The 2014 edition of the International Star Mixed Pair Tournament was won by the combination of Yasseer Seirawan and Zhu Chen, beating the pre-tournament favourites of Nigel Short and Hou Yifan. The Short/Yifan team were named favourites because of their combined FIDE ratings which were higher than those of the other competitors. The tournament generated a fair amount of publicity owing to its special format.
The team competitors consisted of some strong foreign grandmasters who had made a name for themselves in the world of chess and some strong male and female Chinese grandmasters. The Chinese female contingent included a sprinkling of current and previous world champions. A total of twelve persons participated in the event in pairs. Each pair played a single chess game against another pair while the players alternated their moves. Communication was forbidden between the teammates as soon as the game began, so the only way to realize why your partner chose a certain move was by figuring it out!
Chess legend Arthur Jussupow and his playing partner, former world champion Maia Chiburdanidze, managed two draws from the five games which were contested; such was the intensity of the event.
