FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship: Ju takes lead with comfortable win in Game 5
In the ongoing FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship, Ju Wenjun won the fifth game against fellow GM Tan Zhongyi to attain an overall lead of 3-2.
The 59-move duel started with a King’s Pawn opening by Ju, who dominated the game from the start. Even though she seemed to be in some trouble right after Move 30 – when Tan had both her queen and rook on the attack against the King – Ju navigated with ease, employing tight defensive moves with her bishop.
Tan’s bold opening strategy misfired at first, but she was quick to turn the tables with aggressive play, pushing her pawn into the deep end, but ultimately losing it. From then on, it was pretty straightforward for Ju.
In the earlier game, Ju had survived intense pressure from Tan as the duo played out a five-hour game, before deciding to share the points after the 80th move.
With seven games left to go, although the Championship looks to be perfectly in balance, Ju seems to have the momentum. In Game 6, Jun will play with black pieces. It starts on Thursday (April 10) at 12:30pm IST.
How did Tan reach the World Championship Final?
Tan earned the right to challenge her compatriot for the title by winning the Women’s Candidates tournament in April last year.
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 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.