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Reigning Women's World Champion Hou - who faced seven elite grandmasters rated 2700 or over - wowed the chess world with a performance that was pure Polgaresque in itself. As well as wins over chess legends Judit Polgar (the first time Polgar has lost to a woman since 1992 - to her eldest sister, Susan - when she was just 16) and Alexei ‘Fire on Board' Shirov, she also beat Zoltan Almasi and Le Quang Liem, and drew with Adams and Mamedyarov for a tournament performance rating that went off the Richter scale for a woman at an astonishing 2872.
Will this be the year when the world No.2, Levon Aronian, finally emerges from the shadows of Magnus Carlsen? The Armenian has often been overlooked with the rise of the Norwegian world No.1 - but he's more than made his mark by winning the first major of 2012 at the 74th Tata Steel Chess tournament, in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands.
It's Levon Aronian's tournament to lose! After beating the Dutch no1, Anish Giri, in round 10, the amenable Armenian World no.2 now has an impressive +5 score at the top on 7.5/10, a full point ahead of his nearest rival, Vassily Ivanchuk, who leapfrogged Magnus Carlsen in the standings after beating cellar-dweller David Navara.
A tournament battle between the world nos 1 and 2 have always played a part of historic showdowns in the chess annals, and a modern-day classic is developing at Tata Steel 2012 in Wijk aan Zee, as Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian share the lead on 3/4 at the first rest day of the tournament.
"Supergrandmaster" tournaments don't always deliver the excitement that the name implies, but the tiny hamlet of Wijk aan Zee on the Dutch north coast has always lived up to the billing - and this year the Tata Steel Chess Tournament will be no different than any of the others in the long and storied history of what has always been regarded as the first - and many would argue the most important - major of the year.
When the chess rating system was established in 1971 by Professor Arpad Elo, it contained the names of 600 players. In the January 2012 list that heralds in the new year, the number has grown to over 83,000. Top of the heap on the new list is again Magnus Carlsen of Norway -- and he's been numero uno now since Jan.1 2010.
It's the 12 Days of Giveaways, with FREE ICC apps for download this holiday season! Everyone will be looking to play at the best online chess club as they receive gifts of new iPhones, iPads and Android phones.
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