The Next Women’s World Champion is from China.
China’s Tan Zhongyi has claimed victory in the final game of the Women’s Candidates Pool B, defeating Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in a closely-fought match.
The win means that Tan Zhongyi will face Pool A winner, China’s Lei Tingjie, in the first quarter of 2023. The winner of that match will go on to challenge current Women’s World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun, also from China, for the title.
The fourth and final game of the second leg of the FIDE Women’s Candidates began at 3 pm at the Farovon Hotel in Khiva. Tan Zhongyi had been dominant throughout the opening stage, using a variety of openings to keep Goryachkina on the back foot. In the final game, Tan Zhongyi repeated the Semi-Slav defense from the second game, but instead of repeating the Exchange variation, she opted for 6.e3.
Goryachkina was caught off guard by this choice, and after some hesitation, chose the Cambridge Springs variation. However, Tan Zhongyi was clearly still in preparation, and on move 18, Goryachkina made a crucial blunder with 18...Rac8, allowing Tan Zhongyi to launch a powerful pawn thrust with 18.c5. This put Goryachkina on the back foot, and despite sacrificing a piece for two pawns, she was unable to recover and Tan Zhongyi secured victory on move 40.
The win means that Tan Zhongyi will now face Lei Tingjie in a highly anticipated match, with the winner going on to challenge Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Chess Championship.
