6 days Ago
Challenger GM Tan Zhongyi held four-time defending champion GM Ju Wenjun to a draw in an all-Chinese battle in Game 1 of the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship 2025 in Shanghai on Thursday. Tan earned the right to challenge her compatriot for the title by winning the Women’s Candidates tournament in April last year. Playing with black pieces, Tan managed a comfortable 39-move draw against Ju in the first game which had a Sicilian Defense, French Variation opening.
Game 1 | FIDE Women's World Championship Match ◽️White: Ju Wenjun 🇨🇳 ◾️Black: Tan Zhongyi 🇨🇳 ⚔️ Result: 1⁄2 - 1⁄2 ♟ Match score: 1⁄2 - 1⁄2 ↔️ Game length: 38 moves 📖 Opening: Sicilian Defense ⚙️ Variation: French Variation #JuTan #WomenInChess pic.twitter.com/GGuM0yEfbQ In Game 2, Tan will play with white pieces.
Game 2 starts on Friday (April 4) at 12:30PM IST. Tan and Ju had faced each other in the title clash in 2018 as well where Ju won the 10-game series with a scoreline of 5.5-4.
5. Back then, Ju was the challenger while Tan was the defending champion. The current edition follows a 12-game format.
The first player to score 6.5 points will win the title. 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.
If the match is tied at 6-6 after all 12 games, a tiebreak will determine the champion. The tiebreak procedure involves a series of rapid and, if necessary, blitz games to ensure a decisive outcome. Comments Related stories Related Topics Ju Wenjun / Tan Zhongyi / World Chess Championship Latest on Sportstar.
