Five-time Women’s World Champion GM Ju Wenjun defeated IM Polina Shuvalova with a score of 17-5 in what turned out to be a one-sided semifinal of the 2025 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. In the process, she beat her own WSCC record for the largest margin of victory of 10 points, achieved in her match in the 2024 season against IM Anna Sargsyan. Ju is now all set for a final clash against Women’s number-one GM Hou Yifan in what is anticipated to be a thrilling battle between two titans.
The rematch of the finals of the 2024 Women’s Speed Chess Championship between Ju and Shuvalova turned out to be a surprising domination by Ju, who started off the initial 5+1 section with a 6.5-0.5 score, and Shuvalova never really recovered from the drubbing. Ju dominated all the sections to win the match comprehensively.
The Finals will be on Friday, August 22, at 8.00 a.m. ET / 14:00 CEST / 5:30 p.m. IST between Hou and Ju.
Women’s Speed Chess Championship Bracket
The scoreboard of the match is a clear indicator of Ju’s domination, the final bullet segment being the only time that Shuvalova could show some fight.
5+1: Ju 6.5 0.5 Shuvalova
It looked from the beginning that Shuvalova wasn’t really in her element on the day, from the way she lost her first two games.
The very first game was a true reminder of Ju’s characteristic strategic style, an asset in blitz, and her strength of play. Pointed maneuverings directed at positional elements are her strength, and this is our Game of the Day, analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao.
The second game especially featured a puzzling pawn sacrifice from Shuvalova, from which she did not seem to have achieved much:
And this was the moment when we saw that Ju was the absolute favorite of the spectators too, with 76% of votes going her way!
It was not perfect play throughout, but Ju played a beautiful lateral rook maneuver in the fifth game reminiscent of the best of GM Anatoly Karpov‘s endgames!
As the match progressed, it was obvious that Shuvalova was off-color, and the final score was a brutal 6.5-0.5 in favor of Ju.
Ju Wenjun takes the 5+1 portion with a nearly perfect score! 6.5-0.5.https://t.co/3e3ALX5yrc#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/b7mYkTKHyi
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 21, 2025
As the clip shows, it wasn’t a flawless display by Ju, but we can always overlook the tactical misses in a blitz game after all.
3+1: Ju 5.5-1.5 Shuvalova
After the initial segment, it increasingly looked like Shuvalova wasn’t able to get a hold of Ju’s style, essentially the strong strategic play, an ideal style to have in blitz games. Hence, when Shuvalova started playing much sharper in the 3+1 segment, there was hope that Shuvalova could stage a comeback in the quicker time control. But those hopes were dashed when Ju came up with a nice tactical shot to win the third game.
“It is a horror day for Polina!” was commentator GM Judit Polgar‘s observation on the match at the end of the 3+1 section. It was horror indeed, as the expected counterpush never materialized for Shuvalova, and it increasingly looked like she had lost heart, making more and more simple mistakes.
1+1: Ju Shuvalova
By this time, Ju had taken an unassailable 10-point combined lead in the match at 12-2, and finally, Shuvalova won her first game of the day, winning the first bullet game.
Polina Shuvalova starts the bullet segment with her first win in the match!https://t.co/rGJx0FghA6#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/QHFwDFUb2f
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 21, 2025
But Ju had a strike back immediately in the second game, once again through a simple tactical oversight from Shuvalova.
Observing how Ju’s playing style was full of harmony, commentator IM Jovanka Houska remarked, “It’s a very simple style of chess. I love the way she coordinates her pieces so beautifully!”
It’s a very simple style of chess. I love the way she coordinates her pieces so beautifully!
—Jovanka Houska
For her win, Ju picks up $4,000 and $3,091 by win percentage as prize money for a total of $7,091, while Shuvalova earned $909.
Ju Wenjun will now face Hou in the finals on Friday.
Don’t miss it!
The 2025 Women’s Speed Chess Championship, which takes place August 4-22, is a Chess.com event where some of the strongest female chess players in the world battle for a $75,000 prize fund. The main event sees 16 players compete in a single-elimination bracket in matches played at 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1 time controls.
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