The tension decides the Women's World Cup: "I've had more luck"

Chinese chess player Lei Tingjie, 26, has played a fabulous world championship. She took the lead on the scoreboard by winning the fifth game and took the initiative whenever she had the chance, but was defeated in the eighth game.. This Saturday he has fallen again in the twelfth and last game of his duel against his compatriot Ju Wenjun, 32 years old. The champion thus retains the crown and equals with four victories the also Chinese Hou Yifan, still number one in the world. At the press conference, she confessed that she was “excited, but also relieved” because she had avoided what already seemed unavoidable: risking everything in the rapid tiebreaker games.. He also admitted that he had been “luckier”.

As an added reward, Wenjun takes home $300,000 in prize money, $100,000 more than his rival, who only fell when the pressure became unbearable.. He is young and will have time to assault the target again. The champion also revealed the names of her assistants and coaches, a fact that is usually kept secret in major competitions. They were two great world-class masters, the Chinese Wei Yi and the Indian Pentala Harikrishna..

Sino-Indian connection

The connection between both Asian countries is eloquent about the immediate future of world chess. For the first time, China dominates the two crowns, the absolute and the women's, after the victory of Ding Liren against the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi. Meanwhile, a new generation of young Indians, inspired by the great champion Vishy Anand, still in the world's top ten despite being 53 years old, threatens to take over sooner rather than later..

Anand himself summed up very well on Twitter how the duel was defined: “Lei Tingjie has played an impressive World Cup and today's game has not been characteristic of his game. Congratulations to Ju Wenjun on overcoming a fierce rival and remaining world champion.”

decisive game

Indeed, the duel between Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie was very even, until in the last game the applicant made at least two serious positional errors, after exhibiting an almost always impeccable chess level.. For the champion, who forgave the first of the mistakes but was implacable with the second, it has been the most difficult crown to achieve, of the four that she has accumulated.

Tingjie, despite everything, showed a wide smile and an always positive attitude in his appearance before the press. “Finally finished. the pressure is off. There are a lot of things to do. For me it's a kind of relief and I'm looking forward to relax. I will focus on the future and try my best to play chess well. I was happy to play against Ju and I learned a lot”, declared the runner-up, who finished eloquently: “I'll be back”.