Four-time defending champion GM Ju Wenjun beat challenger GM Tan Zhongyi in Game 3 to level the 12-match series at 1.5-1.5 in the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship 2025 in Shanghai on Sunday.
Game 1 had ended in a draw before Tan stunned Ju in Game 2 to take the lead. Ju managed to strike back in the all-Chinese battle after the rest day.
Playing with white pieces, Ju went for the Sicilian Defence opening (Kramnik Variation).
Ju grabbed a pawn before time control. However, the game seemed to be headed towards a draw with the opposite-coloured bishop endgame.
But Tan made an error on her 60th move. She tried to trade the rooks but the execution was not correct.
Despite time pressure, Ju eventually defeated Tan in 87 moves over five hours.
In Game 4, Ju will play with black pieces. Game 4 starts on Monday (April 7) 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.
