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Kosteniuk won the title from 14 year old Hou Yifan, who was under tremendous pressure of expectations of the billion plus Chinese citizens. Kosteniuk completely dominated the finals and was in winning positions in all the four games. It is redemption in a way since Kosteniuk tasted defeat in one of her earlier attempts at winning the title. Yifan will almost definitely get several shots at the title provided she is interested. For all you know, she'll probably be seen in more Open events than women only events. World women's championship results: Alexandra Kosteniuk beat Hou Yifan 2.5-1.5

The Kosteniuk - Yifan match is turning out to be a demonstration of Rook endings and how they are always drawn. The third game was also drawn after a long drawn out debate. Kosteniuk again had two extra pawns but could not convert. The match score is now 2-1 and Kosteniuk needs just a draw with white pieces to win the match and the World champion title. Yifan appears nervous at the prospect of winning this title. She started out with a dubious opening and has been struggling ever since. The only gutsy performance from her so far has been excellent demonstration of how to hold rook endings with lesser number of pawns. Kosteniuk, Alexandra RUS 1 + ½ + ½ = 2 Hou, Yifan CHN 0 + ½ + ½ = 1

Child prodigy Hou Yifan lost the first game of the World Women's chess championships at Nalchik. Three more normal time games remain for her to try and catch Kosteniuk. Alexandra is keen to make the most of this second chance at the title. Faced with a mate in 5, Hou resigned on move 48 in a closed Ruy Lopez game. Results: Game 1 - Hou Yifan vs Alexandra Kosteniuk 0-1 48 (Closed Ruy Lopez)

Hou Yifan eliminated top seed Koneru Humpy 4-2 to reach the finals of the World women's championship at Nalchik. The semi-final match between Humpy and Hou went to the blitz games where Hou swept both the blitz games to advance. In the end, it did seem fair. Hou's been really solid, except for a couple of glaring errors. Hou now meets Kosteniuk in the finals. This is the second attempt for Kosteniuk and Hou will definitely find her a tough nut to crack, although Hou should be a slight favorite in the finals since it is a 4 game match.