Women’s World Chess Championship 2025, Game 4: Ju Wenjun salvages draw against Tan Zhongyi

Four-time defending champion GM Ju Wenjun held out challenger GM Tan Zhongyi to secure a draw in Game 4 in the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship 2025 in Shanghai on Monday.

The draw meant the the Championship moved into the second rest day with Tan and Ju level with two points each.

Game 4 began with Tan, wielding white pieces, setting off an English Opening (Agincourt Defence), with both players unhesitant to make pawn sacrifices.

Ju survived intense pressure from her Chinese compatriot as the duo played out a five-hour game, before deciding to share the points after the 80th move.

In Game 4, Tan will play with black pieces. Game 4 starts on Wednesday (April 9) 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.