The newly-crowned world women's chess queen Xu Yuhua returned home on Wednesday, saying her future baby is more famous than she. The pregnant Xu Yuhua became China's third world chess queen last week after she won the world championships in Russia. She arrived in Beijing Wendesday morning to a warm welcome by the Chinese media.
As a result of over-zealous attention from the media, Xu Yuhua says, her future baby is more famous than she, as it has been frequently mentioned in media coverage of the World Championships. But the mother-to-be is full of happiness and pride, saying she can feel the baby moving inside her. – Chinabroadcast
Former Women's World Chess Champion Zhu Chen was on the list of players in the 2006 FIDE World Championship in Ekaterinburg. But she did not appear for the tournament. Now we learn that this was probably due to an intervention by the Chinese Chess Federeration. Apparently there is bad blood due to Zhu's decision to play for the Arab state of Qatar in the 2006 Asian Games. The Shanghai-based newspaper, the Oriental Sports Daily, says the Chinese "chess queen" will take on the Qatari nationality and vie for the first Asian Games gold in chess. 29-year-old Zhu married Qatari chess player Mohammad Al-Modiahki in 1999. She beat Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia in 2001 to win the women's world chess title. – Chinabroadcast + China View
