Ju Wenjun levels score with endgame magic

After a battle that lasted over five hours and spanned 87 moves, World Champion Ju Wenjun managed to win game 3 and draw level in the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship match against compatriot Tan Zhongyi. Both Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi have worn the women’s world championship crown previously, but they were not the only women’s world champions present in the playing hall on Sunday! Former world champions Zhu Chen and Xu Yuhua, the second and third women’s world champions from China, were also in attendance to make the ceremonial first moves. Chen is the current FIDE Secretary while Yuhua is the Secretary General of the Chinese Chess Association.
Sunday’s result means that the score in the Women’s World Chess Championship stands at 1.5-1.5 after three games.
How game 3 played out
In game 2, Ju Wenjun had committed an endgame blunder to allow Tan to take a 1.5-0.5 lead.
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Game 3 featured a repeat of the first game’s Sicilian, where the World Champion introduced 3.c4, the Kramnik Variation, a rare sideline occasionally seen at the highest level, including during the Carlsen-Caruana World Championship match. It was a curious choice, as statics tend to favor Black in this line. Tan Zhongyi paused to consider her response, and soon the players entered a completely uncharted position. It was clear that both had exited home preparation, as they began using significant time on their moves.
Black committed a critical error with 60…Bc6? The idea of trading the rooks was correct, but the execution was flawed. It was essential not to remove protection from f7-pawn and while keeping White’s king at bay with 60…Re2! The key is to meet 61.Kg5 with 61…Re4! As played, after 61.Kg5, trouble loomed. 61…Ra4 failed to the intermediate 62.Be5+, and after 62…Ke7 63.Rb2, White preserved the rooks – a crucial detail, as a pure opposite-colored bishop endgame would likely end in a draw. From there, Ju’s plan was clear: her king advanced to g7, the rook stayed active, and the c-pawn became a growing threat. Black, contrast, had active counterplay. Her weak f7-pawn and the advancing c-pawn were too much to handle.
(With inputs from FIDE)