1. Qualifying
    2015 World Championship  2013–14 Grand Prix 

2. Head-to-head record and build-up

3. Host selection

4. Match schedule and results
     Games   Game 1, Muzychuk–Hou, ½–½  Game 2, Hou–Muzychuk, 1–0  Game 3, Muzychuk–Hou, ½–½  Game 4, Hou–Muzychuk, ½–½  Game 5, Hou–Muzychuk, ½–½  Game 6, Muzychuk–Hou, 0–1  Game 7, Hou–Muzychuk, ½–½  Game 8, Muzychuk–Hou, ½–½  Game 9, Hou–Muzychuk, 1–0 

5. References

6. External links

The Women's World Chess Championship 2016 was a chess match played between Mariya Muzychuk, the defending champion, and the challenger Hou Yifan to determine the FIDE Women's World Champion. The scheduled 10-game match was held from 1 to 14 March 2016 in Lviv, Ukraine. It was originally scheduled from 11 to 31 October 2015, but was delayed because no host could be found.

On March 14, Hou won the championship by defeating Muzychuk in Game 9, ending the match.^[2] As in her two previous championship matches, Hou Yifan won convincingly, not losing a single game.

Qualifying

2015 World Championship

The 2015 World Championship was a 64-player knockout tournament in Sochi, Russia, starting on 15 March.^[3] Hou Yifan did not enter the tournament, and so relinquished the title. The highest rated player was Humpy Koneru, but she was eliminated in the quarterfinals. The final was won by Mariya Muzychuk, who beat Natalia Pogonina 2.5–1.5.^[4]

2013–14 Grand Prix

The challenger qualified by winning the 2013–14 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The Grand Prix consisted of six single tournaments, with each player taking part in four of these. The first stage was won by Bela Khotenashvili. Humpy Koneru then won the second and third stage to take the overall points lead.^[5] After Hou Yifan won the fourth and fifth stage, only she and Koneru Humpy were in contention for the overall win. Both ELO-rating favorites entered the sixth stage in Sharjah, UAE, with Humpy leading Hou Yifan by 5 points.^[6] Needing at least 55 points and to finish above Humpy, Hou Yifan secured the overall Grand Prix win in round nine of eleven.^[7]

Head-to-head record and build-up

Prior to their 2016 World Championship match, Hou Yifan and Mariya Muzychik had played three standard games against each other. One ended in a draw, while the other two were won by Hou Yifan, both with the black pieces.^[8] In October 2015 both players participated in the first Grand Prix stage. Hou Yifan finished first, Muzychuk finished tied second.^[9] In the months before the tournament Mariya Muzychuk played in the men's edition of the Ukrainian championship in December 2015. That tournament was not only not broadcast live, but Muzychuk's games were not published at all. This was so as not to give Hou Yifan access to her games.^[10][11] Muzychuk finished tied 10th of 12 players. Hou Yifan played in the Tata Steel tournament in January 2016.^[12] After starting well with 3.5/6 she ended the tournament on 5/13, equal 12th in a field of 14.^[13]

Host selection

The bidding process to host the match opened in February 2015. Bids had to be submitted by 20 April. FIDE then wanted to decide within 20 days among the bids,^[14][15] but no bid was successful. However, in June 2015, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the FIDE president, met with Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, Ukraine, to talk about the possibility of hosting the match.^[16] On July 1, 2015, it was announced that the match would be hosted in Lviv, Ukraine, starting in March 2016.^[17][18]

Match schedule and results

The opening ceremony was held on 1 March 2016 in the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The matches took place in the Potocki Palace,^[19] with a schedule of two games in two successive days, followed by a rest day. Possible tie-breaks in the event of a draw would have been played on 18 March. Matches were played at 15:00 local (Kyiv Time).

Colours were drawn at the opening ceremony, with Hou Yifan drawing first and receiving the black pieces.^[20] Colours were also reversed after game 4 to even out an advantage of playing white first. The time control was set at 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with the addition of 30 minutes for the rest of the game. There was an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 1.

• Game 1: March 2
• Game 2: March 3
• Game 3: March 5
• Game 4: March 6

• Game 5: March 8
• Game 6: March 9
• Game 7: March 11
• Game 8: March 12

• Game 9: March 14
• Game 10: March 16 (not required)
• Tie-breaks: March 18 (not required)
• Closing Ceremony (rescheduled to March 15)

Games

The player named first played the white pieces.

Game 1, Muzychuk–Hou, ½–½

Muzychuk had the white pieces in the first game and opened with 1. e4. Hou played the Giuoco Piano in response, deviating from the Sicilian Defence that she usually plays. This opening choice caught Muzychuk by surprise and she was unable to obtain anything out of the opening. After many exchanges a drawish position ensued, and the game was agreed drawn on move 31.^[21]

Game 2, Hou–Muzychuk, 1–0

Hou opened with 1. e4. Muzychuk avoided her typical Sicilian Defence and instead went for the Open Spanish. Unlike in game 1 however, Hou was not taken out of her preparation. A complex position developed and both players found themselves short on time. Hou was able to outplay Muzychuk after Muzychuk chose a plan that was too slow, showing excellent positional mastery.^[22]

Game 3, Muzychuk–Hou, ½–½

After having failed to obtain an advantage with 1. e4 in game 1, Muzychuk chose 1. d4 for game 3. However Hou was again not taken by surprise. A closed Catalan developed in which White had a small advantage thanks to her Bishop pair, but Black was never in any real danger. With the lead in the match Hou was content to counter her opponent's efforts instead of playing for the win, while Muzychuk was unable to create any serious chances.^[23]

Game 4, Hou–Muzychuk, ½–½

Game 4 was the first of two consecutive games with White for Hou. As in game 2 she played the Ruy Lopez, and again Muzychuk went for the Open Spanish. Muzychuk showed superb preparation in this game. After Black's 18. ...Bc5, Hou was visibly disappointed at how deep her opponent's preparation was, but there was no way to avoid the forced draw.^[24]

Game 5, Hou–Muzychuk, ½–½

Hou played the English Opening for the first time in the match, but Muzychuk had no trouble equalizing. Rather than attempt to play for the win, Hou simplified the game by exchanging pieces, steering it towards a drawn ending and thereby preserving her 1-point lead.^[25]

Game 6, Muzychuk–Hou, 0–1

Down a point and with only two more games with the white pieces remaining, Muzychuk again assayed the Giuoco Piano from game 1. This time she chose a sharper variation and soon earned a significant advantage. However, beginning from move 17, she began to play imprecisely, not only losing her advantage but also allowing Hou the better position. Hou made no mistakes and converted her advantage to a win.^[26]

Game 7, Hou–Muzychuk, ½–½

Hou opened with 1. e4 and the game again entered the lines of the Open Spanish. Both players were very well prepared, with the novelty of the game occurring on move 19. The game resulted in a long struggle with mutual chances. Hou had some advantage early in the game, but a mistake on move 40 allowed Muzychuk to take the initiative. This led to a pawn-up ending for Muzychuk, but Hou was able to construct a fortress, reaching a Philidor position.^[27]

Game 8, Muzychuk–Hou, ½–½

In her last game with the white pieces, Muzychuk played 1. d4, and the game developed into an uncommon variation of the Catalan Opening. This led to a blocked position in the center, but Muzychuk had a space advantage and hence chances for a serious advantage. However, 33. Kf2 lost a valuable tempo, after which her advantage disappeared. The draw left Muzychuk needing to win the remaining two games to force a tiebreak.^[28]

Game 9, Hou–Muzychuk, 1–0

Needing to win at all costs, Muzychuk played the Sicilian Defence for the first time. However, in the complex middlegame which ensued she was comprehensively outplayed by Hou, who steadily grew an advantage into a winning position. With this win, Hou took the match and the title.^[29]

References

External links

• Official website
• FIDE website – dates, regulations, bidding procedures
• chessgames.com – games of the match

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