Xu Yuhua Qualifies for 2007 World Cup

China's women world champion qualifies for men's World Cup in Russia 11:14, October 20, 2007 Women's 2006 world chess champion Xu Yuhua of China has qualified for the men's World Chess Cup alongside with other seven Chinese, according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) website on Friday. The Chinese qualifiers are Xu, Bu Xiangzhi, Wang Yue, Zhang Penxiang, Wang Hao, Zhao Jun, Wen Yang and Ahou Jianchao. World Cup 2007, slated in Khanty-Mansiysk from 23rd of November to 18th of December, will feature 128 chess players from 38 countries and regions having qualified from zonal and continental events, the FIDE stated. Best chess players from Asia, Oceania, Europe, Americas and Africa have qualified for the tournament, including former World Chess Championship Mexico-2007 contenders Levon Aronian of Armenia and Russians Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk. According to the FIDE's general statistics, China has 16 men chess grandmasters including Xu, 10 women grandmasters, seven international masters, 10 FIDE masters and five women Fide masters. FIDE still has three wildcards for this event and it will later decide on the passes receivers. Source:Xinhua

2007 World Cup News

According to the People's Daily Online, Women's World Chess Championship Xu Yuhua will compete in November at the World Cup: World Chess Federation's (FIDE) women's world champion Xu Yuhua of China will face world's 128 strongest chess players in the World Cup in November, FIDE deputy arbiter Dr. Gendengin Altanoch told Xinhua on Sunday. "Women's world chess champion Xu Yuhua obtained her champion title at the Women's World Chess Championship at Ekaterimburgo, Russia, by defeating Russian native Alisa Galiamova (2467 FIDE ranking)," Altanoch said. Xu, besides being a women's Grand Master of chess, is a law graduate, living southern China. She learned chess at the age of six. Xu, 29, with more than 2502 FIDE rating, obtained her current title by defeating Galiamova 3-0 in a four-game match and Galiamova decided to forfeit the fourth game since Xu's advantage was decisive. "Vishwanathan "Vishy" Anand, current World Chess Championship Mexico-2007 contender and highest FIDE-rated player, has won the World Cup twice, once in Shenyang, China (2000) and another in Hyderabad, India (2002)," chess reporter from India, Vijay Kumar, covering the World Chess Championship Mexico-2007 said on Sunday. Xu is the third Chinese citizen to become women's world chess champion. Xie Jun was the first, two times world champion in 1991-1996 and 1999-2001, while Zhu Chen was the second in 2001-2004. The first women's world champion had been Vera Menchik from England in 1927-1944, but she died in 2nd-World-War German bomb attack in London in 1944. "There have been a total of nine women chess world champions," Mexico's men chess Olympic team captain FIDE Master Alfonso Ferriz Carrasquedo told Xinhua on Sunday. "The other women champions include Ludmilla Rudenko (1950-1953) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), soviet player Elisabeth Bikova (1953-1956, 1958-1962), soviet player Olga Rubzowa (1956-1958), soviet Nona Gaprindashvili (1962-1968), soviet Maya Chiburdanidze (1978-1991), the last of the soviet women's domain toppled by Chinese chess Grand Master Xie Jun, Ferriz said. Hungarian Susan Polgar (1996-1999), Zhu Chen (China), Bulgarian native Antoaneta Stefanova (2004-2006) and current champion Xu Yuhua have also held that title, Ferriz added. Men's FIDE World Chess Championship Mexico-2007 is being played in Mexico City.