Today, we will cover the game between reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun and India’s rising star Vaishali R, with Vaishali playing the Black pieces.
Ju currently has 2.5 points, having lost her first game to Lei Tingjie in the tiebreak and then defeating Sarasadat Khadem in the second round, also in the tiebreak. Vaishali is on 1 point, after a classical loss to Humpy Koneru and a tiebreak defeat against Lei.
Ju Wenjun, World No. 2, is a four-time Women’s World Champion, reigning Blitz Champion, two-time Rapid Champion, and the defending Norway Chess Women Champion—one of only six women to cross the 2600 rating mark.
Vaishali, currently World No. 16, had a breakthrough year in 2023, winning the Women’s Grand Swiss, qualifying for the Candidates, earning the Arjuna Award, and winning gold with Team India at the 2024 Olympiad. She also took home bronze at the 2024 Women’s World Blitz Championship.
World Champion started with the king pawn, advancing two squares!
Vaishali responds with the French Defence, playing her king pawn one square forward!
Wenjun goes for the main line, taking full control of the center by advancing her queen pawn two squares as well.
Vaishali also advances her queen pawn two squares. Let's see which variation Wenjun chooses next.
The World Champion goes for the Exchange Variation, capturing Black’s queen pawn with her king pawn. With that, the nature of the opening shifts from closed to more open play.
Vaishali recaptured the pawn with her e-pawn.
White's kingside knight is developed, taking control of the center and key squares.
Black brings her queenside knight into the game, countering White's central control.
Now Ju also developed her second knight; both her knights are now in the game.
Vaishali brought her dark-squared bishop to pin Ju’s queenside knight, aiming to create the possibility of doubling white’s pawns at the right moment.
Wenjun responded by developing her light-squared bishop, eyeing the black kingside and getting ready to castle.
Vaishali brought her kingside knight into the game, placing it in front of her king. She’s also preparing to develop her light-squared bishop with the idea of exchanging and neutralizing White’s bishop.
Wenjun completed her primary development and placed her king in safety with kingside castling.
Vaishali also put her king in safety with castling! The pawn structure is fully symmetrical, and the position seems equal right now.
Ju shifted her knight from the queenside to the center, possibly aiming to maneuver it toward the kingside.
Vaishali wants to exchange her light-squared bishop to reduce the pressure building against her king.
White continued the knight maneuver to the kingside and is now attacking the black bishop, forcing it either to retreat or to exchange with the white bishop—an exchange that would activate the white queen.
Vaishali decided to go for the exchange and captured the white light-squared bishop with her own.
Wenjun recaptured with the queen, bringing it into the game with activity on both sides of the board—especially targeting the black kingside.
Vaishali repositioned her knight from the e-file to the g-file to strengthen the defense of her kingside, also creating space for her queen to enter the game.
Ju brought her queen to the queenside, attacking the black bishop, eyeing the b-pawn, and also keeping pressure on the central black pawn.
Vaishali came up with a nice idea—pushing her a-pawn to drive back the white queen!
Ju immediately pushed her a-pawn to prevent Black from gaining more space and to keep her queen comfortable on the queenside. White still has the option to push the c-pawn and drive back the black bishop.
Vaishali is offering a pawn sacrifice by moving her bishop to the center. If White accepts and captures the b-pawn, Black will gain strong piece activity—starting with a knight jump onto the b-file.
Ju is not interested in capturing the pawn; instead, she aims to eliminate Black’s only bishop. She jumped her knight forward to initiate the exchange!
Vaishali moved her queen one square forward, attacking the white knight as if to say, “If you want to take my bishop, take it now.”
Wenjun took the black bishop with her knight, as expected.
Vaishali recaptured the piece with her queen, which was the only good move.
White continued development as Ju brought out her only bishop into the game and connected her rooks, gaining control over both sides of the board—especially the b4 square, where Black’s knight is aiming to jump in the future.
Note : Taking the black b-pawn was a trap because White could lose the queen after Black’s rook move to f-file.
Vaishali took more than 13 minutes to reassess the position and brought her kingside rook to the open e-file in the center. The position looks equal right now, with neither side having any significant weaknesses.
Ju also brought her rook to the e-file, establishing equal control over the open file.
Vaishali pushed her b-pawn one square forward, supporting her a-file and relieving the b-pawn from White queen’s pressure. This move slightly weakens some of her light squares, but currently no White pieces can take advantage of that.
Ju played her c-pawn to support the center and restrict any Black knight jumps on her queenside. This also opens the diagonal, allowing her queen to switch back to the center and possibly the kingside.
Vaishali pushed her h-pawn one square forward, creating space for her king and gaining control of the important g5 square to prevent any White bishop or knight activity there.
White continued with her plan to move the queen from the queenside toward the center and kingside. She played her queen on the c-file, now aiming to exert control over the light squares.
Vaishali moved her queen one step back to control White’s light-square attacks and to prevent the queen’s entry onto the f5 square.
Wenjun advanced her queen one square closer to the center, also keeping the option to re-enter the queenside if needed. Her current play focuses on exploiting Black’s light-square weaknesses, but the position is still fairly equal, with everything under control for Black.
Vaishali decided to exchange rooks and captured White’s rook.
Wenjun recaptured with her other rook, equalizing the material.
Vaishali brought her last rook to the e-file, regaining control and signaling readiness to exchange this rook as well. She is prepared to enter the endgame with her queen and two minor pieces.
White pushed her h-pawn, creating space for the king and resolving potential back-rank issues. This move also prevents Black’s queen from entering the kingside in the future.
Vaishali is very clear about the rook exchange; she initiated another exchange by capturing the rook on e1.
Ju recaptured the rook with her knight, planning to reroute it via the c2 square.
Vaishali prepared to relocate her queenside knight to the kingside and immediately played it to the e-file, gaining tempo with a discovered attack on White’s a-pawn while aiming to advance it further soon.
Ju pushed her b-pawn to connect the pawn structure and support her a-pawn.
Vaishali continued with her plan, advancing her knight further by jumping it to the f-file.
Wenjun moved her queen to the f-file, keeping an eye on Black’s central d-file and vacating a square for her knight.
Vaishali pushed her c-pawn, solidifying her pawn structure once again. The pawn structure is now fully symmetrical.
White moved her queen one step forward, pinning the black knight against her queen. The position is fully equal, with no weaknesses on either side. The only difference is in the clock, where the World Champion has almost double the time.
Vaishali moved her queen to the e-file, supporting her pawns and relieving the tension.
Ju Wenjun improved her knight’s position by bringing it to the d-file, preparing to jump forward in the future.
Vaishali moved her king toward the center, preparing for the endgame.
After thinking for over 14 minutes, Ju also decided to bring her king closer to the center. It’s very difficult for both players to find a clear plan at this stage.
Vaishali continued her king march and now placed her king just behind her queen on the e-file.
White moved her bishop one step back to join the a3–f8 diagonal, aiming to make Black’s king position uncomfortable.
Vaishali played a prophylactic move, advancing her king to the d-file to prevent White from gaining any tempo with the bishop.
White is now offering a queen exchange. Ju brought her queen back to the e-file, as Vaishali’s position is very solid. Ju may be looking to find some cracks in the bishop-knight endgame.
Vaishali accepted the queen exchange offer.
Wenjun captured the black queen with her king.
Vaishali immediately occupied the vacated square with her king, which became available due to the queen exchange.
Ju introduced some imbalance into the game by pushing her g-pawn forward, attacking the black knight and forcing it to abandon its advanced position.
Vaishali relocated her knight to the center, finding it not very active but maintaining a balanced position, while looking to jump into White’s camp.
Ju played her f-pawn to support her g-pawn and prevent the black knight from entering her camp.
Vaishali also pushed her f-pawn to control any entry of White’s knight into her camp.
Ju is moving her king to the kingside, aiming to control dark squares and keep the pawn structure well supported around her king.
Vaishali moved her other knight to relocate and is possibly preparing to push the g-pawn to gain space on the kingside, adopting a similar structure to White’s.
Wenjun pushed her h-pawn forward to gain more control over the g5 square, though Black can still challenge by pushing the pawn in response.
Vaishali prefers minimal changes and seems to tell Ju, “Take your risk,” while simply shifting her king back to the previous square, indicating she is comfortable with the current structure and piece placement.
Ju Wenjun followed the standard plan and pushed her h-pawn forward to gain more space.
Vaishali brought her other knight from the 8th rank to the center, aiming to gain greater control over the board.
Wenjun is steering toward a knight endgame; she repositioned her bishop to a different diagonal, attacking the black knight and possibly preparing for an exchange soon.
Vaishali pushed her b-pawn, signaling she is looking for some exchanges now.
Ju jumped her knight, attacking Black’s knight and giving a check to the White king. Will Vaishali exchange knights?
Vaishali accepted, showing confidence in her structure and readiness to enter a knight versus bishop endgame.
Wenjun captured the black knight with her bishop.
Vaishali captured the White a-pawn with her b-pawn, fixing White’s corner pawn on the light squares.
Ju captured back the pawn with her b-pawn.
Black brought her king back to the center. The position is fully equal and appears headed toward a draw so far.
Ju captured the black knight in the last piece exchange on the board. The game is heading toward a king and pawn endgame, which looks almost drawn.
Black recaptured the piece, leaving only the king and six pawns on the board.
Vaishali moved her king back one step, preparing for repetition.
Vaishali moved her king back one step, preparing for repetition.
India’s Vaishali held World Champion Ju Wenjun to a solid draw playing Black. This is a good result for Vaishali and means we are set for an exciting Armageddon tiebreak, where Ju must win at any cost while Vaishali needs only a draw. Ju chose the French Exchange Variation, a line where Vaishali remained perfectly steady throughout the game, showing great solidity and composure. Neither player took unnecessary risks, leading to a balanced and well-fought draw. Get ready, everyone—the Armageddon showdown is coming up next!