Women's World Championship: Ju Wenjun continues to win

by Johannes Fischer
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
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Born on 31 January 1991 in Shanghai, Ju Wenjun has had an outstanding chess career. She became a WGM in 2009 and won the GM title in 2014. She won the Women's World Rapid Championship in 2017 and 2018 and has been the Women's World Champion since 2018. She successfully defended her title in 2020 and 2023. She also won the Women's World Blitz Championship in 2024 and looks set to defend her title for a third time.

After a convincing victory in game 5, she also won the 6th game of the match against challenger Tan Zhongyi in superior style. Ju Wenjun had Black and soon took the initiative after the opening. This led to an endgame in which Ju Wenjun consistently exploited her advantages and won.

Game 6

All games

Women's World Chess Championship 2025

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Topics: Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi, Women's World Championship 2025
Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".
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See also

Women's World Championship, Game 5: Ju Wenjun takes the lead

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
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See also

Ju Wenjun vs Tan Zhongyi, Game 4: Another endgame, another draw

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
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