Ju Wenjun once again established herself as the undisputed queen of the chessboard by clinching the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Championship in Chongqing. The 34-year-old Chinese grandmaster defeated her longtime rival, Tan Zhongyi, with a commanding score of 6½–2½, securing her fifth world title and joining a select group of players in chess history, including Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili, and Maia Chiburdanidze, who have all achieved the same feat.
The match, a best-of-12-games format, saw Ju extend her dominance over the women’s chess world, claiming her victory with three games to spare. She had entered the final stretch needing only a draw, and she achieved that effortlessly in game nine, a result that was enough to seal her triumph after four straight wins had already put the match out of Tan’s reach. With this victory, Ju took home the winner’s prize of €300,000, while Tan earned €200,000 for her runner-up finish.
Ju has held the world title since 2018, and this latest victory represents the eighth year of her reign. Unlike her previous defenses, which often came down to the final game, Ju’s triumph in this match was decisive, with her momentum building after a loss in the second game. After that early setback, Ju staged an incredible comeback, winning four consecutive games from the fifth through the eighth. This marked the first time in over six decades that a player had won at least four straight games in a women’s world title match, a remarkable achievement that highlighted her strategic and tactical mastery.
The rivalry between Ju and Tan has spanned nearly a decade, with Tan having eliminated Ju in 2017 on her way to winning the world title. The following year, Ju avenged that defeat by narrowly beating Tan to claim her first world championship. Since then, Ju has successfully defended her title multiple times, facing challengers in various formats, including a knockout tournament in 2018, a dramatic match against Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, and a tense encounter with Lei Tingjie in 2023.
The 2025 edition of the championship brought the rivalry full circle, with the match taking place across both players’ hometowns. The first half was played in Ju’s Shanghai, while the second half moved to Tan’s Chongqing. This symbolic shift reflected the shared history and national pride of Chinese women’s chess. Despite Tan’s initial shock win in game two, where she capitalized on a rare error by Ju, the match turned decisively in Ju’s favor after the midway point.
Ju’s victories in games five through eight were clinical displays of positional pressure and tactical sharpness. In game seven, Tan had a chance to fight back but succumbed to time trouble and overextended her position. In the eighth game, Ju demonstrated her mastery by opting for a slow grind to secure a difficult endgame win instead of settling for a draw when the opportunity arose. This focused approach ultimately led to her securing the title with a draw in game nine.
After the match, Ju attributed her success to her steady mindset, which was bolstered by the support of her team, including grandmasters Ni Hua and Maxim Matlakov. Tan, on the other hand, acknowledged her own weaknesses and emphasized the need for improvement if she was to continue competing at the highest level. Both players are expected to return to international competition next month, with Tan set to compete in Austria and Sweden, while Ju will take part in events in Norway.
Ju’s victory is more than just another title defense; it is a generational achievement. Having successfully defended her title against multiple challengers and formats, including the same opponent who once dethroned her, Ju’s legacy in women’s chess is now firmly cemented.
