+− Bxc6 61. Nxc6 Re8 62. Nb8 Re6+ 63. Kc5 Re5+ 64. Kd4 g3 65. hxg3 fxg3 66. a8=Q Rf5 67. Qe4 Kf6 68. Nd7+ Kg6 69. Qxe2 Kg7 70. Qg4+ Kf7 71. Qxf5+ Kg7 72. Qf6+ Kg8 73. Qf8# 1 : 0.

Vive la Reine! Photo: Alain Pistoresi.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

No Regrets

The Pawn identity


Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) might be the youngest-ever holder of the title, but shows poise and maturity that belies her 17 years. Photo: CFP.

Dressed in varying shades of purple, she looks like most other teenage Chinese girls. She wears a light purple down jacket, a lavender scarf and a dainty violet hairclip sweeps her short bob across her bare forehead — an indication of high intelligence, according to the art of Chinese face reading. It’s an apt trait for 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), the youngest-ever Women’s World Chess Champion and a child prodigy of the sport in China since the age of 12.
But 侯 (Hóu), who turns 18 on Monday, isn’t keen on being dubbed a “prodigy”. She doesn’t like the fact people see her as a genius of the chessboard and speculate on her intelligence quotient (IQ). “I have never tested my IQ. It would never be higher than others anyway”, she dismissed modestly, adding that “everyone has something they are good at”.
Her achievements on the chessboard have peaked during her latest two victories. The first marked a successful defense of her Women’s World Chess Champion title in November last year, while earlier this month she comprehensively defeated 35-year-old Hungarian Judit Polgár, who had been previously undefeated for more than 20 years.
Unlike other public figures whose ups and downs are played out in the media spotlight, 侯 (Hóu) and her parents prefer to keep a low profile away from the game that she has taken by storm.

Picking up the pieces

侯 (Hóu) was born in 1994 in 兴化 (Xīnghuà), 江苏省 (Jiāngsū Province), near the north banks of the 长江 (Yangtze River). Her father, 侯雪健 (Hóu Xuějiàn), works at a local procuratorate, and mother, 王茜 (Wáng Qiàn), works at a hospital.
Like many Chinese parents, 侯 (Hóu) and 王 (Wáng) encouraged their daughter to take up hobbies at an early age. She learnt to play traditional Chinese instrument the 二胡 (èrhú) and studied calligraphy to foster her creativity. Her talent for chess first emerged at the age of five. “I found she was fascinated by the process of moving checkers on the hexagonal draughts board”, said 侯雪健 (Hóu Xuějiàn), 44, referring to the Chinese variant of the game.
侯 (Hóu)’s parents decided to send her to the local Children’s Palace — a public facility where children enjoy extra-curricular activities — to learn chess. However, the young girl had a choice to make: Chinese or Western chess?
“I picked up [Western] chess. Why? Because I liked the exquisite looks of the pieces — the Knight and the Queen looked more beautiful than pieces from other chess”, she recalled with a giggle.
And so began the ordinary girl’s extraordinary career in chess. She turned professional with a club in 山东省 (Shāndōng Province) at the age of seven. Two years later, she moved to 北京 (Běijīng) where she was recruited for the National Chess Team by former head coach 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān), who made great efforts to cultivate her talents at the chessboard.

Leaving home for 北京 (Běijīng)

侯 (Hóu)’s parents joined their daughter in moving to 北京 (Běijīng), giving up their jobs in 江苏 (Jiāngsū) to provide companionship as their daughter pursued her dream at the National Chess Center (NCC), a government-run training academy. The family rents a modest 50-square-meter apartment in east 北京 (Běijīng)’s 东城区 (Dōngchéng District), nearby the NCC. The monthly rent of 3,000 yuan ($476) is substantially higher than the cost of living in their native 江苏 (Jiāngsū), but it’s a sacrifice 侯 (Hóu)’s parents are willing to make. “It is not cheap”, the senior 侯 (Hóu) said. “But it saves her time traveling in between home and the training academy”.
She spends more than six hours daily training at the academy’s old building. Though the intensive professional training is boring, 侯雪健 (Hóu Xuějiàn) said his daughter “rarely complains” and has “overcome all difficulties as a result of her persistence, advancing smoothly and steadily”.
“I don’t remember the last time I cried”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) said, obviously reluctant to share her emotions. “Other children have colorful and vivid lives at school, whereas I gain my enjoyment from taking part in various tournaments. I rarely get nervous about anything. I am a slow-paced person, which is probably a merit I learned from my parents when I was a baby”, added 侯 (Hóu), who doesn’t have any special superstitions or rituals attached to playing chess.
Her father attributes her calmness to her wide reading, a contention the young bookworm agrees with. “I’ve read classic motivational works such as ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ and ‘A Message to García’, along with other books on psychological matters”, she said.

Always two moves ahead

In her spare time, 侯 (Hóu) is like other teenage girls. She likes swimming, surfing the Internet, listening to music, reading books and studying English. Her meteoric rise in the world of chess has made learning English even more important, and helped her give interviews to many foreign reporters curious about the Chinese star.
侯 (Hóu)’s academic aspirations involve enrolling at university in China, most likely at Peking University, where she hopes to study literature.
Because of her professional commitments as a chess Grandmaster, 侯 (Hóu) is exempt from taking the 高考 (gāokǎo) (high school leaving examination) to enroll at university.
Instead, she said she only needs to “meet special enrolment requirements of a particular university”.
Like other Chinese athletes, 侯 (Hóu)’s outstanding achievements in chess have opened many doors of opportunity. She has signed with a sports agency and has an agent negotiating her publicity commitments, including visiting schools in her hometown and encouraging children to learn chess.
“Proper ways of exploring her commercial value would help other Chinese chess players find a new model of development”, said mentor 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān). “She has evolved into a mature, sensible chess player”.
While 侯 (Hóu) might be the queen of Chinese chess at home, she yearns for a simpler lifestyle not necessarily hinging on fame in the game.
In her eyes, chess has virtues and strategies that can serve one well away from the board.
“You have to be sensible and thoroughly consider every aspect, including the timing and thoughts of your opponents. It’s constant, not just for a single move”, she explained matter-of-factly.
“You have to anticipate the next several moves your opponent will make before you move your piece. That way, there’s no possibility for regret”.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

To Each Her Own

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Judit Polgár
10th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 24, 2012
Sicilian Defence B46

Notes by 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).

I missed Gibraltar several times, finally I came for the 10th anniversary. This year’s festival attracted many strong players, particularly my opponent in this round :).

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Nge7!? Usually she plays the main line such as the following: 6. ... Qc7 7. 0-0 Nf6.
7. Bf4. Another choice here is 7. Be3 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 b5 (8. ... Nc6 9. Qb6!?) 9. 0-0 Nc6 10. Qd2 Be7.
7. ... Ng6 (7. ... e5 8. Nxc6 Nxc6 9. Be3) 8. Nxc6. I was confused about this position — should I exchange her Knight then head into an ending which is not clear for me or retain more pieces so as to make the position complicated? After thinking for a long time, I decided to choose the simple way.
8. Bg3 Be7 9. h4 (Interesting sacrifice! 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Qd2 d6 11. Rad1 Qc7) 9. ... Bxh4 (9. ... Nxh4!? Keeping the dark-squared Bishop does not allow White to take control of a series of dark squares) 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bxh4 Nxh4 12. Qd4 (12. g3 Ng6 13. Qd6 Qe7 14. 0-0-0 Qxd6 15. Rxd6 Ke7) 12. ... 0-0 13. e5 Ng6 14. Bd3 f5 A comfortable position for Black, Svidler – Volokitin, 12th Russian Team Chess Championship, Sochi 2005.
8. ... bxc6 9. Bd6 Bxd6 10. Qxd6 Qe7 11. 0-0-0 Qxd6 12. Rxd6 Ke7 13. Rhd1!? Nf4 14. Bf3 Rb8. At one point I was a little bit worried about 14. ... Nd5 15. exd5 Kxd6 16. dxc6+ Kc7 17. cxd7 Bb7! (this I had missed when playing 9. Bd6) 18. Bxb7 Kxb7 19. Ne4 Rhd8 (19. ... Kc6? 20. Nd6! Rhf8 21. Ne8 Rd8 22. Rd6+ Kc5 23. a3) 20. Nc5+ Kc6 21. b4 a5 22. a3 axb4 23. axb4 Rab8 (calculating until here, I thought this would totally comfortable for White, e.g. 23. ... Ra1+ 24. Kd2 Rxd1+ 25. Kxd1 Ra8 26. c4) 24. c3 Rb5! 25. Kc2 Rxc5 26. bxc5 Kxc5 This is the easiest way for Black to get an equal position: just by waiting there.
15. R6d2 g5!? An interesting move, pushing first before the Knight goes back to g6. Black wants to control the dark squares. 15. ... e5 This looks normal and has been played a few times before. The idea of this is to bring the Knight back to the e6-square which is a more active place than g6; in the meantime it can also stop White’s idea of e4-e5. 16. Nb1!? (pointed out from the engine) 16. ... Ne6 17. Na3 f6 18. c3 The position is easy to play for White.
15. ... d5!? 16. g3 Ng6 17. Be2.
16. Na4. Planning c2-c4, that’s why Judit played ... d7-d5 immediately.


16. ... d5 17. g3 Ng6 18. Re1 Kf6 19. Bh5. During the game I was confused between this move and b2-b3. Actually the latter looks more natural, say 19. b3 h5 20. Be2 h4 21. Nc5 a5 22. c4 The light-squared Bishop is in a terrible place and it’s not easy for her to get it out.
19. ... Rb4! I missed this when I played 19. Bh5!
20. Nc3. A solid choice to keep a balanced position. If 20. Nc5 Rc4 21. Nd3 Rxe4 22. Rxe4 dxe4 23. Nc5 Ke5! 24. b4 f5 25. Be2 Ne7 26. Bxa6 e3! 27. fxe3 Bxa6 28. Nxa6 Nd5 the King on e5, the active Knight and the central Pawns offer enough compensation for Black.
20. ... d4? A dubious continuation, I guess maybe Judit missed my next move.
In view of the threat to take on d5, Black should choose 20. ... a5!? 21. b3 Rf8 22. Kb2.
20. ... Rb7 21. f4!? During the game I calculated like this: 21. ... gxf4 22. gxf4 Nxf4 23. Rf2 Kg5! 24. Rg1+ Kxh5 25. Rxf4 I thought this position is absolutely hazardous for Black so I stopped here, but as I check the engine right now, it tells me this is totally equal! In spite of this, I feel I still prefer to play White.


21. e5+! Nxe5 22. Ne4+ Ke7 23. Nxg5


23. ... h6? A huge mistake leading to a lost position.
23. ... f6□ 24. f4 (24. Nxe6 Bxe6 25. f4 Rb5):
A) 24. ... Nc4?! 25. Rxd4 fxg5 26. Be2! (26. b3 c5! 27. Rxc4 Rxc4 28. bxc4 gxf4 29. gxf4 Rf8=);
B) 24. ... fxg5 25. Rxe5 (25. fxe5 Rf8) 25. ... gxf4 26. gxf4 d3! 27. Rxd3 Rxf4 What a comfortable position for White: Black has four isolated Pawns with a Bishop on its starting square, though I do not have a clear plan to exploit this.
24. Nxe6! Bxe6 24. ... Kxe6 25. f4 f6 26. fxe5 fxe5 27. b3! (an intelligent move! 27. a3 Ra4 28. b3 Rxa3 29. Kb2 Ra5 30. Rxd4) 27. ... Kd6 28. c3 Rb5 29. cxd4+−.
25. Rxe5 Rd8 26. f4 (26. Bf3 Rb5!) 26. ... Rb5 27. Rde2 Kf6 28. Bf3 c5?! A better choice here is 28. ... Bc4 29. R2e4±. 29. a4 Rb4 30. Rxc5 Rxa4 31. b3 Rb4 32. Be4! Bg4 33. Re1 Rd6 34. Bd3 Bd7 35. Ree5 Be6 36. Kd2 Rbb6 37. Ra5 Rbc6 38. Ra4 Rb6 39. Re4 Bf5 40. Rexd4 Re6 41. Bc4 Rec6 42. Ra5 Bc8 43. Bd3 Be6 44. Rd8 Bc8 45. Rad5 Be6 46. Rh5 Kg7 47. f5 1 : 0. 47. ... Bc8 48. f6+ Rxf6 (48. ... Kxf6 49. Rxc8 Rxc8 50. Rxh6+) 49. Rxc8. Thanks for your attention :).

Passing the torch. Photos: Željka Malobabić © Tradewise Insurance Ltd.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Punk Rock Girl

The March–April 2012 issue of Peón de Rey No. 97 gave a cover and many pages of coverage to the triumph of two-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) in Gibraltar!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Strangelove Gambit

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012 13th Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) was guest of honour at Government House of Thailand in Bangkok, where she met Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong. From “12th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2012” bulletin, pp. 26-27.