In the 2010 Women's World Chess Championship being held in Turkey, 64 of the world's best players are competing in a round-robin tournament, including the defending champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, a Russian grandmaster who ranks 14th in the world.
Another competitor is Lufei Ruan, who is also a grandmaster and ranks 21st in the world. The Tepper graduate student doesn't expect to stay for the full 23 days. In fact, she has already booked an airline ticket that will return her to the Pittsburgh campus in time for final exams. She is one of the few players at the competition juggling an academic career with tournament chess.
Ruan wins her first two matches in tiebreaker games, surprising herself by making it to chess' version of The Sweet 16. Next up for her is Kosteniuk, and the experts believe the defending champ will prevail. They're wrong, though, and it looks like Ruan will be late for her final exams.
Her upset wins continue in the quarterfinals and semis. Having played chess every day for three weeks, with just one day off, she'll face Yifan Hou in the final round. In the previous championship, Hou lost in the final to Kosteniuk; she is now ranked third in the world and is the overwhelming favorite. Ruan doesn't back down, though, and the four-day final ends in a draw, which leads to a tiebreaker match. Hou ultimately triumphs, but Ruan says afterward that she doesn't feel defeated. She stunned herself—and has some unused airline tickets as proof.
—Danielle Commisso (HS'06)
