From Matter to Life

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) ought to be quite content with her début as a coach in the first stage of the inaugural Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour, especially since one of her pupils, 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié), along with her fellow countrywoman 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) — mentored by 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) — scored 10/19 to rank first among women (although not to breakthrough in the men’s group). But as one of her close associates, Mongolian Woman Grandmaster Altan-Ulzii Enkhtuul, put it to CNN Indonesia today, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) truly teaches, by her own example, that life comes first: “She always said to me, ‘Chess is a game, chess is not about life. Just do your best, no matter whether you win or lose’”. Screenshot courtesy of Champions Chess Tour (@ChampChessTour).