Tan Zhongyi takes the lead in the six-game Candidates final after defeating Lei Tingjie in one of the most exciting games of the year.

Primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe, the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus left many quotes for history. "Boldness is the beginning of an action, but fortune controls how it ends" is one of them, very appropriate to understand what happened today in the first game of the Women's Candidates Final in Chongqing, China. 

The action began punctually at 3 pm local time with the ceremonial first move, performed by Du Xueyong, Deputy Director of Chongqing Sports Bureau, accompanied by FIDE Vice-President and former Women's World Champion Xie Jun. 

Playing with White, Tan Zhongyi opened with 1.c4, the English Opening, one of her two main weapons. Hardly a surprise for Lei Tingjie, she quickly replied with 1…e5, against which Tan Zhongyi blitzed out 2.d3, a secondary line which, according to my database, she had never played before in her career. 

Already on move six, the position was completely new, a rare occurrence nowadays. Customary in English Openings, Tan Zhongyi went for the kingside fianchetto, followed by the typical queenside pawn expansion with a3 and b4. Lei Tingjie defended with precision, obtaining a very promising middlegame position. 

Around move twenty, with both players under fifteen minutes to reach the 40-move time control, Tan Zhongyi boldly opted for a very risky and unbalanced idea, allowing her opponent two strongly connected passed pawns in exchange for active piece play and her own passer on d5. Soon, a second pawn had to be sacrificed to maintain the initiative. 

Although the computers were indicating a decisive material advantage for Lei Tingjie, her king was considerably exposed – in addition, she was getting very low on time. 

On move thirty, Lei Tingjie could have scored first blood if she had found 30…c4! (instead of 30…Qe6? played in the game): however, the lines are very difficult to calculate with only seconds on the clock. 

Tan Zhongyi won a piece but still had to deal with her opponent's advanced passed pawn. She missed a win on move thirty-five (35.e4! instead of 35.Qe8, with a decisive advantage), but luck was on her side today. 

With less than thirty seconds on her clock and five moves to go for the time control, Lei Tingjie blundered with 36…f4? and was forced to resign a couple of moves later, after Tan Zhongyi correctly spotted 37.e3! followed by the exchange of queens on d3.

Commentating the match from the venue, GM Alik Gershon witnessed the meltdown live.   

"What a blow for Lei Tingjie. Until the very last moment, she had a draw with 36…Qb1. This has been a very upsetting game for her" were Gershon's final words.

Chief Arbiter Panagiotis Nikolopoulos retrieved the scoresheets from the players, certifying a win for White in the first game of the match.

Excited after her victory, Tan Zhongyi attended the press conference, while a disappointed Lei Tingjie retired to her chambers to regroup for tomorrow's second game, in which she will be playing with White. 

You can follow all the games with live commentaries on the FIDE YouTube Channel. 

Text:  IM Michael Rahal 

Photo: Liu Yi

Official website: womenscandidates.fide.com/

The match

The 2023 FIDE Women's Candidates Final is being disputed in Chongqing (China) from March 27th to April 6th. Chinese Grandmasters Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi face each other in a six-game classical chess match.  The winner will receive 60.000 euros and the right to challenge the current Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun for the title in July.

The venue

Strategically positioned as a gateway to China’s west, Chongqing is China’s major modernized manufacturing base, a financial center, and an international transport hub in Western China.

Home to more than 32 million people, it was an obvious choice for hosting the event as both players were born in the city.

In addition, it’s an important center of chess activity in the country, abode to many important chess clubs and academies. A fun fact - both Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi are teammates at the Chongqing Sports Lottery Chess Club.