Women's World Championship: Ju Wenjun is the next Challenger

Ju Wenjun at the closing ceremony. Photo courtesy of FIDE Women's Grand Prix

Ju Wenjun won the final leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix, earning enough GP points to become the 2017 Women's World Championship Challenger. Although Ju was the tournament's top seed, her tournament had a rocky start---by round six she had a mere 50% score, including a loss to former Women's World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk. In fact, the entire event was very turbulent with numerous lead changes and many competitors fighting for first throughout, including Kosteniuk, Nino Batsiashvili, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, Natalia Zhukova, and Valentina Gunina. Ju recovered from her slow start with back-to-back victories against Gunina, Khademalsharieh, and Batsiashvili, guaranteeing herself at least a tie for first. A final round draw against Natalia Pogoina sealed sole victory of the tournament. Here are three puzzles from Ju's games in the event.

Puzzle #1

Ju Wenjun vs. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh

after move 25...Rae8

How did Ju convert her small positional edge into a winning advantage?

White to move.

Show Solution

[pgn][Event "FIDE Women's Grand Prix Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2016.11.29"] [Round "9"] [White "Ju Wenjun"] [Black "Sarasadat Khademalsharieh"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2580"] [BlackElo "2435"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "4rrk1/1p4pp/p2Rp3/P7/2p1P3/1n4P1/1P3PBP/3R2K1 w - - 0 26"] [PlyCount "25"] [EventDate "2016.11.19"]26. e5 {fixing Black's weak e-pawn on the e6 square.} Nxa5 27. Bh3 Kf7 28. Rd7+ Kg8 29. R1d6 {After White's clever rook shuffle, the black e-pawn is defenseless.} Nc6 30. Bxe6+ Kh8 31. f4 {Even though material is still equal, White has an overwhelming advantage because of her protected, passed e5-pawn and very active pieces. The game soon finished after:} g5 32. Bf7 Re7 33. e6 Rxd7 34. Rxd7 Kg7 35. fxg5 Ne5 36. Be8+ Kg8 37. Rd8 Kg7 38. e7 1-0[/pgn]

Puzzle #2

Lela Javakhishvili vs. Ju Wenjun (Part I)

after move 28. Rxf3

How did Ju convert into an advantageous endgame?

Black to move.

Show Solution

[pgn][Event "FIDE Women's Grand Prix Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2016.11.20"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Lela Javakhishvili"] [Black "Ju Wenjun"] [Result "*"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2461"] [BlackElo "2580"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2k2r2/1pp4p/p4r2/3p4/PP1R2q1/5RPb/4B2P/3QB1K1 b - - 0 28"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2016.11.19"]28... Qxf3 $3 (28... Rxf3 29. Bf2 (29. Rxg4 $4 Rf1+) 29... Qf5 30. Bxf3 Qxf3 31. Qxf3 Rxf3 $15) 29. Bxf3 Rxf3 30. Qxf3 Rxf3 31. Rf4 ({If} 31. Bf2 {Black is a tempo ahead of the 28...Rxf3 variation:} Rb3 $17) 31... Rxf4 32. gxf4 {and Ju Wenjun converted her extra pawn into a victory after a hard-fought endgame:} b6 33. Kf2 Kd7 34. Ke3 Kd6 35. Bh4 Bd7 36. Bg3 Bf5 37. Bh4 c5 38. Bd8 d4+ 39. Kd2 Kc6 40. a5 cxb4 41. axb6 b3 42. Kc1 d3 43. b7 Kxb7 44. Ba5 Kc6 45. Kb2 Kb5 46. Bd2 Kc4 47. h4 h5 48. Ba5 Kd4 49. Bd2 Ke4 50. Kxb3 {See puzzle #2 for the finish.} *[/pgn]

Puzzle #3

Lela Javakhishvili vs. Ju Wenjun (Part II)

Missed opportunity: What winning idea did Ju overlook?

Black to move.

Show Solution

[pgn][Event "FIDE Women's Grand Prix Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2016.11.20"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Lela Javakhishvili"] [Black "Ju Wenjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2461"] [BlackElo "2580"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/8/p7/5b1p/4kP1P/1K1p4/3B4/8 b - - 0 50"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "2016.11.19"] 50... a5 $3 ({In the game, Ju played} 50... Kf3 {and went on to win after another 40 moves:} 51. Kb2 Kg3 52. Be1+ Kxf4 53. Kc1 Ke4 54. Kb2 Kd4 55. Bd2 Kc4 56. Be1 Kb5 57. Kc3 a5 58. Bd2 a4 59. Bc1 Kc5 60. Ba3+ Kd5 61. Be7 Ke4 62. Bc5 Bg6 63. Kd2 Kd5 64. Ba3 Kc4 65. Be7 Kb3 66. Bf6 a3 67. Kc1 Ka2 68. Bg5 Bf7 69. Bh6 Be6 70. Bg5 Kb3 71. Bf6 Bf5 72. Bg7 Bd7 73. Bf6 Ka2 74. Bg5 Bb5 75. Bh6 Kb3 76. Bg7 Kc4 77. Kd2 Kd5 78. Ke3 Ke6 79. Bc3 Kf5 80. Kf3 a2 81. Ke3 Kg4 82. Bf6 Kg3 83. Kd2 Kf3 84. Bc3 Kg4 85. Bf6 a1=Q 86. Bxa1 Kxh4 87. Ke3 Kg4 88. Bc3 h4 89. Bb4 Ba6 90. Ba5 h3 91. Bc7 Kf5 92. Bh2 Ke6 93. Bg3 Kd5 94. Bh2 Kc4 95. Be5 Bb5 96. Kf2 Kb3) 51. Bxa5 ({If} 51. Kc3 Kf3 52. Kd4 a4 53. Ke5 Ke2 54. Bb4 d2 55. Bxd2 Kxd2 {and Black's a-pawn quickly promotes.}) 51... Ke3 52. Kc4 d2 { and White must sacrifice her bishop to prevent the d-pawn from promoting.} 0-1[/pgn]

In 2017, Ju will compete in a match as the Challenger against the next Women's World Champion. More details on the FIDE Women's Grand Prix are available on the Official Website.