Tan Zhongyi takes the lead in the Women's World Championship 2025

The 2025 FIDE Women's World Championship took a dramatic turn as challenger GM Tan Zhongyi seized a 1.5-0.5 lead over reigning champion GM Ju Wenjun in a grueling 62-move thriller. What seemed destined to be a dead-drawn rook endgame collapsed for Ju in time pressure, handing Tan a crucial victory after nearly five hours of combat.

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History repeated itself in eerie fashion—just like their 2018 title match, Tan won Game 2 after an opening draw. This time, she defied superstition by reprising her 1.c4 English Opening from seven years prior. "My team debated whether it was bad luck," Tan admitted with a smile post-game, "but I trusted my intuition."

Ju initially held firm with Black, improvising a novel 11...Qe7 deviation from elite-level theory. "You can't just make moves—you need a plan!" she later reflected, though her 20-minute time deficit foreshadowed trouble. The critical meltdown came as the clock ticked under three minutes: 38...Rf5? (instead of active 38...Rb3!) and the fatal 40...Ke8? transformed a lifeless position into a losing one.

"At move 40, the evaluation becomes extremely difficult," a weary Ju confessed. Commentators GM Judit Polgar and IM Jovanka Houska watched in disbelief as the champion's precision evaporated under time pressure—mirroring Tan's own collapse in their 2018 encounter.

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With 10 games remaining, Ju must regroup during Sunday's rest day before fighting back with White in Game 3 (April 6, 3:00 a.m. ET). But Tan's psychological edge now looms large—proving that in world championship chess, history has a way of rhyming.