The 2025 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship Match commenced yesterday in Shanghai. The match is played between four-time Women’s World Chess Champion GM Ju Wenjun and GM Tan Zhongyi who won the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship in 2017.
The Match is played in 12 games, and the first player to score 6.5 points will be declared the Winner. 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 be played to determine the champion. The tiebreak procedure involves a series of rapid and, if necessary, blitz games to ensure a decisive outcome.
The first game of the Match was played yesterday, with Ju Wenjun having White pieces. A highly balanced game was in the range of equality from the start, and the players shook hands for a draw in a drawish rooks endgame after the threefold repetition.
The second game is underway now, and live broadcast can be followed through the official website.
Photos by Anna Shtourman