(FILE)

Chinese chess player Hou Yifan successfully defended her Women's World Chess Championship title in Tirana, Capital of Albania, when she drew the eighth game of a match against Indian challenger Humpy Koneru on November 24, 2011.

Hou, 17, won last year's Women's World Chess Championship in Antakya, Turkey, making her the youngest world chess champion.

Born to an ordinary family in Jiangsu Province, Hou started to play chess at 5 and showed astonishing talent at the game. At the age of 9, she was selected for the national chess team of China. Hou has won numerous awards and titles, including the Women's World Chess Championship (2010 and 2011) and the Chess Champion of Guangzhou Asian Games (2010). She said her dream is to overtake Hungarian chess player Judit Polgar, the only woman ranked among the world's top 10.