Women's World Chess Championship 2020
The 2020 Women's World Chess Championship was a chess match for the Women's World Chess Championship title. It was contested by Ju Wenjun (world champion as winner of the 2018 knock-out championship) and her challenger, Aleksandra Goryachkina, the winner of a newly established Candidates Tournament that was held in 2019.[2]
| Defending champion | Challenger |
 |
 |
 Ju Wenjun (CHN) |
 Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) |
| Born 31 January 1991 28 years old |
Born 28 September 1998 21 years old |
| 6 (2½) | 6 (1½) |
| Winner of the 2018 World Championship |
Winner of the 2019 Candidates Tournament |
| Rating: 2584 (Women's World No. 2)[1] |
Rating: 2578 (Women's World No. 4) |
| ← 2018 tournament | 2022 → |
The match was planned in two parts, one held in Shanghai (China) and one in Vladivostok (Russia), from 3 to 24 January 2020. It marked the return to a match only format for the title with qualifying Candidates Tournament, after new FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich had expressed his dissatisfaction with the knock-out tournaments and resulting frequently changing world champions.
Ju Wenjun defended her title.
Candidates Tournament
The newly established candidates tournament started 29 May 2019 in Kazan, Russia. The format was an eight player double round-robin tournament.[3]
Three players qualified by virtue of reaching the semi-finals of the last championship.[4] One spot would have been reserved for Ju Wenjun as 2018 World Championship match winner. All remaining players came from the rating list, by taking the average of all twelve monthly ratings in 2018.[5] Aleksandra Goryachkina replaced Hou Yifan, who declined an invitation.[6]
Qualifiers
| Place | Player | Points | Women's world no. | Elo (May 2019) | Women's World champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandra Goryachkina | 9.5 | 9 | 2522 | |
| 2 |  Anna Muzychuk | 8 | 7 | 2539 | |
| 3 | Tan Zhongyi | 7 | 10 | 2513 | 2017 |
| 4 | Kateryna Lagno | 7 | 4 | 2554 | |
| 5 | Mariya Muzychuk | 6.5 | 3 | 2563 | 2015 |
| 6 |  Nana Dzagnidze | 6.5 | 11 | 2510 | |
| 7 | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 6 | 6 | 2546 | 2008 |
| 8 | Valentina Gunina | 5.5 | 13 | 2506 |
Crosstable
Leading player after each round in green.
No. Player Elo
(May 2019)[9]1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Tie-breaks Results by round Place H2H Wins 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 Valentina Gunina (RUS)2506 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 1 0 5½ ½ ½ 1½ 1½ 2 2 3 3½ 3½ 3½ 4½ 5½ 5½ 5½ 8 2 Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)2546 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 6 ½ 1 1 1½ 2½ 2½ 3 3 3½ 4½ 4½ 4½ 5½ 6 7 3 Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)2522 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 9½ ½ 1½ 2½ 3 4 5 5½ 6½ 7½ 8 8½ 9 9½ 9½ 1 4 Kateryna Lagno (RUS)2554 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 7 1½ ½ 1 1 2 2½ 3½ 4 4½ 5 5½ 6 6 6½ 7 3 5 Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)2510 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 6½ 1½ ½ 1½ 2½ 3½ 3½ 3½ 4 4 4 4½ 4½ 5½ 6 6½ 5 6 Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)2563 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1½ 2½ 3 3½ 4½ 5 5½ 5½ 5½ 6½ 6 7 Anna Muzychuk (UKR)2539 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 8 ½ ½ ½ 1 1½ 2½ 3 3½ 4½ 5 5½ 6½ 7½ 8 2 8 Tan Zhongyi (CHN)2513 0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 7 ½ ½ 1 2 2½ 2½ 2½ 2½ 3½ 3½ 4 5 5½ 6 7 4
Championship match
As in 2018, the match was divided into two parts, hosted by the countries of the players. One stage was held in Shanghai, China and the other in Vladivostok, Russia.[10] In Shanghai the match was played in the InterContinental Shanghai Jing'An Hotel, in Vladivostok at the Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island.[11] The format was increased to twelve games, the last championships consisted of only 10 scheduled games.
The classical time-control portion of the match ended with a tied score of 6-6, after 3 victories of Ju, 3 victories of Goryachkina, and 6 draws. On 24 January, 4 games of rapid chess were used as a tie-breaker; and Ju Wenjun retained the title with 1 win and 3 draws.
Schedule
Match started off in Shanghai and ended in Vladivostok.
| Shanghai | 4 Jan | Opening ceremony |
| 5–6 Jan | Games 1–2 | |
| 8–9 Jan | Games 3–4 | |
| 11–12 Jan | Games 5–6 | |
| Vladivostok | 15 Jan | Opening ceremony |
| 16–17 Jan | Games 7–8 | |
| 19–20 Jan | Games 9–10 | |
| 22–23 Jan | Games 11–12 | |
| 24 Jan | Tiebreak games and closing ceremony |
Results
Women's World Chess Championship 2020 Player Rating Standard Time Control Points Rapid Tie-Breaks Tie-Break
Points1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R1 R2 R3 R4 Ju Wenjun (China)2584 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 6 ½ ½ 1 ½ 2½ Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia)2578 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 6 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1½ Game Links 
References
- https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=women
- http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11265-fide-on-the-womens-world-championship-cycle.html
- https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2018/FIDE_NEWS/Rules_for_the_FIDE_Womens_Candidates_Tournament_2019.pdf
- https://en.chessbase.com/post/womens-world-ch-2018-round-4-3
- https://de.chessbase.com/post/frauen-wm-der-modus-aendert-sich
- https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11515-kazan-inaugurates-a-new-stage-in-womens-chess.html
- https://en.chessbase.com/post/womens-candidates-2019-round-12
- https://www.chess.com/news/view/goryachkina-wins-fide-women-candidates-anna-muzychuk-second
- "Top 100 Women May 2019 – Archive". FIDE.
- https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11810-fide-womens-grand-prix-kicks-off-in-skolkovo.html
- https://de.chessbase.com/post/frauen-weltmeisterschaft-ju-wenjun-gegen-aleksandra-goryachkina
External links
| Tournament / match format | |
|---|---|
| Knock-out format | |
| Match / knock-out | |
| Match format | |
| |
