Ju Wenjun facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ju Wenjun居文君 |
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Ju Wenjun at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024
|
|
| Country | China |
| Born | 31 January 1991 Shanghai, China |
| Title | Grandmaster (2014) |
| Women's World Champion | 2018–present |
| FIDE rating | 2560 (June 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2604 (March 2017) |
Ju Wenjun (Chinese: 居文君; pinyin: Jū Wénjūn) was born on January 31, 1991. She is a top chess player from China, known as a Grandmaster.
She is currently the Women's World Champion, and she's won this title five times! Ju Wenjun is also the current Women's World Blitz Chess Champion. She has won the Women's World Rapid Chess Championship two times as well.
In March 2017, she became only the fifth woman ever to reach a very high rating of 2600 points. This rating is part of a special system that measures how strong a chess player is. She first became the Women's World Chess Champion in May 2018. Since then, she has successfully defended her title in 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2025.
Chess Journey
Ju Wenjun started learning to play chess when she was seven years old.
In December 2004, she placed third in the Asian Women's Chess Championship. This great result allowed her to play in her first Women's World Chess Championship in 2006. She also competed in this big event in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017.
She won the Women's Chinese Chess Championship in both 2010 and 2014. In July 2011, she won the Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament without losing a single game. She even finished ahead of the then-women's world champion, Hou Yifan.
In October 2011, she came in second place at a major tournament in Nalchik. Her performance was good enough to earn the special requirements needed to become a Grandmaster. However, she couldn't get the title yet because one of the required signatures was missing.
From June to July 2014, she finished tied for second place at a tournament in Georgia. This earned her another Grandmaster requirement. Later, from August to September 2014, she tied for first with Hou Yifan at a tournament in the United Arab Emirates. She won the event because of a special rule used when scores are tied.
In November 2014, FIDE, the world chess organization, officially gave her the Grandmaster title. She had earned six Grandmaster requirements, which was more than enough. This made her China's 31st Grandmaster and the 31st woman in the world to hold this important title. Also in 2014, she tied for first place in another tournament in Wuxi, China.
In December 2017, Ju won the Women's World Rapid Chess Championship in Riyadh. She won it again in December 2018 in St. Petersburg.
Ju had a big win in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. She defeated Alireza Firouzja, who was ranked among the top players in the world. She also drew a game against the World Champion, Ding Liren, in the final round.
In December 2024, she won the Women's World Blitz Chess Championship.
Becoming World Champion
Ju Wenjun won the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2015–16. This meant she got to play a special match for the Women's World Chess Championship 2017 against the champion, Tan Zhongyi. Ju won the match in May 2018, with a score of 5½ to 4½. This made her the new Women's World Chess Champion!
The next Women's World Chess Championship was a big tournament with 64 players. Ju won this tournament, which happened in November 2018. This meant she kept her title.
Since then, she has successfully defended her title two more times in special matches. First, she played against Aleksandra Goryachkina in the Women's World Chess Championship 2020. The match was tied, but Ju won in the tie-break games. Then, she defended her title against Lei Tingjie in the Women's World Chess Championship 2023, winning with a score of 6½ to 5½.
Playing for Teams
Ju Wenjun has been a part of the Chinese national women's chess team since 2008. Her team has won many gold medals!
- They won gold at the 42nd Chess Olympiad in 2016 and again in 2018.
- They won the Women's World Team Chess Championship in 2009 and 2011.
- They also won the Women's Asian Nations Chess Cup in 2012, 2014, and 2016.
- In 2010, they won gold at the Asian Games.
In 2013, she won a silver medal with her team from Shanghai at the Asian Cities Chess Championship. She also plays for the Shanghai chess club in the China Chess League.
About Her Life
Ju Wenjun graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 2015.
See also
In Spanish: Ju Wenjun para niños
