In 2020, people around the world were impressed by the chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit. However, there’s a similar “queen of chess” in real life – 28-year-old Hou Yifan.
2020年，《后翼?xiàng)壉防锏膰H象棋奇才貝絲·哈蒙給全世界觀眾留下了深刻印象。然而，現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中也有一位與其相似的“棋后”——她就是28歲的侯逸凡。

Hou started playing chess at 5 years old in 1999. At that time, her parents took Hou to try different brain games at a training center. “With the interesting shapes, I was attracted by the chess and decided to take it up,” said Hou.
1999年，5歲的侯逸凡開始下棋。當(dāng)時(shí)，父母帶侯逸凡去少年宮嘗試不同的益智游戲。侯逸凡說:“我為象棋棋子別致的造型所吸引，決定學(xué)象棋?！?/span>

After playing for two years as a hobby, Hou met her coach – grandmaster Tong Yuanming – and took up professional training.
侯逸凡把象棋作為一項(xiàng)業(yè)余愛好，直到兩年后，她遇到了自己的教練——國際大師童淵銘，并從此開始了專業(yè)訓(xùn)練。

“Chess is a mind game full of uncertainties. Even when there are only five or six pieces left on the board, you cannot calculate all the variations,” said Hou. “So instead of too much focus on theories, we should rely more on practice and strategy.”
“國際象棋是一種心理游戲，充滿不確定性。即使棋盤上只剩下五、六個(gè)棋子，你也無法計(jì)算出所有變化?！焙钜莘舱f，“因此，我們下棋應(yīng)該多依靠練習(xí)和戰(zhàn)術(shù)，而不是過于關(guān)注理論。”

Learning strategies from previous competitions and practicing chess quickly became her daily life.
侯逸凡從此前的象棋比賽中領(lǐng)悟戰(zhàn)術(shù)，并不斷練習(xí)下棋，這些很快成為了她的日常生活。

Luckily, her efforts were soon rewarded. At 13, she became China’s youngest ever National Women’s Champion and then became the youngest chess champion in the world at 16.
幸運(yùn)的是，侯逸凡的努力很快得到了回報(bào)。13歲時(shí)她成為中國歷史上最年輕的女子國際象棋全國冠軍， 16歲時(shí)成為最年輕的國際象棋世界冠軍。

Although a famous chess star known all over the globe, Hou always stayed vigilant. “I’m happy to win these titles, but I know this is a coin with two sides,” Hou added. “As you gain public attention, your faults are amplified. So I should shrug the honors off and stay motivated to keep improving.”
雖然侯逸凡已經(jīng)成為聞名全球的國際象棋明星，但她始終保持著清醒?！拔液芨吲d能贏得這些冠軍，但我知道這是一枚硬幣的兩面，”侯逸凡補(bǔ)充說，“你獲得公眾關(guān)注時(shí)，自身的缺點(diǎn)也會被放大。所以我應(yīng)該把這些榮譽(yù)拋諸腦后，保持不斷進(jìn)步的動力?！?/span>

Having focused on international chess for a long time, Hou then decided to study in the college. In 2012, she studied international relations at Peking University and then went to the University of Oxford.
在長期專注于國際象棋后，侯逸凡決定去大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)。2012年，侯逸凡進(jìn)入北京大學(xué)國際關(guān)系學(xué)院，攻讀外交學(xué)專業(yè)，隨后她去往牛津大學(xué)深造。

“I have to know more,” she said. “I have to open my eyes to see the whole world.”
“我必須知道得更多，”侯逸凡說，“我要睜開眼睛，看看整個(gè)世界。”

Now, the 28-year-old has become a teacher at Shenzhen University. She wants to “integrate the methods she learned in China and the West and allow international chess to reach more young Chinese people”.
現(xiàn)在，28歲的侯逸凡已經(jīng)成為深圳大學(xué)的一名教師，她希望“把在中國和西方學(xué)到的方法結(jié)合起來，讓中國年輕人更多地接觸到國際象棋”。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》高三782期