Chess Queens: Contemporary Giants

This era marks a vibrant time in women's chess, with Hou Yifan, the youngest ever women's world champion, breaking records and smashing barriers. Ju Wenjun continues this legacy with her tenacity, inspiring the next generation of female chess prodigies.

Born in 1994 in China, Hou Yifan learned the game at five. Her family soon moved to Beijing to support her chess career, recognizing her remarkable talent. She was admitted to the National Chess Academy and studied under GM Ye Jiangchuan. In 2003, Hou won the Girls U10 World Junior Championship and shared first place in the open section a year later. A true chess prodigy, she debuted in the national team at the 2006 Chess Olympiad at 12, scoring 11/13 on the third board.

Two years later, Hou Yifan became the youngest-ever Women's World Champion at 16. In 2011, she defended her title against Humpy Koneru without a single loss (+3-0=5) but was eliminated in the second round of the 2012 championship by Monica Socko. Returning strong, Hou qualified for the title match as the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix 2011-2012 and, in 2013, crushed defending champion Anna Ushenina (+4-0=3) to regain the title.

Hou did not play in the 2015 championship and relinquished her title but set up another title match as the winner of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2013-2014. She convincingly outplayed Mariya Muzychuk in the match (+3-0=6). Hou chose not to defend her title in the 2017 knockout championship and entered Oxford a year later to study for a Master of Public Policy. After graduation, Hou Yifan has stayed away from the chess crown fight but likely hasn't said her last word.

Born in Kharkiv (USSR, now Ukraine) in 1985, Anna Ushenina was introduced to chess at seven by her mother, who believed the game would develop her intellectual and creative talents. After winning multiple junior events on the national level, Anna was admitted to the Ukrainian team that took gold at the 2006 Chess Olympiad and silver two years later.

Seeded just 30th at the Women's World Championship 2012, she was hardly considered a favorite, but Anna beat the odds and made it to the final. In a close match, Anna Ushenina prevailed over former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova on a tiebreaker, becoming Ukraine's first Women's World Champion.
Ushenina lost her title in the Women's World Chess Championship 2013 after game seven of a ten-game match against Hou Yifan.

Mariya Muzychuk was born on September 21, 1992, in Stryi, Lviv Region, Ukraine. She began her chess career in the village of Ugersko, where her parents worked at a local sports school for children and youngsters. At home, along with their parents, her elder sister Anna, who became a famous chess player too, helped her train.

Since she was 7, Mariya has participated in youth competitions. In 2002, she won the Ukrainian and European championships for girls under 10. At age 11, she was shortlisted for the Ukrainian women's championship, repeatedly winning medals at the European and world youth championships. Her success at the European women's championships brought Mariya the title of Woman Grandmaster, and in 2008 she was awarded the title of International Master.

Mariya's moment of glory came in the 2015 knockout Women's World Championship in Sochi, where she defeated Yuanling Yuan, Monika Socko, Antoaneta Stefanova, Humpy Koneru, Harika Dronavalli, and Natalija Pogonina, becoming the fifteenth Women's World Champion. In March 2016, she lost her title to Hou Yifan (+0-3=6) but continues to be a main contender for the chess crown.

A young prodigy and one of the best players of her generation, Tan Zhongyi was born in Chongqing in 1991. She showed early promise by winning numerous youth events, including the World Youth U10 Girls Chess Championship in 2000 and 2001, and the World Youth U12 Girls Chess Championship the very next year. Already in her early twenties, Tan demonstrated great consistency in her results, winning at least one major event per year and becoming a key contender for the women's chess crown.

The following year, Tan lost her crown in a world championship match against challenger Ju Wenjun, held in Shanghai and Chongqing. However, she did not stop her pursuit of the title. In 2023, Tan advanced to the FIDE Women's Candidates final but lost to her compatriot Lei Tingjie. Undeterred, Tan Zhongyi won the Women's Candidates in Toronto in 2024, earning the right to challenge women's world champion Ju Wenjun once again.

Born in 1991 in Shanghai, China, Ju Wenjun started playing chess at seven, inspired by the legendary Xie Jun. Unlike many Chinese youngsters, Ju preferred to play with adults and rarely participated in junior competitions. Her chess strength grew rapidly. At just thirteen, she finished second at the Asian Championship and then won the Chinese national championship, heralding the rise of a new star.

Ju Wenjun first qualified for the Women's World Championship in 2006 after placing third at the 2004 Asian Women's Championship and has played in all knockout events since then. Her breakthrough came in the 2015-2016 FIDE Women's Grand Prix, which Ju won, challenging the incumbent Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi in Shanghai and Chongqing in 2018. Ju prevailed in a tightly contested match (+3-2=5) and clinched the title.

In the same year, Ju successfully defended her crown in the knockout championship in Khanty-Mansiysk, 2018, becoming the second woman in history to do so after Xie Jun.

In 2025, Ju will once again play a world championship match against Tan Zhongyi, the winner of the 2024 Women's Candidates, this time as the defending champion.