Ju Wenjun vs. Tan Zhongyi, game 2 Opening: A Solid Four Knights English
Tan Zhongyi has her first game as White in the second game of the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship. It begins as an English, 1. c4, and specifically a Four Knights English with 4. g3. These tend to be positional games, rather than flash and flourish.
Ju Wenjun, playing Black, chose a less common 6. …Bc5 (than the older move 6. …Nb6), which has a huge draw rate among Master games. Both players have moved quickly up to move 10, while following a number of games including a White win in Carlsen-Giri, 2022. Commentators Polgar and Houska caution that Black needs to be careful not to drift, as Wenjun contemplates her 10th move.
The first 10 moves of game 2 are given below. Follow the game live on Lichess, or on stream with commentary by Grandmaster Judit Polgar and IM Jovanka Houska.
