The Armenian Grandmaster Sergey Movsesian defeated the Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan in both games. At the press conference the opponents narrated about the course of the two-day battles.

— Sergey, how is it to play against a woman in a serious tournament? Or at the chess board you don’t consider her a woman but the World Champion?

Movsesian: Frankly speaking one rarely has a chance to play against the Women’s World Champions. It is obvious that it is not the most comfortable opponent for the 1^st round. Despite her youth Hou Yifan has a very big experience in participating in knock out tournaments. That is why when I saw the pairing list I was a bit upset. As I expected it was a tense fight though I won two games. The fact is that In both games my opponent has had good chances not to lose.

— Yifan, what did you fail to do in the match?

Yifan: I had a chance to survive in the first game but did not manage to use it. In the second I made a rough mistake in the middle game and could not hold the position.

— After being knocked out in the previous World Cup you took part in the Ugra Governor’s Cup which started almost at the same time. Are you planning to participate this time as well?

Yifan: This time I would not be able to play the Governor’s Cup. The second stage of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix series starts on the 6 August in Chinese Shenzhen, I am playing there.

— Sergey, who is your next opponent?

Movsesian: even if you did not look into the pairing list, you could guess that my next opponent will be Judit Polgar (laughing). I will have an opportunity to feel to a full extent how it is to play against women! Judit is a very strong chess player, she has a great experience

— Do you consider yourself the next match favorite?

Movsesian: I never consider myself a favorite. Especially as long as the tournaments in Khanty Mansiysk are concerned. This is my third World Cup and only now I managed to go further after the 1^st round. So if to speak about the favorites, I am not optimistic. This is good that I have an additional rest day tomorrow. Normally I used to go home on the third day. Now the situation is different, I will walk around the city.