FIDE World Women’s C’Ship: Tan Zhongyi falters in the end to hand Ju Wenjun a second successive victory

Game 6 of the ongoing FIDE World Women’s Championship was evolving into a relatively straightforward draw until Ju Wenjun launched a decisive late push with her knight and advancing pawns, seizing control and sealing the win. She now leads the contest 4-2.

For much of the game, a stalemate seemed likely — especially after the queens were exchanged on Move 33. From then on, both players took their time with each move, managing their clocks carefully, each with under 30 minutes remaining.

A series of inconsequential moves later, Ju broke through by capturing three of Tan’s pawns and rapidly pushing her own towards promotion. With under 15 minutes left and little hope of recovery, Tan resigned.

In the previous game, Tan’s aggressive play couldn’t crack Ju’s solid defence. With this latest loss, her chances of a comeback are now slim. She’ll need to take the initiative early on in Game 7, where she’ll play with black pieces, scheduled on April 13 at 12 am PDT.

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.

What is the format of the Women’s World Chess Championship 2025?

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.

The event now moves from Shanghai to Chongqing