Reigning world champion Ju Wenjun
A draw in the sixth game of the World Chess Championships in Shanghai ends up in a draw, leaving defending champion Ju Wenjun and challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina all level.
With the scores level at 3-3, the championships now heads to Vladivostok in Russia for the second phase of six matches to decide the winner.
In Game 6 Wenjun, a predominately 1.d4 player, reverted to 1.e4, a move the Chinese Grandmaster played in Game 2 of the match. The Berlin variation of the Spanish Defense was repeated until move 10, with Wenjun opting for Re1.
Wenjun failed to achieve much out of the opening with lethargic 17.b3, 18.c4, and 19.Bb2. With calm and measured play, Goryachkina managed to outmaneuver her opponent. By move 30 it became clear that black will be playing for the win. Yet, similar to the earlier games of this match, the Russian was not able to build on her advantage. By the time players passed the first time control, the worst was behind Wenjun, and she was on the road to avoid defeat.
Nevertheless, Goryachkina made Wenjun sweat for it. Game 6 turned out to be the longest one of the match, surpassing 100 moves.
For the last 60 moves, Wenjun had to be extremely careful, while Goryachkina was playing with no risk. She continued to wait for her opponent to slip. Wenjun was visibly tired, her hand at times trembling. The game finally ended two moves shy of a 50-move draw rule.
At the post-game press conference, Goryachkina said that she felt slightly better, but just couldn’t find the decisive moves for a win. Wenjun was unhappy with her play and felt fortunate to escape with a draw.
This was Goryachkina’s second consecutive game in which she was the only one pressing for a win. This must have felt great for her, following a loss in Game 4. It was also the first game where white was clearly worse. The stretch of four games in which Goryachkina had 3 black was akin to a test.
She started with a loss, but has done better than most expected, fully recovering in the last two games, and it feels like if she has started to dictate play.
The break in the match—it’s moving to Vladivostok—is likely to benefit both players. However, Goryachkina is going home where large crowds are expected to support her.
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