Ju Wenjun

Ju Wenjun is a Chinese chess player, grandmaster, and the seventeenth Women’s World Chess Champion (since 2018). With the Chinese national team, she won the 2016 Chess Olympiad, won the World Team Chess Championship in 2009 and 2011, and won silver medals at the 2010 and 2012 Chess Olympiads and the 2013 World Championship, as well as bronze at the 2015 World Championship.

Early Career

Ju Wenjun was born into an ordinary family in Shanghai. Her parents were not involved in sports, but they did everything they could to support their daughter’s development after noticing her talent for chess. Like Gukesh Dommaraju, Wenjun learned to play chess at the age of seven. She initially studied chess under the guidance of Master Qi Jingxuan and later at the Chinese Chess School.

Thanks to her remarkable talent, Wenjun joined the Chinese national chess team at the age of 13. In December 2004, she won a bronze medal at the Asian Women’s Championship.

First World Championship Appearances

In 2006, Ju Wenjun received her first opportunity to compete in the Women’s World Chess Championship. The tournament was held in Yekaterinburg. The experience proved valuable for her, although she was unable to advance very far on that occasion.

Two years later, the Chinese player returned to the world championship. In the second round, she faced Antoaneta Stefanova. The match consisted of four games, and Stefanova won it 3:1.

First Chinese Championship Title

Ju performed much more successfully in domestic Chinese competitions. In 2010, she became the Chinese women’s champion for the first time. She finished the tournament with 8 points from 11 games: six wins, one loss, and four draws. She finished just half a point ahead of her closest rival.

Ju won her second Chinese Championship title in 2014. Once again, she finished in first place, beating her closest rival by half a point.

Victory Over the World Champion

In July 2011, Ju won the Women’s Grandmaster Tournament in Hangzhou. Nine games brought her 6½ points. The Chinese player remained undefeated and finished ahead of even Hou Yifan, who was the reigning world champion at the time.

That same year, Ju competed in the third leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Nalchik. She scored 7 points out of 11 and finished second. This result allowed her to complete her third grandmaster norm.

However, she was unable to receive the title immediately. One of the documents confirming a previous norm did not contain the arbiter’s signature. Because of this technicality, FIDE could not officially recognize the result.

2012 World Championship Semifinal

In 2012, Ju Wenjun traveled to Khanty-Mansiysk for the Women’s World Chess Championship. This time, she advanced much further than in her previous appearances at the world championship and reached the semifinals.

There, she faced Anna Ushenina. The Ukrainian won the match and later became world champion, while Ju finished the tournament in the semifinals.

Successful 2014

In May 2014, Ju shared first place with Lei Tingjie at the China Women Masters tournament. Both players scored 6 points.

At the end of the same year, the Chinese player performed successfully at two consecutive stages of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix. In Lopota, she scored 7 points out of 11 and shared second place. For Ju, this was already her fourth grandmaster norm.

The next stage was held in Sharjah. Her result there was even better — 8½ points out of 11. In terms of points scored, Ju shared first place with Hou Yifan. The winner was determined by a tiebreak, and the tiebreak criteria favored Ju Wenjun.

University Education

Chess was not the only pursuit in Ju Wenjun’s life. In 2015, she graduated from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

By that time, Ju had already won two Chinese Championship titles, reached the semifinals of the World Championship, and won major international tournaments. In the following years, her career reached an entirely new level.

World Championship Title and Its Defenses

Ju Wenjun played her first match for the Women’s World Chess Championship title in 2018. Her opponent was another Chinese player, Tan Zhongyi, who was the reigning world champion at the time.

First World Championship Title

In May 2018, Wenjun defeated her compatriot Tan Zhongyi by a score of 4½:5½.

The fifth game of the championship. A complete rout of her opponent (Ju plays Black):

First Title Defense

In 2018, the Women's World Chess Championship was held twice because of the FIDE system in place at the time, which alternated between different championship formats. The championship in which Ju won the crown was originally scheduled for 2017 but was postponed to 2018. At the same time, another championship had already been scheduled for 2018, so after winning her first world title in May, Wenjun was forced to defend it against Kateryna Lagno as early as October.

The title defense took place in Khanty-Mansiysk against Russian player Kateryna Lagno. The first four classical games ended in a 2:2 draw. The players then competed in a blitz tiebreak. The first two games ended in draws, while Ju Wenjun confidently won the final two games and defended her title with an overall score of 5:3.

The final tiebreak game (Wenjun plays White, Lagno plays Black):

In this game, the Chinese player tried her best to exchange as many pieces as possible, as a draw was already enough for her. Meanwhile, the Russian player did everything she could to create at least some chances for the necessary win. However, the incredible tension, fatigue, and lack of time led to a catastrophic mistake by Lagno — she left her queen en prise and resigned after it was captured by the knight.

Second Title Defense

In January 2020, Ju defended her title again, this time in a match against Russian player Aleksandra Goryachkina.

After the first 12 classical games, the score was tied at 6:6. In the blitz tiebreak, Wenjun was once again stronger. She defeated the Russian player in the third game and drew the remaining games. Thus, she successfully defended her title again with an overall score of 8½:7½.

The third tiebreak game (15th game overall). Ju plays White, Goryachkina plays Black:

Third Title Defense

In July 2023, Ju defended her Women's World Championship title in a match against her compatriot Lei Tingjie.

After 12 games, the match was tied, but Ju managed to win the final game and defend her title once again.

The complete final game (Ju plays White, Lei Tingjie plays Black):

Fourth Title Defense

In 2025, Ju once again had to defend her title, this time against Tan Zhongyi.

After the eighth game, the match score was 5:2 in Ju's favor, so her opponent was trying to win the game at all costs.

The eighth game of the 2025 World Championship — Ju Wenjun (Black) vs Tan Zhongyi (White):

Wenjun played a very accurate game, making a beautiful bishop sacrifice toward the end of the game. It turned out that the white knight could not cope with Black's passed pawns, and Tan Zhongyi resigned. The following game ended in a draw, so the match concluded early, and Ju successfully defended her title once again.