Women’s World Championship: The calm before the storm?

by André Schulz
7/20/2023 – The tenth game of the Women’s World Championshipe ended in a draw. Ju Wenjun followed in Vincent Keymer’s footsteps in the opening, but failed to gain an advantage. The last two classical games will be played on Friday and Saturday, following a rest day. | Photos: Stev Bonhage / FIDE

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Two games to go (and a potential playoff)

The 2023 Women’s World Chess Championship between China’s Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie is nearing its end. The match is scheduled for twelve games. In the event of a tie, there will be a playoff. Ju Wenjun has already gained experience in a similar situation, as she won the last match for the title in 2020 against Aleksandra Goryachkina in a playoff.

The tenth game was officially opened by guests of honour He Yilong and Fu Xianfen, who played the first moves for White and Black. He Yilong is Chairman of the Changshou District Political Consultative Conference — which is an advisory body to the political parties in China. In fact, there are eight other authorised political parties in China besides the Communist Party. Fu Xianfen has excelled in epidemic prevention and control in the Hubei province.

In the tenth game of the match, defending champion Ju Wenjun switched to 1.Nf3. After Lei Tingie replied by 1...Nf6, not the most unusual answer, Ju Wenjun had a prolonged reflection.

The move 1...Nf6 cannot have been a surprise, but only after four minutes did Ju Wenjun continue with 2.c4. This was followed by 2...e6, and after 3.d4 Lei Tingjie could have played 3...d5, with a transition into a Queen’s Gambit Declined. She has already used that a few times in this competition and can be satisfied with the results.

Ju Wenjun, however, played 3.e3 and replied to 3...d5 by 4.b3. She was aiming for the Zukertort system, in which the move d2-d4 is initially held back in order to place the d-pawn either on d4 or on d3, depending on the situation. Vincent Keymer often opens with such a setup and has some success with it. Even without a fianchetto of the light-squared bishops, this opening is probably counted as part of the Reti system.

Ju Wenjun tried to squeeze some advantage out of her position, but to no avail. The defending champion gained a pawn, but she soon had to give it back in the major piece ending. Eventually, a completely balanced rook endgame was reacher.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0-0 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nc3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Bxd4 13.Bd3 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Ne8 15.b3 d5 16.Bf4 Be6 17.Re1 Qd7 18.a4 Nd6 19.Re3 Ne4 20.Qxc7 Qxc7 21.Bxc7 Nc5 22.Bf1 Rc8 23.Be5 Nd7 24.Bd3 Nc5 25.Be2 Nd7 26.Bc3 a6 27.h4 Nf8 28.g4 f5 29.gxf5 Bxf5 30.Bf3 Be4 31.Bxe4 dxe4 32.Bb4 Re8 33.Bxf8 Kxf8 34.Kf1 Kf7 35.Ke2 Kf6 36.Rg3 b5 37.axb5 axb5 38.Rg5 Rc8 39.Kd2 Rd8+ 40.Ke3 Rc8 41.Rxb5 Rxc2 42.b4 Rc3+ 43.Kxe4 Rc4+ 44.Kf3 Rxh4 45.Rb6+ Kg5 46.Rb7 g6 47.b5 Rb4 48.Rxh7 Rxb5 49.Kg3 Rb3+ 50.f3 Kf6 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Lei,T2554Ju,W2564½–½2023C67WCh Women 20231
Ju,W2564Lei,T2554½–½2023D40WCh Women 20232
Lei,T2554Ju,W2564½–½2023C65WCh Women 20233
Ju,W2564Lei,T2554½–½2023D37WCh Women 20234
Lei,T2554Ju,W25641–02023C50WCh Women 20235
Ju,W2564Lei,T2554½–½2023D32WCh Women 20236
Lei,T2554Ju,W2564½–½2023B18WCh Women 20237
Ju,W2564Lei,T25541–02023A06WCh Women 20238
Lei,T2554Ju,W2564½–½2023B40WCh Women 20239
Ju,W2564Lei,T2554½–½2023A13WCh Women 202310

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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