"Hou Yifan, the all-time No 2 woman grandmaster after the retired Judit Polgar and currently ranked women's world No 1, showed that she retained her brilliant skills when she made a rare appearance in the Global Chess League for Alpine SG Pipers, who defeated the reigning league champions, Triveni Continental Kings, 8.5-3.5 in the 2025 final at Mumbai on Tuesday."
"Black threatens to queen with check, followed by mate, so how can White (to move) win? As played, White is already winning after 11 Qg3. 11Nxg5 would slow down the attack, but 12 Bxg5 hxg5 13 h4 g4 14 Qxg4 is strong. White is effectively attacking the black king on three open files, with Nd5 as extra support. After 15 Qh5 Bxf2+ is a desperate attempt to create a diversion from the looming mate on the h file,"
Hou Yifan, the all-time No 2 woman grandmaster and current women's world No 1, made a rare appearance for Alpine SG Pipers in the Global Chess League and helped defeat Triveni Continental Kings 8.5-3.5 in the 2025 Mumbai final. She scored four consecutive wins, including a 20-move miniature that propelled the team into the final. A tactical lesson highlighted that when White remains uncastled, Black's h7-h6 can provoke g2-g4 with a rook on g1 that becomes decisive; the noncommittal 7d6 is preferable. Detailed analysis of Caruana v Firouzja showed a forced mating attack after 11 Qg3. Hou drew two games with Zhu Jiner and recently answered viewer questions in an ask-me-anything series.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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