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Ju Wenjun outclasses rival Tan Zhongyi to retain women’s world chess title

Ju Wenjun has once again proven herself the undisputed queen of the chessboard.

On Wednesday in Chongqing, the 34-year-old Chinese grandmaster clinched the 2025 Fide Women’s World Championship, defeating compatriot and longtime rival Tan Zhongyi by a commanding score of 6½–2½. With the victory, Ju becomes only the fourth woman in history to win the title five times, joining a storied class that includes Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili and Maia Chiburdanidze.

The best-of-12-games match ended with three contests to spare after Ju secured a calm, risk-free draw in Game 9 to punctuate a stretch of four straight wins that all but sealed the result.