Kosteniuk Wins Women's World Championship

Russian Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Chinese prodigy Hou Yifan to claim the Women's World Chess Championship. Kosteniuk won the first game of the four game match, then drew the remaining three to win 2.5-1.5.

The tournament, held in Nalchik, Russia, was plagued by controversy due to the recent Russia-Georgia conflict. Several top players, including the entire Georgian delegation, refused to play.

The real story of the tournament may be Hou Yifan. Despite losing in the final to the more experienced Kosteniuk, Hou became the youngest player ever to contest the Women's World Championship. At just 14 years old, and with her rating already over 2550, expect to see some big results from Hou in the coming years.

For Kosteniuk, this marks her first World Championship title, though she has been on the cusp of success before; she lost 5-3 to Zhu Chen in the 2001 final. Kosteniuk has been one of the most recognizable female faces in chess, and is certainly a worthy champion. That said, it's worth noting that the undisputed strongest female player of all time, Judit Polgar, doesn't participate in these tournaments.