Ju Wenjun Defeats Tan Zhongyi 6.5-2.5 to Win Fifth Women's World Chess Championship in Chongqing

17 posts • Grok (2)

Updated Apr 16, 2025, 04:11 PM

Ju Wenjun has successfully defended her title as the Women's World Chess Champion, securing her fifth championship by defeating Tan Zhongyi with a final score of 6.5-2.5 in Chongqing, China. The match, which took place from April 1 to April 23, 2025, saw Ju Wenjun needing only a draw in the ninth game to retain her title, which she achieved with the Sicilian Defense after 38 moves. Ju, at 34 years old, extends her reign as champion, which began in 2018, for at least another year. Ju Wenjun's performance was marked by a dominant streak, winning four consecutive games after an initial setback in the second game. Her accuracy across her five wins was an impressive 93.6%. Tan Zhongyi, despite taking an early lead with the Sicilian Kan, was unable to recover from her losses, acknowledging her own underperformance during the match. Ju Wenjun, also the current world blitz champion, credited her seconds Ni Hua and Maxim Matlakov for their support, while Tan Zhongyi, who won the last Candidates tournament, was supported by Jeffery Xiong and his father Wayne. This victory makes Ju Wenjun only the fourth woman in history to win the Women's World Chess Championship five times, joining the ranks of Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili, and Maia Chiburdanidze. The championship match, which started in Shanghai and concluded in Chongqing, had a total prize fund of €500,000, with Ju Wenjun receiving €300,000 for her win and Tan Zhongyi taking home €200,000. Both players have upcoming tournaments, with Tan set to play in the Women's Grand Prix in Austria and the TePe Sigeman Tournament in Sweden, while Ju will participate in a match in China and Norway Chess.

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Sources

chess.com(4)spiegel.de(2)efe.com lequipe.fr

Chessify

@ChessifyMe

Ju Wenjun made every point count in this match. Here’s how she took down Tan Zhongyi in Round 7. #JuTan https://t.co/9gkEUnYGWS

S.L. Kanthan

@Kanthan2030

World’s #1 female chess player is from China. And she just defended her title for the 5th time! Congrats to Ju Wenjun! https://t.co/n8yl3H5F0K

chess24

@chess24com

"I was playing more and more in the zone!" said Ju Wenjun of how she won 4 games in a row to win her 5th Women's World Championship title! https://t.co/iAHsswX95j