Youngest Women's World Chess Champion

The youngest Women’s World Chess Champion is Chinese grandmaster Hou Yifan (b. 27 February 1994). On 24 December 2010 Hou Yifan defeated her compatriot Ruan Lufei to win the championship at the age of 16 years 300 days.

Hou Yifan started playing chess when she was only three years old, was a member of the Chinese national team at age nine and became a grandmaster when she was just 14.

She is the third woman to make it into the FIDE’s list of the top 100 players worldwide.