The fourth floor

In her one-hour talk at the Mechanics’ Institute Library & Chess Room in San Francisco, California, United States four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) mostly spoke about her life, which was currently split between studies and chess, and answered many questions from a young audience. Both the talk and the Q&A were free and open to the public. A Reddit’s user, dampew, provided her/his paraphrased recap of the Questions&Answers evening. On most chess matters, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) would have actually said things quite similar to what she used to say to journals and media worldwide. For instance, asked about her refusal to take part in the Women’s World Chess Championship, she diplomatically said that such a format and system would take her too much time, which she prefers to save for confronting herself in the super-tournaments, where she has the opportunity to improve on her rating and play’s level. Her most “unedited” answer was perhaps that she regards her “尚街杯” (“MEWE Cup”) 2017 World Champion Summit Chess Match with Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk as the toughest match she ever played.