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The tenth and final match game of the competition for the 2018 Women's World Championship was a make-or-break moment for Tan Zhongyi. Before the game, Ju Wenjun was in the lead 5-4 and so Tan had to win-on-demand with the black pieces to force a playoff.
In an attempt to unbalance the game, Tan opted for a very unusual opening: a Hippopotamus setup. Black banks on surprising her opponent and postponing the fight to the middlegame. But Ju could not be disturbed. She played solidly and calmly, leaving Tan to get more aggressive.
Tan threw in the kitchen sink, launching a desperate attack on the kingside that left her in a lost position. But Ju had no need for more than a draw and eschewed all winning attempts choosing instead to steer the game into an endgame that was nearly impossible to lose. After 70 moves, Tan conceded her efforts were hopeless and Ju Wenjun became the new champion!
How many times have you been caught off guard by a seemingly inferior and unusual opening system that later turns out to be an especially strong one? Unorthodox openings can be a real asset to anyone’s opening repertoire and they often do not contain much theory, making them easy to master for your next important tournament.
The two friends could still smile after the conclusion of the match | Photo: Gu Xiaobang
Ju Wenjun was born in the year Xie Jun won her first (of two) World Championship titles in 1991. Since then, Chinese players have held the title far more often than not — Ju joins Xie, Zhu Chen, Xu Yuhua, Hou Yifan, Tan Zhongyi. That dominance has only increased since 2010, and after Hou Yifan rose to the top spot only Ukrainians Anna Ushenina and Mariya Muzychuk have managed to snatch the title for one year each as a result of the now-biennial knockout format for the World Championship.
Incidentally, the next knockout is scheduled for this November — less than six months from now — and Ju Wenjun will enter in the first round like everyone else, so it's extremely likely that her reign as World Champion will be exceedingly short-lived.
Nevertheless, with Hou currently pursuing an internship in California and soon to be a student at Oxford University, we can safely say that Ju Wenjun, in her prime at age 27, will enter the Autumn knockout as the world's best active female player.
@chess24com @WillumTM @ChessClubLive @NewInChess @ Queen of White and Black pic.twitter.com/xTJKsAjFlk
— Willum Morsch (@WillumTM) May 18, 2018
Johannes Fischer contributed to this report.
