4/26/2025 – With three out of eight events completed, the race for a spot in the 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament is intensifying. Ju Wenjun leads the standings with 86.5 points, closely followed by Humpy Koneru on 84, after strong performances in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Former champions and rising stars, including Tan Zhongyi, Kateryna Lagno and Afruza Khamdamova, remain in contention. The series resumes in May with the final Women's Grand Prix leg in Austria, keeping qualification hopes alive for seventeen players.

4/18/2025 – The 2025 FIDE Women's World Championship Match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi concluded after nine intense games played across two cities. In over 517 moves and nearly 38 hours of play, both competitors delivered sharp openings, complex middlegames and dramatic endgames. Ju emerged victorious for a fifth consecutive time, but not without serious resistance from Tan. With standout performances, including a 98% accuracy win in Game 8, the match will be remembered for its fighting spirit. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/16/2025 – In a very one-sided match, Ju Wenjun defended her title as women's world champion against Tan Zhongyi. Although the challenger took the lead in the second game, she suffered four consecutive defeats from the fifth game onwards. A draw in the ninth game today was enough for Ju Wenjun to win the match - played to the best of twelve games - early and defend her title. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/14/2025 – The Women's World Championship match is going very one-sidedly. Today, the defending champion Ju Wenjun won a fourth game in a row against challenger Tan Zhonqui, increasing her lead to 6-2. Ju Wenjun is now only half a point away from retaining the title, as match will most likely come to a premature end. | Pictured: Sabrina de San Vicente plays the first move of game eight. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/13/2025 – Ju Wenjun moved closer to retaining her title by defeating Tan Zhongyi in game 7 of the 2025 Women's World Chess Championship, marking her third consecutive victory and extending her lead to 5–2. The match resumed in Chongqing, Tan's hometown, after the first six games were played in Shanghai. Although Tan gained an extra pawn in the middlegame, she mishandled the position, allowing Ju to take control. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/10/2025 – In 2018 Ju Wenjun became Women's World Champion and then she defended her title in 2020 and 2023. Now it seems as if she will be able to defend her title a third time. In the World Championship match against Tan Zhongyi, she won convincingly with Black in the sixth game and now leads 4-2 at halftime. | Photos: Anna Shtourman

4/9/2025 – In the women's world rankings, Ju Wenjun (pictured), ranked 2nd, and Tan Zhongyi, ranked 3rd, are separated by just six Elo points. But in the fifth game of their World Championship match, the defending champion Ju Wenjun came to a clear victory after Tan Zhangyi misplayed the opening. She then tried to stir up trouble by giving material, but Ju Wenjun defended carefully and took a 3-2 lead in the match. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/7/2025 – In all four games of the match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi for the Women's World Championship, an endgame was on the board. In the fourth game, Tan Zhongyi had several good opportunities with White to put Ju Wenjun under pressure with precise play, but she didn't take these chances, and so the game ended in a draw. | Photos: Anna Shtourman

4/6/2025 – In game 3 of the Women's World Chess Championship, Ju Wenjun levelled the score by defeating Tan Zhongyi with the white pieces. After choosing a positional sideline against the Sicilian Defence, Ju gradually built a small advantage that she carried into a rook and opposite-coloured bishop endgame. Although the position remained objectively balanced for some time, a mistake on move 60 allowed Ju to convert her extra pawn. The game lasted 87 moves and over five and a half hours. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

3/30/2025 – The 2025 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship will see reigning champion Ju Wenjun defend her title against challenger Tan Zhongyi in a highly anticipated rematch. The match, played from 1 to 23 April across Shanghai and Chongqing, will consist of 12 classical games, with a tiebreak if necessary. Ju, a four-time champion, faces a determined opponent eager to reclaim the title she lost in 2018. With both players at the peak of their careers, the stage is set for a thrilling contest. | Photos: FIDE

2/10/2025 – The 2025 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship will see a rematch between China's Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi in a 12-game battle for the title. Set to take place from 1 to 23 April in Shanghai and Chongqing, the match continues China's legacy of dominance in women's chess. With both players boasting impressive careers and past championship victories, this highly anticipated encounter promises a compelling contest at the highest level.

1/1/2025 – The second day of the World Blitz Chess Championships, held in New York, provided thrilling action as the knockout stages decided the champions in both the open and women's sections. Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi decided to share the open title after an epic 7-game final, marking Carlsen's eighth blitz crown and Nepo's first. Meanwhile, Ju Wenjun claimed her maiden women's blitz title with an overtime victory against Lei Tingjie. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza