Lei Poses Questions, Ju Finds Answers In Women's World Championship Game 2
Challenger GM Lei Tingjie once again seized the initiative in game two of the 2023 FIDE Women's World Championship in Shanghai, but a lack of time, and precise defense from reigning champion GM Ju Wenjun, saw the game end in a 40-move draw. The score is tied at 1-1.
Game three, when Lei will have the white pieces, starts, after a rest day, on Saturday, July 8, at 3:00 a.m. ET / 09:00 CEST.
The world championship match continues to be a tensely-fought battle between evenly-matched players, and on day two we learned that both participants have powerful support behind the scenes. Lei entered the venue with the world number-12 and 2019 FIDE World Cup winner, Azerbaijani GM Teimour Radjabov.
Ju has the support of her own 2700-GM, Pentala Harikrishna from India, though both players no doubt have a full team who we will learn about—if at all—only when the match ends.
Game 2: Ju Wenjun ½-½ Lei Tingjie
Ju got her first chance to play with the white pieces in the match and, initially, things seemed to be going her way. There was an echo of game one, since once again we were following a top-level game played a year ago in Croatia. In the Semi-Tarrasch Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, Lei went for 11...Be6!?, a move not strictly necessary since the d5-pawn was immune for tactical reasons. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi had done the same thing and lost to GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
Lei Tingjie's 11...Be6 was last played a year ago in Croatia by Ian Nepomniachtchi, in a game he lost to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov! #FWWC2023 pic.twitter.com/KXSXILjl41
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 6, 2023
Ju had a good position and more time on the clock than she started with, but a few inaccuracies saw Lei once again emerge as the winner of the opening battle.
Soon the question became whether she would opt for the most aggressive— and best—option of pushing her g-pawn forward to oust the white bishop. Former Women's World Champion Kosteniuk put the case against.
Kosteniuk on the potentially strong 15...g5!?:
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 6, 2023
"If I were Black I would be very scared to make such a decision, because if you play g5 it's going to be forever, and it weakens the kingside so much. Unless it's really necessary, I would prefer not to!"#FWWC2023 pic.twitter.com/uNTu8gDvYH
Lei revealed afterward that she was having the same doubts, until she finally went for it on move 17: "The bishops are on h4 and a4, and my pieces are pinned, so I needed to find a way to free my pieces, and g5 is a huge decision, because if you push g5 I think it’s a little bit risky, but after a long time thinking, I think I have to do it."
Over the next few moves, Lei targetted the d4-pawn with 19...Qb6, and 20...Bg4, undermining the knight that was defending the pawn.
The game looked balanced on a knife-edge, with the main question whether Lei would be able to break through and take the lead in the match. Ju admitted she was concerned: "Black has some threat on d4, and also my pieces are not so active, so I think White needs to play precisely."
That's just what the women's world champion did, with 25.axb4! a strong decision.
After a 21-minute think that saw her edge on the clock disappear, Ju Wenjun goes for 25.axb4: https://t.co/Rwwp8NKlj5 #c24live #FWWC2023 pic.twitter.com/fvoLNV7Oza
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 6, 2023
"I spent a lot of time later on because I just wanted to try to find some way to press," said Lei, who here used half of her remaining time on 25...Qxd3, exchanging off queens.
Lei had some regrets afterward about not keeping the queens on the board with 25...Nxb4!?, when she felt White's pieces would be somewhat out of play. Our silicon overlords agreed with the move in the game, however, as did Ju: "I feel that maybe Qxd3 is more easy for Black to play. Nxb4 is also a choice, but it’s not a very clear advantage for Black, so I think maybe Qxd3 is not a bad choice."
In fact, there was little to fault in the play of either player, with the last micro-chance perhaps slipping away on move 28.
28...Bxf3! would eliminate White's best minor piece and retain some winning chances, but, for the second time in the game, Lei decided to retreat her light-squared bishop instead, with 28...Bf5!?. Lei's decision was entirely rational, however, given she was down to under five minutes. She explained with a smile: "I also considered [...Bxf3], but I’m in time trouble. The position I thought is probably a little bit better for me, but I still have 10 moves to go!"
The game soon hurtled towards a draw, with the players repeating moves to reach move 40, the moment at which the regulations allow draw offers.
Game 2 of the FIDE Women's World Championship ends in another tense draw! https://t.co/Rwwp8NKlj5#FWWC2023 pic.twitter.com/KO9trdSokv
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 6, 2023
GM Rafael Leitao has annotated the game below.
The players now go into the first rest day with the scores locked at 1-1. Lei has won the first opening battles, but Ju has shown she's not going to give up her title without a fight.
| Fed | Name | Rtg | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Score |
| Ju Wenjun | 2564 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |||||||||||
| Lei Tingjie | 2554 | ½ | ½ | 1 |
The battle resumes on Saturday, when Lei has the white pieces in game three.
The 2023 FIDE Women's World Championship (FWWC) is the most important women's over-the-board event of the year. The defending women's world champion GM Ju Wenjun faces the challenger GM Lei Tingjie to see who will be crowned world champion. The championship starts on July 5 and boasts a €500,000 prize fund.
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Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
