Ju Wenjun retains the Women’s World Championship Title
Chinese Grandmaster Ju Wenjun won The 2023 FIDE Women’s World Championship on Saturday after defeating Lei Tingjie in a 12-game match. The 32-year-old joined her compatriot Hou Yifan as the only player to win the women’s highest prize for a record fourth time.
Ju Wenjun walked away with a cool €300,000, while her opponent got €200,000. The 2023 FIDE Women’s World Championship match was played in China. The first 6 games of the match were played in Ju’s home town of Shangai and the other 6 were in Lei’s hometown of Chongqing
Some Facts about the players who played for the title:
Ju Wenjun
- She has been the reigning world champion since May 2018
- She was the 5th woman to reach a FIDE rating of 2600
- Became China’s Women’s Champion at the age of 19 in 2010
- Ju has represented China at 6 straight Olympiads
Lei Tingjie
- She was the 2021 Women’s Grand Swiss Champion
- Attained the Grandmaster title in March 2017 at 19
- Lei attends the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
- The 6th woman to obtain a Grandmaster title as a teenager
The 2023 FIDE Women’s championship match came just a few months after the Men’s championship that was won by GM Ding Liren who is also from China. Does this signify a shift of chess dominance from Russia to China? Share your thoughts with us below.
Photo credit/ David Llada/FIDE
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