Tied after Round 10 and approaching a climax, the 12-game Women’s World Chess Championship is taking place now in China July 5-24, 2023.
With only 2 games remaining in Classical Chess play, the match now stands at 5-5!
Play resumes with Rounds 11 and 12 on Friday and Saturday, July 21 and 22, 2023.
The Challenger
Lei Tingjie
Lei Tingjie smiling big now!
Challenger Lei Tingjie exudes joy after taking the lead with a win in Round 5 of the 12-game 2023 Women’s World Chess Championship.
World Chess Champion
Ju Wenjun
Ju Wenjun strikes back!
Not to be denied, Champion Ju Wenjun wins Round 8, followed by two draws in Rounds 9 and 10.
Match Tied after Round 10
After Round 10, the match is tied at 5-5 with two games remaining in Classical Chess play.
The match is now assured to go 12 Rounds with each player having the white pieces one more time, starting with the Challenger Lei Tingjie in Round 11!
Tiebreaks
If after Round 12 the Classical Chess match ends in a tie at 6-6, then the following Tiebreaks will take place on Sunday, July 23:
1) Four 25-minute Rapid Chess games, where the players get an extra 10 seconds each move.
2) Then, if necessary, two Blitz Chess games with a 5+3 time control.
3) Then, if necessary, two more Blitz Chess games with a 5+3 time control.
4) Finally, if necessary, One Blitz Chess game with a 3+2 time control, until a winner is determined.
Prizes
The prize fund is €500,000, with €300,000 going to the winner and the remaining €200,000 to the runner-up.
If the outcome of the match is decided upon tiebreaks, the winner will take €275,000, while the runner-up will receive €225,000.
China’s Ju Wenjun
Women’s World Chess Champion
Born: January 31, 1991
Shanghai, China
FIDE Rating 2564
Ready for a Challenger!
Ju Wenjun is defending her title in a 12-game match, July 5-25, 2023, against the Challenger Lei Tingjie, the winner of the Candidates Tournament.
The 2023 Women’s World Chess Championship match is taking place in two cities in China–Chongqing and Shanghai–giving each player a home advantage.
Lei Tingjie was born in Chongqing, and Ju Wenjun was born in Shanghai.
Lei Tingjie
The Challenger
Lei Tingjie is a Chinese Grandmaster (GM), who in addition to the 2023 Candidates Tournament also won the 2017 Women’s Chinese Chess Championship.
Lei Tingjie
#7 Rated Woman in the World
Born: March 13, 1997
Fuling District, Chongqing, China
FIDE Rating 2554
Chinese Women Dominate Chess!
Hou Yifan
#1 Rated Woman in the World
3-Time Women’s World Chess Champion
Born: February 27, 1994
Xinghua, China
FIDE Rating 2628
As a teenager, Hou Yifan listed her interests as reading and studying–and she listed her favorite chess player as Bobby Fischer!
Although Hou Yifan is the highest-rated woman chess player in the world and 3-time Women’s World Chess Champion, Hou stepped away from the Women’s Chess Championship cycle in 2017 at 23 years old in order to focus on life. Hou chose to treat chess as a hobby, not a career.
In 2018 she said, “I want to be the best, but I also want to have a life.”
She enrolled in Peking University in 2012, studying International Relations. She took a full course load and participated in many extracurricular activities. She was offered a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford in England.
In 2020 at age 26, Hou became the youngest ever professor at Shenzhen University where she is now teaching.
Hou still plays chess from time to time, maybe a tournament here or there or whatnot, and is still the highest-rated woman chess player in the world, but has not re-entered the Women’s Chess Championship cycle.
Learn To Play Chess
Like the Chinese Women Play Chess!
Left to right: Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie.
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