The Opening Encyclopaedia 2018 features complete coverage of all opening areas on a single DVD and constitutes the best possible introduction to opening training.
From May 2nd to 19th the Women's World Chess Championship will be decided in China between two Chinese players. Reigning World Champion Tan Zhongyi, currently ranked tenth in the world, defends her title against world number two, Ju Wenjun. The organizer of the competition is the Chinese Chess Federation, which will host the match in Shanghai and Chongqing — Ju Wenjun is from Shanghai, Tan Zhongyi lives in Chongqing.
Tan Zhonqui, rated 2522, won the World Championship in a knockout format held in Tehran last year, by beating Anna Muzychuk in the final, and is the successor to her compatriot Hou Yifan, who declined to participate.
Ju Wenjun won the women's FIDE Grand Prix 2016-17 and thereby qualified as a challenger. She currently has an Elo rating of 2571 putting her 87 points behind Hou Yifan, who has refrained from participating in women-only tournaments, in part out of dissatisfaction with the format for the Women's World Championship.
The current system dictates the World Championships be held annually, alternating between a KO tournament and match play. In knockout events, a certain amount of short-term form and even luck play a major role, and so Hou twice lost her World Championship title in knockouts only to qualify again as a challenger via the Grand Prix Series. She then succeeded twice in reclaiming the title in match play against Anna Ushenina and Mariya Muzychuk in consecutive cycles.
Ju and Tan at the opening ceremony | Photo: Gu Xiaobing
The "Mega" is the database every serious chessplayer needs. The database contains 7.1 million games from 1500 to 2017, in highest quality standard, full of top level analyses and completely classified.
Both Tan Zhongyi and Ju Wenjun were born in 1991, although Ju turned 27 in January, while Tan celebrates her 27th birthday in late May. Ju Wenjun has been a WGM since 2009 and earned the full Grandmaster title in 2014. Tan received the GM title in 2017 after winning the Women's World Championship. The two Chinese GMs have competed as teammates in various competitions many times and are close friends.
So far, the two players have played at least 46 times together in different tournaments (according to Mega Database 2018), with a score of 14:12 for Tan with 20 draws. At the last KO World Championship, Tan eliminated Ju in round four with 1½:½, in the classical match of two games.
The competition for the World Championship will be played over ten games, however. Should it be tied, a rapid (and if necessary, blitz) playoff will be played on May 19th.
| Date | Event | Place |
| May 2 | Opening ceremony | Shanghai |
| May 3 | Game 1 | Shanghai |
| May 4 | Game 2 | Shanghai |
| May 5 | Rest day | Shanghai |
| May 6 | Game 3 | Shanghai |
| May 7 | Game 4 | Shanghai |
| May 8 | Rest day | Shanghai |
| May 9 | Game 5 | Shanghai |
| May 12 | Game 6 | Chongqing |
| May 13 | Game 7 | Chongqing |
| May 14 | Rest day | Chongqing |
| May 15 | Game 8 | Chongqing |
| May 16 | Game 9 | Chongqing |
| May 17 | Rest day | Chongqing |
| May 18 | Game 10 | Chongqing |
| May 19 | Playoff (if needed) / Closing | Chongqing |
