Comment Re:Good thing she's not an olympic gymnist.... (Score 4, Insightful) 214
It's a great accomplishment, whether thru Government assistance or otherwise, she still had to play the game on the board herself.
There was a little to be desired in terms of format - whereas the FIDE championship has a series of candidate matches to decide who goes against the challenger, (qualifications of which keep changing) - the Women's championship is a shootout format where last year's champion busted out in round two, more like a poker tournament then the way FIDE handles the regular Championship.
Truth is, there is a lot wrong with FIDE right now and competitive chess, but Hou Yifan's accomplishment is probably the most important accomplishment in the chess world in 2010