Women's World Championship, Game 9 - Last Game
A draw finishes the match; Ju Wenjun retains her title.
It was a foregone conclusion in any case, and now it’s official: defending Women’s World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun of China has defeated her challenger and countrywoman Tan Zhongyi in their match by a hefty 6.5-2.5 score. Game 9 finished in an easy draw, as Ju played safely with the white pieces and confidently steered the game to an easy draw. (The game, with my comments, is here.) She could have played for more if she wanted to, but there was no reason for this. Her winning streak came to an end after four consecutive victories, but it’s all about the title, and it’s hers for another year or two.
Congratulations to the champion on her dominant victory. In the first half of the match everything seemed up for grabs, with both sides winning a game and Tan having good chances to win game 4. After that it quickly turned into a rout, exacerbated by Tan’s felt need to push beyond what her position could handle once she was down in the match. Maybe the match would have come down to the wire if Tan had won in game 4, but it didn’t happen.
It will be interesting to see if any youngsters manage to break through past the old guard. For the moment, the Women’s Live Ratings are dominated by the “old” guard, but some younger players are working their way up. We’ll see. For now, it’s still China, led by the mostly-retired Hou Yifan and by Ju, who hold five of the top six places and who have held the Women’s Championship title for the last nine years (the last seven by Ju) and for about 2/3 of the last 34 years.