Norway Chess Women: Assaubayeva regains the lead, as Ju beats Deshmukh

by Martina Gerdts
6/1/2026 – Ju Wenjun scored only the third classical win of the Norway Chess Women tournament, defeating Divya Deshmukh in a tense Ruy Lopez to move back into contention. Bibisara Assaubayeva regained the lead after drawing quickly against Humpy Koneru and then winning the Armageddon decider, while Zhu Jiner also collected 1½ points by beating Anna Muzychuk in the tiebreak. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
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Ju's first classical win

Round six of Norway Chess Women brought further changes in the standings, with Ju Wenjun scoring only the third classical win of the tournament, as she defeated former sole leader Divya Deshmukh with the black pieces.

Ju's win allowed Bibisara Assaubayeva to regain the lead after winning her Armageddon game against Humpy Koneru. Zhu Jiner also collected 1½ points, beating Anna Muzychuk in the tiebreak. Several players are within range of the lead with four rounds to play.

Round 6 results

White Result Black
Divya Deshmukh 0 - 3 Ju Wenjun
Bibisara Assaubayeva 1½ - 1 Humpy Koneru
Zhu Jiner 1½ - 1 Anna Muzychuk

Standings after round 6

Player Rating Federation Points
Bibisara Assaubayeva 2527 Kazakhstan 9½
Divya Deshmukh 2500 India 8½
Ju Wenjun 2559 China 8
Anna Muzychuk 2522 Ukraine 8
Zhu Jiner 2546 China 7
Humpy Koneru 2535 India 5½

The day's classical win came from Ju, who defeated Deshmukh in a tense Ruy Lopez. Ju came out ahead in the opening battle, pushing her army on the kingside to create direct threats around the white king. Deshmukh, who has repeatedly shown good practical instincts in time trouble during the event, found resources to stay in the game and eventually reached what seemed to be a saving chance.

The key moment was 41.Rh7+!, after which the position liquidated into a theoretically drawn rook endgame. Ju still had an extra pawn, though, and with both players in perennial time trouble, she managed to convert. After losing all five mini-matches in the first half of the tournament in Armageddon, the women's world champion is now back in contention.

Deshmukh 0-1 Ju (Classical)

Divya Deshmukh

Divya Deshmukh was inches away from escaping with a draw from a completely losing position | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Assaubayeva's classical game against Koneru ended quickly in a draw.

The Armageddon game was a different matter. Assaubayeva played quickly and confidently, obtaining a dominant position. Koneru blundered on move 20, allowing Deshmukh to finish the game with a great-looking queen sacrifice.

Assaubayeva 1-0 Koneru (Armageddon)

Bibisara Assaubayeva

Back in the lead - Bibisara Assaubayeva | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Zhu and Muzychuk drew their classical game after a long struggle, which ended in a 78-move repetition after mostly accurate play from both sides. However, Zhu's 68.h7? could have allowed Muzychuk - who failed to find the refutation - to grab 3 points from the game.

The Chinese GM then produced the more convincing performance in Armageddon. Once Muzychuk missed chances to equalise and allowed Zhu's a-pawn to advance, Black was unable to hold the position.

Zhu 1-0 Muzychuk (Classical)

Zhu Jiner, Anna Muzychuk

Zhu Jiner v. Anna Muzychuk | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

Links

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Topics: Bibisara Assaubayeva, Ju Wenjun, Norway Chess 2026
Martina Gerdts studied Portuguese and Spanish linguistics and nowadays teaches language classes and writes about chess and languages. Having started playing chess for a tournament trip to Paris, she is now active not only as a player but in a diverse range of activities connected to chess. This includes among others teaching chess classes, writing about chess and being active as an arbiter.
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Norway Chess Women: Assaubayeva keeps lead, as all encounters go to Armageddon

5/27/2026 – Bibisara Assaubayeva retained the lead at Norway Chess Women after surviving a difficult classical game and winning a chaotic Armageddon against Zhu Jiner. All three round-two matches were drawn in classical play, with Divya Deshmukh defeating Humpy Koneru in the tiebreak and Anna Muzychuk recovering from her opening loss by beating world champion Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
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Norway Chess Women: Assaubayeva beats Koneru in classical encounter

5/26/2026 – Bibisara Assaubayeva took an early lead at Norway Chess Women with a classical win over Humpy Koneru, who blundered under severe time pressure. The other two matches were decided in Armageddon: Divya Deshmukh defeated world champion Ju Wenjun after a drawn classical game, while Zhu Jiner held defending champion Anna Muzychuk with black to secure the tiebreak victory. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
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