Reigning Ladies’s World Champion GM Ju Wenjun defeated Ladies’s number-one GM Hou Yifan with a mixed rating of 11.5-9.5 within the all-Chinese language finals of the 2025 Women’s Speed Chess Championship to assert the title for the second 12 months in a row.
Hou had points together with her tactical choices and clock-handling, which noticed her start the match with a 2.5-4.5 deficit after the 5+1 phase. She demonstrated her combating qualities by pulling herself collectively and placing up a greater combat within the 3+1 phase, which helped degree the rating to three.5-3.5. Nevertheless, she couldn’t impact a comeback within the bullet phase, as Ju stored it underneath stability to once more degree the phase with a 3.5-3.5 rating.
What was anticipated to be an exciting battle between two titans turned out to be Ju’s domination within the 5+1 phase, adopted by Hou’s higher present within the 3+1 phase. She even gained the primary recreation of the bullet phase to tug herself only a level behind on the board, however her marketing campaign went haywire within the very subsequent recreation when she misplaced on time in a recreation the place she held equality in some unspecified time in the future. Her comeback efforts faltered at this level.
Ladies’s Velocity Chess Championship Outcomes
The scoreboard of the match is a transparent indicator of Ju’s domination within the 5+1 time management and Hou’s restoration in 3+1, adopted by makes an attempt to stage a comeback within the bullet portion of the match.
5+1: Ju 4.5-2.5 Hou
Through the first recreation itself, commentator GM Judit Polgar predicted, “We’re going to see gradual, gradual type of positions,” and that was the way it initially regarded, too. Each gamers began tentatively, consuming an excessive amount of time on the clock within the first recreation, greater than three minutes for nearly 14 strikes.
Nevertheless, as soon as this “warming up” stage was executed, we first noticed a pawn sacrifice from Ju, which Hou declined, solely to give you her personal alternate sacrifice, and we had a combat on our palms.
Simply as within the semifinals, commentator IM Jovanka Houska was all reward for Ju’s play, remarking she was “superior in a strategic recreation.”
This strategic squeeze within the very first recreation of the match is our Sport of the Day, analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao under.
However within the second recreation, Ju got here up with a strategic howler early, giving Hou long-term management of the sport. Hou performed delightfully pure chess to extend her management of the sport, arising with a reasonably strike, profitable a pawn, which certainly produced an optical delight.
Hou Yifan breaks via on the c-file and equalizes the rating in recreation two!https://t.co/mSNh656yBU#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/HUUBqT2Yfl
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 22, 2025
Thus, with these mutual strikes within the first two video games, hopes of an enormous combat rose excessive. At this level, the viewers ballot was nearly evenly divided, with 56% favoring Ju and 44% favoring Hou.
One pleasant element of right now’s match might be seen within the snapshot above, which options three of essentially the most profitable girls gamers within the historical past of the sport: Ju (five-time world champion), Hou (four-time world champion), and Polgar (the strongest lady participant ever).
The third recreation ended tragically with Hou blundering an equal rook endgame in her closing seconds.
If we had been to select one recreation to exemplify how the match went, it could be the one given above: Hou dropping her approach with some type of tactic underneath time strain. And naturally, Ju’s wonderful play in strategic positions.
The fifth recreation was a pleasant, advanced conflict, in contrast to nearly all of the earlier video games, which had been extra strategic in nature. Hou gained on time to equalize the rating at 2.5-2.5, and Ju’s favourite tag appeared to have pale away at this level.
Nevertheless, Hou confirmed rustiness at this level, dropping the final two video games of the phase with tactical blunders. Within the sixth recreation, it was a easy oversight in a middlegame place.
3+1: Ju 3.5-3.5 Hou
The phase began disastrously for Hou as she dedicated an unlucky blunder whereas quick on time.
😱 Hou Yifan blunders her queen, from a a lot better place!https://t.co/MaY1SbjNuz#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/cmEG6HZ1gv
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 22, 2025
Wanting on the unlucky blunders occurring simply on the flip of the segments, Polgar remarked, “The standard of the video games has dropped.”
At this level, being three factors down, although Hou appeared to be nearly on the verge of being squeezed out of the match, she merely refused to surrender. Down at a 4-8 rating after the twelfth recreation, she gained the thirteenth and 14th video games to degree the rating within the phase and as soon as once more pull again to only a two-point deficit.
The sixth recreation was a heroic effort from each gamers, culminating in an thrilling win for Hou and heartbreak for Ju. The sport was stuffed with grave tactical errors, prompting Polgar to remark, “The (analysis) bar is making good workout routines there!” It was nonetheless an thrilling win for Hou on the finish of a tactical seesaw.
The 14th recreation was after we noticed Hou play rapidly and persistently within the endgame. With Ju all the way down to her closing seconds, Hou flashed out intelligent strikes to attain a powerful win. It was as if the tactical errors only a whereas in the past did not occur in any respect.
1+1: Ju 3.5-3.5 Hou
When Hou gained the primary recreation of the bullet phase to tug only one level behind Ju, there was a whole lot of pleasure within the air. However the sixteenth recreation noticed extra tactical errors from Hou and a win for Ju.
Essentially the most amusing second and Ju’s class was exhibited within the fifth recreation, when Ju piled up an uncommon building overprotecting the e5-pawn in a Reti recreation. An overstretch of intuitive resolution, even for a bullet recreation!
Thus, staving off the problem from Hou, Ju scored a easy and vital victory within the seventeenth recreation, successfully ending the match, as there was now not sufficient time for Hou to stage a comeback.
Talking after the sport, Ju picked the 5+1 format as her favourite, a phase the place she will “present good chess.” Requested if she does any particular preparation for such matches, she replied that she simply goals to “maintain the vitality, and maintain recent!”
For her win, Ju picked up $7,000 and $4,381 by win proportion as prize cash for a complete of $11,381, whereas Hou earned $3,619.
The 2025 Ladies’s Velocity Chess Championship, which passed off August 4-22, was a Chess.com occasion the place a number of the strongest feminine chess gamers on this planet battle for a $75,000 prize fund. The principle occasion noticed 16 gamers compete in a single-elimination bracket in matches performed at 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1 time controls.
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