Hou's Blunder Helps Carlsen Increase Tata Lead

World Champion Magnus Carlsen is determined to build on his fantastic results in the month of December, which included wins in the London Chess Classic and Qatar Masters. The new year has been treating him well thus far. After the final rest day, Carlsen continued his hot streak by defeating the former women's world champion Hou Yifan. The win marks Carlsen's sixth point in his past seven games, as the Norwegian continues to flex his muscles following draws in his first four games.
Yet the game was heading into drawish territory,when Hou uncharacteristically blundered away what looked like a certain half-point by trading queens in a slightly inferior endgame.