Hou Yifan beat Bibisara Assaubayeva 12-10 in a brutal semifinal that went the distance in bullet chess. The match finished in the 1+1 blitz format, where Hou held her nerve against Assaubayeva's late push to book a spot in the final.
This wasn't a blowout. Assaubayeva came back hard in the faster games, threatening to steal the match when it mattered most. Hou's ability to execute under extreme time pressure separated the two in the end. The structure of this championship, which tests players across multiple time controls, rewards that kind of consistency.
Hou now faces Alice Lee in the final. Lee won her semifinal earlier in the draw, setting up a matchup between two of women's chess strongest competitors. The final will tell us something about who thrives when the clock gets tightest and the stakes are highest.
Speed chess championships matter more each year. The fastest formats separate the players who calculate efficiently from those who hesitate. Hou's victory proves she remains sharp in positions where there's barely time to think. The final should be excellent.