♟️ Chess · Grandmaster

Hou Yifan

China · 2004–present

Youngest women's world champion ever, at sixteen.

2686
Peak rating: 4
Women's world titles: 14
Grandmaster at: 16
Champion at

Career

Hou won the Women's World Championship four times before largely stepping back from professional chess to take up an academic career, becoming a university professor in her twenties. She is the second-highest-rated female player in history.

Honours

Youngest ever Women's World Chess Champion, aged 16
Four-time Women's World Champion
Second-highest rated woman in history
Youngest woman ever to earn the grandmaster title

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