It is also the victory of China's national image, which is the victory of Ju Wenjun. Ju Wenjun | World | Victory

At the just concluded 2023 Women's World Championships of the International Chess Federation, Ju Wenjun from Shanghai defeated challenger Lei Tingjie and ultimately won the world chess queen title for the fourth time. Nowadays, both the new king and queen of Chinese chess are Chinese players, undoubtedly creating an unprecedented height in Chinese international chess. On the afternoon of July 25th, Ju Wenjun triumphantly returned to Shanghai, "hoping that the Chinese national elephant will become more and more competitive and influential, and that children who love national elephants can also gain a positive and energetic attitude towards life through this sport..." Ju Wenjun said.

What made her win the championship for the third time

The competition started on July 5th in Shanghai. In the first half of the game, challenger Lei Tingjie performed well, leading 3.5-2.5 in the first 6 innings. Moving from Shanghai to Chongqing, Ju Wenjun fell behind in the score, while the opponent played at home.

After 12 rounds of intense slow chess competition, Ju Wenjun stubbornly equalized the score in a disadvantageous situation where she was once behind, and achieved a crucial victory in the final moments, winning the women's world championship with a score of 6.5-5.5. Talking about the process of falling behind, drawing, and ultimately achieving a successful comeback. Ju Wenjun believes that this is partly due to his valuable experience of winning the "championship" in the first three times. "I feel that my mentality has been adjusted well. After arriving in Chongqing, I completely let go of all the burdens and pressures."

And Ju Wenjun's team also played a very important role, such as providing tactical and strategic advice, or some necessary psychological counseling. It is understood that during that time, after having dinner every night, Ju Wenjun and the Olympic team champion and super master Wang Pin walked around the hotel together, chatting about the chess game of the day. Wang Bin said, "The first half of the journey didn't go smoothly, but she was able to hold on and didn't show any impatience or irritability." She felt that Ju Wenjun's mentality had been adjusted well this time. "I told her, as an old 'jianghu', the result wasn't very important. She said, just play every game well with a good heart."

The situation that Ju Wenjun faced this time was very similar to the previous two "post chess defense battles". At the end of 2018, Ju Wenjun passed the knockout stage of the Women's World Championships and advanced to the finals, defeating Russian star Lagono in the final; At the beginning of 2020, Ju Wenjun successfully defended her title by defeating Russia's hopeful star Goryachikina in the women's World Championships. During those two "post lockdowns", Ju Wenjun achieved a comeback while falling behind, demonstrating her "big heart" characteristic of remaining calm in times of crisis and becoming more stable at critical moments. On the contrary, Lei Tingjie appeared very nervous in the final game and failed to maintain her previous proactive and daring spirit.

From an unnamed chess player to a leading Chinese national elephant soldier

From an unknown little chess player to the world's "queen" of four championships, 32 year old Ju Wenjun "walked" for 25 years. On January 31, 1991, Ju Wenjun was born in Putuo District, Shanghai. Dad Ju Jianhua loves playing chess and in his leisure time, he would play a few games with some old neighbors in the community. As soon as Wen Jun learned how to walk, he followed his father out and stumbled around the chessboard of his father and uncles. Influenced by this, Wen Jun fell in love with round chess pieces. While girls of the same age were playing with dolls, she held the pieces and placed interesting patterns on the chessboard.

In 1998, Wenjun was in second grade at Jiangning Road Primary School in Shanghai. The teacher asked the students to choose extracurricular interest classes, and other students had to go back and discuss with their parents. Wenjun did not hesitate to choose chess. Since he officially started playing chess, Wen Jun has changed. The little monkey, who used to be unable to sit for 5 minutes, can sit quietly for one or two hours, pondering a game of chess. At home, my father often plays chess with Wenjun, who is both a guide and a good opponent for my daughter. In order to help her daughter achieve better development, the mother has selected two schools that offer excellent chess talent training to her daughter. With the help of his parents, 7-year-old Wen Jun was fortunate enough to apprentice under the former head coach of the national team, Qi Jingxuan. Qi Jingxuan, who was in her 50s and also from Shanghai, was awarded the title of "International Master" by the International Chess Federation. With years of experience in training talents, Qi Jingxuan immediately recognized the talent of the Chinese king. Under his strict training, Wen Jun lived up to expectations and received the opportunity to train for the national team in 2004.

Later on, Ju Wenjun began her life as a "northern drifter", going from being a "chess enthusiast" to a "professional chess player". Despite experiencing setbacks and setbacks, she never gave up her love for chess and made many good teachers and friends through playing chess. And she ultimately achieved her current success through hard work - winning four world championships, making her the third Chinese chess player to achieve this feat after Xie Jun and Hou Yifan. When asked if he had already begun to aspire to five consecutive championships, Ju Wenjun said, "I will do my best and have confidence in facing the challenges ahead."

"Seeing two such excellent chess players in our country playing such a high-level game, regardless of the outcome, is a victory for the Chinese national team!" said Ni Hua, the head coach of the Chinese women's chess team. More than two months ago, Chinese chess player Ding Liren just won the honor of world chess king. This also brought the center of chess to China for the first time. Regarding the current leading position of Chinese chess, Deputy Director of the International Chess Federation Management Committee, Reznis Ozola, said, "I hope this can also serve as a reason to motivate other countries, and I hope they can work harder to challenge China."