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With just two games remaining in the match, World Champion Ju Wenjun (playing white) today had a decision to make. Go for everything and finish Goryachkina off, or save some much-needed energy, and play calm and confident winning chess.
Goryachkina, who prior to losing Games 9 & 10, had not lost consecutive games in nearly two years, was not sure what her opponent would do either.
All of these questions were very quickly resolved. By move 20, the only intrigue left in the game was how quickly will the players reach the obligatory 40 moves. They managed to achieve this in just over an hour — by far the quickest game of this match. The first 10 games averaged 67 moves and nearly all were well into the fifth hour of play.
After the game, Goryachkina said that the rest day helped restore some much-needed equilibrium.
Ju Wenjun arriving for Game 11 | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Text: Michael Friedman
Photos: Eteri Kublashvili & Michael Friedman
Contact: press@fide.com
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The games in Vladivostok are slated to start at 15:30 local time, which is 6:30 CET and 12:30 AM EST.
The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game plus 30 seconds per move, starting from with move one. Agreed draws before move 40 are not allowed.
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Commentary by GM Nigel Short & GM Hou Yifan
Game 1: ½-½
The first game of the Women's World Chess Championship 2020, held in Shanghai, China, ended with a hard-fought draw.
Ye Jiangchuan, President of the Chinese Chess Federation, and Alexandr Shmanevskiy, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Shanghai, made the first symbolic move in the game.
The opening was as cautious as it gets: Alexandra Gorychkina (Russia), playing White, chose 1.d4 as her first move. Instead of her usual Ragozin defense, defending champion Ju Wenjun (China) surprised with 4.♗e7. The challenger decided to go then for a solid Catalan with 5.g3:
The Catalan: A complete repertoire for White!
The Catalan is one of the most solid openings for White. It forms part of the large and strong fianchetto family in which White builds his strategy mainly around the bishop on g2. Grandmaster Victor Bologan covers all of Black’s replies to the Catalan, some of which can even transpose to other openings such as the Tarrasch System and the Queen’s Indian. Suffice it to say that the Catalan rules!
The impression is that Goryachkina tried to take the game out of the book as soon as she could, and despite the symmetrical and equal position, she managed to put some pressure on the champion. In fact, an inaccuracy by Ju Wenjun gave the Russian the opportunity to gain an advantage, and for a while, the challenger seemed to be playing cat and mouse with the Champion, only to squander it with an untimely rook exchange on move 44. After this scuffle, Ju stoically defended for the next 50-plus moves, before the draw was agreed right before they reached the sixth hour of play.
In the press conference held after the game, Ju complimented Goryachkina's fighting style, looking to exploit even the minuscule of chances. On her part, Goryachkina was content with opening the match by putting the world champion on the ropes for 97 moves and close to 6 hours.
Photo: Zhang Yanhong / FIDE
Playing White, Ju Wenjun (China), a 1.d4 player, surprised her opponent with 1.e4. In the ensuing Berlin variation of the Spanish Opening, Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia) achieved comfortable play after producing a novelty on move: 12...c6.
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However, very quickly Black appeared to have gone astray with 16...♝g5, giving White an opportunity for dynamic play with [17.f3 ♝f5] 18.g4, which Ju chose not to do, instead exchanging queens and some pieces.
Perhaps, both players are feeling the impact of yesterday's marathon 97-move game and are going for simpler, safer options. A quiet draw seemed inevitable and was agreed on at move 40, after three-fold repetition.
Goryachkina's ability to easily equalize in her first black game, further cemented her position as a formidable challenger.
After the game, Ju Wenjun felt satisfied with the result, believing that black came out well after the opening.
The players will enjoy tomorrow a rest day. The match will be resumed on January 8 with the third game, where Aleksandra Goryachkina will have the white pieces.
Zhao Guangsheng, Deputy General Director of Shanghai Sports Ministry, together with the Grandmaster Nigel Short, FIDE Vice-President, made the first symbolic move of Game 2.
The first game of the Women's World Chess Championship 2020, held in Shanghai, China, ended with a hard-fought draw. In the second game, both players perhaps feeling the impact of the prior day's marathon 97-move game played a relatively quiet draw — with a three-fold repetition on move 40.
In game three, Ju Wenjun, playing Black, countered Aleksandra Goryachkina's Queen's Gambit with the Semi-Tarrasch Defence, transforming the duel into a comfortable, yet somewhat passive gameplay for herself.
The current champion failed to come up with a plan to fully equalize, and by move 23 Goryachkina enjoyed a considerable advantage.
However, a momentary slip 23.♗d3 presented Ju with an opportunity to completely flip the table with 23...♞e5!, which was not played. It was as if Ju was so focused on defending an inferior position, that she simply missed her one chance to get out of it. Having also opted against 18.g4! In Game 2, the world champion seems to be wary when it comes to dynamic and tactical play.
White continued to dictate play and ten moves later, following the thematic break on d5, Goryachkina won a pawn. For a moment, it felt we would see the first decisive game of the match. However, the Russian played inaccurately in moderate time-trouble, before the first time control transformed the game into an easy save for the world champion. Just like in Game 1, the challenger continued to push for another 40 moves, until the players agreed on a draw on move 85.
Ju must feel relief to be tied in this match after not playing her best game, especially with black, but at the press conference, she said that she is content with three draws. On her part, Goryachkina added that she feels good about dominating her opponent in two out of the first three games, yet is also frustrated having not capitalized on her chances.
A difficult stretch of games is coming for Goryachkina where she will have black pieces in the next 3 out of 4 games.
In Game 4, Ju Wenjun, playing white, reverted to her usual 1.d4 and both players appeared to be well within their preparations in the ensuing Slav Defence.
With the game moving so quickly, it remained unclear who was better prepared and who was bluffing by playing at a blistering pace. Aleksandra Goryachkina's unnatural 22.Kxf8 further illustrated the point of how comfortable and prepared she either was or wanted her opponent to believe.
Ju had an opportunity to increase pressure with a strong 26.Rc6, but chose to exchange the rooks, opting for playing a pleasant endgame with just queens and bishops. The white queen dominated the board on white squares, while black had to be patient and careful.
The game seemed to head toward another draw. Then, Goryachkina—not content with sitting back—unadvisedly exchanged bishops on move 34, creating a long-term weakness on c5.
In the ensuing endgame, black had to find a precise plan of defense, such as putting her f pawn on f5. Goryachkina wasn’t able to find it, and Ju Wenjun, despite some hesitation was able to calculate the precise moment to exchange queens and convert her pawn for an endgame, and her first win.
After the game, Goryachkina said that she lost the thread of the game, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly where, and accepted that her position just kept getting worse and she just couldn't recover.
Ju was happy and relieved to finally get the full point, and praised Goryachkina's valiant defense.
Gui Jinsong, director of Mass Sports Department of Shanghai Sports Bureau, and Liu Changle, party branch secretary of Shanghai Board and Card Games Administrative Center, made the first symbolic move of Game 4.
Ju Wenjun after Thursday's Game 4
Before Saturday, Aleksandra Goryachkina has never beaten Ju Wenjun. In fact, prior to the match, the Russian Grandmaster has never had a better position against the World Champion in any of their games. However, Goryachkina is a very young player still at the peak of her development, and already in the first games of the match she showed she could put Ju Wenjun against the ropes.
In that context, Goryachkina's defeat in the fourth game was a cold shower for the Russian fans, but the challenger didn't display any signs of disappointment. And after a rest day, she came back to the board ready to put up a fight, and with today's victory, Goryachkina demonstrated the world that she belongs in this match and is the rightful challenger.
Goryachkina appeared to have surprised her opponent with 1.c4, which sent Ju into a short think. In the ensuing English Opening, players went for very sharp lines, with Ju producing the first novelty 12...♝e4.
This seemed to have taken Goryachkina out of her preparation and black quickly achieved a very promising position.
However, facing a 16.♕b5+, Ju went astray with ♛d7, unnecessarily opting for a variation in which White was up an exchange, with Black having some compensation for it in a form a very unpleasant d-pawn.
Interestingly enough, in the post-mortem, Goryachkina thought that Ju simply blundered the exchange.
Computer analysis showed a considerable advantage for White; practically the game was close to over. It seemed that Game 5 would follow a familiar theme from Games 1 and 3 where the Russian obtained comfortable positions out of openings, but squandered her chances with some little inaccuracies right before the first time control. After 29...g6? and 31.♖xf7? the game appeared to be headed for a draw, but a serious blunder by Ju (34...♞c6??) allowed White to consolidate her advantage, and Black resigned fifteen moves later.
In the post-game press conference, Goryachkina said she was relieved and happy to be back in the match. Ju agreed that while today's result was disappointing, it was a logical conclusion and the overall score reflected the match thus far.
In Game 6 Ju Wenjun, a predominately 1.d4 player, reverted to 1.e4, a move she played in Game 2 of the match. The Berlin variation of the Spanish Defense was repeated until move 10, with Ju opting for ♖e1.
Ju failed to achieve much out of the opening with lethargic 17.b3, 18.c4, and 19.♗b2.
With calm and measured play, Goryachkina managed to outmaneuver her opponent. By move 30 it became clear that Black will be playing for the win. Yet, similar to the earlier games of this match, Goryachkina was not able to build on her advantage. By the time players passed the first time control, the worst was behind Ju, and she was on the road to avoid defeat.
Nevertheless, Goryachkina made Ju sweat for it. Game 6 turned out to be the longest one of the match: It surpassed 100 moves.
For the last 60 moves, Ju had to be extremely careful, while Goryachkina was playing with no risk. She continued to wait for her opponent to slip. Ju was visibly tired, her hand at times trembling. The game finally ended two moves shy of a 50-move draw rule.
At the post-game press conference, Goryachkina said that she felt slightly better, but just couldn’t find the decisive moves for a win. Ju was unhappy with her play and felt fortunate to escape with a draw.
Stray observations: This was Goryachkina's second consecutive game in which she was the only one pressing for a win. This must have felt great for her, following a loss in Game 4. It was also the first game where white was clearly worse. The stretch of four games in which Goryachkina had three blacks was akin to a test: She started with a loss, but has done better than most expected, fully recovering in the last two games, and it feels like if she has started to dictate play.
The break in the match — it's moving to Vladivostok in Russia — is likely to benefit both players. Goryachkina is going home where large crowds are expected to support her, while Ju is getting the much-needed breather after six very long and testing games.
Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, and Lu Lin, vice secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Sports Bureau, made the first symbolic move of Game 6
After a near-disaster in Game 6, Ju (playing White) probably needed to have a game in which she would only be playing for two results — a win or a draw, with little chance of losing. With a 4.d3 Anti-Berlin variation of the Spanish Defense, Ju achieved just that — a very comfortable position with a sizable space advantage and minimum risk. Goryachkina (playing Black) was reduced to sitting back: however, her position didn't have any obvious glaring weaknesses.
Therefore, computer evaluations rarely moved past +0.50 for white. Nevertheless, it must have been extremely unpleasant for Goryachkina to be at the board for so long, maneuvering without any real counter-play. The challenger had to show a lot of character to defend a bland, slightly worse position without giving in. Such positions are often lost when a player on the passive side loses their patience. She defended extremely accurately, especially after the knights came off the board.
Goryachkina probably got some relief after Ju played 37.Nf5. With just four minutes on the clock, Ju could not work out all the complications that could have arisen from the more dynamic alternatives such as 37.h4. Despite 4 hours and 40 moves of steady domination, Ju never appeared to have a clear path to victory.
Games 4-7 were going to be a real test for the challenger. Despite only having one white and losing Game 4, she emerged from this stretch even, as have demonstrated her class, and readiness to be on the biggest stage.
There are still five games left in the match and it is a bit early to be thinking about play-offs. However, given how tight the games have been so far, it seems very likely for the match to go the full distance.
Wang Xue Chun, Deputy General Council of China in Vladivostok, made the first symbolic move of Game 7
In today's Queen's Gambit, Ju Wenjun (playing Black) opted for an unorthodox 8...♞e4. A quick engine search showed that White scored 71% in over 70 games played. It is unclear why Ju went for this line. At the press conference, Ju admitted that after 17.dxc5 she felt that the game was getting out of hand and she struggled to come up with an equalizing plan.
Goryachkina continued to push, while black seemed to always go for safer, more passive options when presented with an option to either play intuitively or defend. A good example of this was 25...♛g7, protecting a dead-weight h pawn, instead of a much more dynamic and intuitive Nd7 — a reflection of how Ju has played this match. Game after game, around move 30, Ju has a choice between going with her gut and intuition, she seems to be choosing a much safer, less opportunistic option.
Presented with a golden opportunity, Goryachkina played extremely accurately. She was not perfect: 32.b5! would have ended the game on the spot, before the time control. Nevertheless, 32.♗e4 was good enough and Aleksandra was still winning. Goryachkina felt that after 37.e6 this was a game she was not going to let go.
The next game is a test for Goryachkina. For the first time in the match, she is now the hunted. The pray. Suddenly, this is her World Championship to lose. In a huge psychological shift, we'll now see what Goryachkina is truly made of. Will she be nervous? How will today's result impact her opening preparation? What about Ju? Does she have it in her to play winning chess? A player known for aggressive, tactical brilliance, how will she react to being four games away from losing her title?
Former World Champion Hou Yifan joined Nigel Short. She will be a co-commentator for the remaining games of the match
Under-prepared, lethargic, uninspiring, imprecise, unintuitive are just some of the words, which have been used to describe Ju Wenjun's play in the first eight games of her title defense match. Her Russian opponent appears to be better prepared, seven years younger, hungrier, more motivated, and determined to fulfill every chess player's ambition—to become a World Champion. Ju is down a point with just four games left. She just suffered a humiliating defeat, in which she was wiped off the board in a lopsided fashion. The match is in Russia and the home crowd is buzzing with expectations.
What would you do, if you were in Ju's place?
Ju Wenjun showed up wearing a black bomber jacket with "Whatever" embroidered on the back and she played like it. Her second move, 2.b3, startled Aleksandra Goryachkina. For the next 40 moves, Ju just kept bringing it.
Was her play perfect? Of course not. Was it sound chess? Not really. Did it work? Yes, it did. For the first time in this match, Goryachkina was on the ropes.
The Russian kept going in and out of trouble, with dubious sequences (11...♚xe5 and 12..d4) followed by excellent machine-like moves (20...♝g1 and 22...♛c8). By move 28 it appeared as if the match was over. Goryachkina was able to refute Ju's disjointed and very opportunistic play. 28...♛b4 would have likely led to Goryachkina becoming the new World Champion. Experts agreed. Fans in Vladivostok and online were beginning to celebrate.
It was not to be. In approaching time-trouble, Goryachkina went astray with dubious ...♛g2?. Three hours of 'whatever' worked. Goryachkina cracked and lost her way. After the time control, Ju finally showed her class and converted a complicated endgame with Karpovian (45. ♗f4!) precision. The World Champion showed her mastery and won.
Game 10 is Monday, January 20.
Text: Michael Friedman
Photos: Michael Friedman and Eteri Kublashvili
Contact: press@fide.com
After decisive Games 8 and 9, with just three games left in the Match, what could we expect to see today? Despite a heartbreaking loss in Game 9, should we still consider Aleksandra Goryachkina to be the favorite? After all, she had two games left with White, compared to Ju Wenjun's one. Would the Russian player's lack of experience in such high profile matches become a factor? Will Goryachkina attempt to take back what she felt was hers in the previous game?
Players visiting the commentary room after the game | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
The game began in an auspicious manner for Goryachkina, as players mirrored a Ganguly – L'Ami game that was played just yesterday at Wijk aan Zee. Goryachkina's (playing white) first opportunity to question Ju's preparation came on move 21. She could have played the natural Re5!, forcing black to play 22...f6, weakening the bishop on g6, and setting up dangerous play along the g file for her rook. Instead, Goryachkina played a more pedestrian 21.♖e3. It looked all but certain that the game was heading for a short draw, with players struggling to find sensible moves to reach the required 40-move minimum.
What happened to Goryachkina next had more to do with sports psychology than with sound chess. Starting around move 25, the game was a dead draw—a result she could have forced at any point all through the first time control. Instead, she made moves like 26.b5 and 38.♗d5, probing for an advantage that was simply not there.
She did not appear to realize that she needed to be more careful and the position was not as one-sided in her previous games with White. At the press conference, Goryachkina admitted that she “blundered” 42...♝e6 that in itself is still fine for White, but while algorithms continued to show zeros, the position suddenly becomes unpleasant to defend, especially against such a fine technical player as is Ju. By move 50, Goryachkina had to be extremely precise, something she was not able to keep up with in the approaching time trouble. She collapsed with 53.♔b4??, but by that time it was clear that she wasn't able to walk the necessary tightrope to make a draw. Ju won is now one point away from retaining her title.
Was it her lack of match experience? Was it Goryachkina's well-documented stubbornness that her coaching team couldn't overcome? Tomorrow's day off could not have come sooner for Goryachkina. Does she have it in her to get herself together and pull out a miracle come back in the last two rounds? We will find out this week.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, is a rest day. Play will be resumed on Wednesday the 22nd. The 11th game will begin at 15:30 local time.
Text: Michael Friedman
Photos: Eteri Kublashvili
Contact: press@fide.com
The first major chess event of 2020 is in fact a world championship. Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun (China) plays against her challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia) from January 5th to 26th.
The competition will be held half in Shanghai, China, and half in Vladivostok, Russia. Six games will be played in each of the two locations. If the score is 6:6 at the end of twelve games, a rapid (and if necessary blitz) playoff will decide the match.
The first game takes place on Sunday. Two games are then played followed by a rest day. After game six, players travel to Vladivostok, where the seventh game is scheduled to commence on January 17th.
The prize fund is EUR 500,000 and will be divided 60:40 between the winner and loser after the end of the competition. If the there is a playoff, the ratio is 55:45.
FIDE Women's World Championship Match is officially opened in Shanghai. World Champion Ju Wenjun & the challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina will play the first game (of 12) on January 5th. The challenger starts with White. https://t.co/06SR3zxdO6
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) January 4, 2020
📷 Haohao Zhang #WomenChessMatch pic.twitter.com/G0RdFoK6k1
All games begin at 15:30 local time in Shanghai and then Vladivostok. Therefore, games 1-6 start at 7:30 UTC (8:30 CET, 2:30 AM EST) and games 7-12 will begin at 5:30 UTC (6:30 CET, 12:30 AM EST).
| Date | Venue | Event |
| January 4 | Shanghai | Opening ceremony |
| January 5 | Game 1 | |
| January 6 | Game 2 | |
| January 7 | Rest day | |
| January 8 | Game 3 | |
| January 9 | Game 4 | |
| January 10 | Rest day | |
| January 11 | Game 5 | |
| January 12 | Game 6 | |
| January 13 | Rest day | |
| January 14 | Vladivostok | Arrival |
| January 15 | Opening ceremony | |
| January 16 | Game 7 | |
| January 17 | Game 8 | |
| January 18 | Rest day | |
| January 19 | Game 9 | |
| January 20 | Game 10 | |
| January 21 | Rest day | |
| January 22 | Game 11 | |
| January 23 | Game 12 | |
| January 24 | Playoff (if necessary) or closing |
Aleksandra Goryachkina has white in the first game
Ju Wenjun would certainly like to defend her title
IA Shoreh Bayat is the chief arbiter
GM Nigel Short is the FIDE Supervisor and a commentator
Press conference
Group photo with the players
