Istanbul: Chinese girls dominate, Hou with 2900+ performance

Martha Lorena Fierro Baquero
Birth Year: 1977
Rating: 2403
Title: International Master
FIDE Rating List Rank (Women): 64

Martha Fierro, born in Rhode Island, USA but from Ecuador is the highest rated Panamerican chess player. She started playing chess at the age of 14 but she compensated the difficulties of being a latecomer by advancing rapidly. Her current rating, slightly above the 2400 mark is her best rating ever. In the Chess Olympiad last November in Dresden, she scored 7.5 out of 8 with a rating performance of 2613 and a silver medal on the first board.

She holds the FIDE player titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster and the FIDE training title of FIDE Trainer. She has represented Ecuador in several Chess Olympiads and dominated the domestic championships by winning all the titles between 1992-2002. She won a silver medal in the Yerevan 1996 Chess Olympiad. She became Panamerican Champion 5 times. She was tied for the fourth place in the World Junior Girls Championship in Brazil 1994. She is a frequent visitor to the United States and has a second home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hou Yifan (China)
Birth Year: 1994
Rating: 2571
Title: Grandmaster (GM)
World ranking (Women): 3

Hou Yifan, is the Chinese chess prodigy who was the finalist in FIDE World Women Chess Championship and became the youngest ever female in history (just at the age of 14 years 6 months) to attain the title of Grandmaster.

Her debut was winning medals in some youth championships in under 10 category but she was noticed in the international arena during Three Arrows Cup in San Jinan thanks to her amazing results against a higher rated opposition. At the age of 12, she became the youngest ever player to participate in the FIDE Women’s World Championship in Yekaterinburg and the Chess Olympiad in Turin.

Next year, she became the youngest Chinese Women’s Champion and she was invited to the Corus Wijk aan Zee C Group where she took the fifth place while last year she played in B Group where most of the players being Grandmasters rated above 2600 and in the top 100 of FIDE rating list and she scored -1.

During 2008, she visited Turkey twice, in the first one winning the Atatürk Women Masters Tournament. In the second one she shared the third place in the open category of World Junior Championship (the first female player to do that) which was held in Gaziantep.

In the most recent (January 2009) FIDE rating list, she is ranked the no. 1 girl player and the no. 3 female player in the world. She is also ranked no. 18 junior player, and the highest-ranked 14-year-old of either sex. Many think that she is not only the future women’s world champion but a candidate for becoming the strongest women player ever, even challenging Judit Polgar in the rating list. Considering that she bursted her rating around 400 points in four year to close 2600 barrier it is not the most distinct possibility.

Zeinab Mamedyarova (Azerbaijan)
Birth Year: 1983
Rating: 2362
Title: Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
FIDE Rating List Rank (Women): 103

The highest elo rated player of her country Zeinab Mamedyarova is the eldest member of the Mamedyarov clan, her younger brother Shakriyar Mamedyarov is among the world elite while Turkan Mamedyarova has been among the strong players of world junior championship.

Zeinab Mamedyarova is no different since she won the World U18 Girls title back in 2000. She already has two national titles and became Woman Grandmaster in 2000. She won a silver medal in Istanbul Chess Olympiad and a bronze medal in 2002 Chess Olympiad held in Bled.