Two Chinese stars fight for the world crown

Information provided by FIDE

The 2025 FIDE Women's World Chess Championshipis the culmination of the FIDE Women’s World Championship Cycle 2023-2025. It will feature a highly anticipated rematch between two of China's top grandmasters: the reigning Champion, Ju Wenjun, and the Challenger, Tan Zhongyi. The title of the Women's World Chess Champion is decided in 12 games and a tiebreak in case of a tie.

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The title match is scheduled to take place from April 1 to 23, 2025, across two Chinese cities: Shanghai and Chongqing.

The time control for each game is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.

For the first stage in Shanghai, the official venue is Shanghai Chess Academy. For the second stage in Chongqing, the official venue is Fuling District Library.

Read the match regulations (PDF)...

The contenders

Ju Wenjun

Photo: Stev Bonhage

A native of Shanghai, Ju Wenjun started playing chess at seven, and success came early. In 2004, at just 13, Wenjun won a silver medal in the Asian Women's Chess Championship and qualified for her first Women's World Championship. Although she was one of the lower-rated participants, she impressively made it to the third round.

She won the Women's Chinese Chess Championship twice, in 2010 and 2014, and was awarded the coveted grandmaster title the same year. By that time, Ju Wenjun had firmly established herself as one of the top female players in the world. Ranked #5 in the women's list for most of 2015, she entered FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2015–16 series as one of the favourites. She finished on top, winning two out of five tournaments and qualified for the World Championship Match against her compatriot Tan Zhongyi, who had won the 2017 knockout championship.

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Ju Wenjun's meteoric rise continued as she became only the fifth woman to cross the 2600 rating threshold, reaching a peak rating of 2604 in March 2017. A year later, in her seventh attempt at the Women's World Championship, she defeated Tan Zhongyi 5½-4½ to become the Women's World Chess Champion. The match was played in two cities, with the first half in Shanghai and the second in Chongqing.

Ju has since defended her title thrice. In 2018, she entered a 64-player knockout tournament as the top seed, winning every round before the final without needing tiebreaks. She then defeated Kateryna Lagno in a tiebreak after making a dramatic comeback in the last classical game with black.

In 2020, she faced GM Aleksandra Goryachkina in a match that ended 6-6 in classical games. Ju clinched the title by winning the third game of a rapid tiebreak. Three years later, Ju Wenjun successfully defended her title against Lei Tingjie sealing the match by winning the twelfth and final game.

Just like in her first match that brought her the precious crown, Ju Wenjun is set to face her compatriot Tan Zhongyi again in the competition once more split between the same two cities, Shanghai and Chongqing. Filled with drama, the 2018 match saw five consecutive victories in games 2-6. Spectators expect no less this time, as there is no escape from memories and comparisons from their previous encounter. However, unlike in 2018, Ju Wenjun will now defend her title against a determined challenger eager to reclaim the crown.

All games - Ju Wenjun v. Lei Tingjie (2023 match)

Tan Zhongyi

Photo: Michal Walusza

Tan Zhongyi, the accomplished Chinese grandmaster, already left her mark on the chess landscape by being the Women's World Chess Champion from 2017 to 2018 and clinching the Chinese women's championship four times.

A native of Chongqing, she learned chess at the age of six and showed a great promise early on. Tan won the World Youth U10 Girls Chess Championship twice, in 2000 and 2001, both held in Oropesa del Mar. In 2002, she won the World Youth U12 Girls Chess Championship in Heraklion.

Over the years, Tan steadily rose through the ranks, winning the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, the 2012 Women's World University Chess Championship, and the 3^rd China Women Masters Tournament in Wuxi (2013).

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In 2015, Tan Zhongyi clinched her fist national title in Xinghua and went on to win 5^th China Women Masters Tournament and the Asian Women's Rapid Championship in Al Ain. Playing for her national team, she seized individual gold at the 2016 Chess Olympiad.

Her pivotal moment came in 2017, when Tan triumphed over GM Anna Muzychuk in a rapid tiebreak at the knockout edition of the Women's World Championship in Iran. However, her reign was short-lived, as she lost the title to her compatriot Ju Wenjun in 2018. Despite this setback, Tan has maintained her place among the elite women players in the world.

Showcasing her versatility, Tan claimed the coveted top women's prize at the 2020 Gibraltar Masters, and a year later she achieved third place in the Women's World Cup. Tan won another world crown in 2022 - the Women's Rapid Championship. Her stellar performance secured her a runner-up finish in the 2023 Women's Grand Swiss, thereby earning a coveted spot in the 2024 Women's Candidates.

At the 2024 Toronto Candidates Tournament, Tan led from start to finish, securing her place as the challenger for the Women's World Championship. Now, she has a great opportunity to reclaim the crown she lost to Ju Wenjun seven years ago.

All games - Women's Candidates Tournament 2024

Schedule

Links

• Official website
• Ju Wenjun scores clutch win, defends World Championship title
• Tan Zhongyi convincingly wins Women's Candidates in Toronto
• Ju Wenjun triumphant at inaugural Norway Chess Women event
• Tan Zhongyi wins Cairns Cup, Anna Muzychuk grabs second place