Zhu Chen

Biography (1976)

One of the first beneficiaries of rapidly growing chess popularity in China, Zhu Chen (born in 1976), showed early promise and quickly delivered.In 1988 Zhu Chen became the first Chinese player to win an international chess competition after triumphing at the World Girls Under-12 Championship in Romania. She also won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship in 1994 and 1996 and three years later was awarded the title of GM (the seventh woman in history).Going into the 2000 Women's Championship in New Delhi as one of the favourites, Zhu suffered a setback in the first round. Still, a year later (Moscow, 2001), she made it to the final in which she defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk (5-3) and became the ninth Women's World Champion.Zhu gave up a chance to defend her world title in Georgia in May 2004 due to her busy schedule and pregnancy. She had a fair shot six years later (Antakya, 2010) but lost a close third-round match to the eventual champion Hou Yifan.

Notable game

This game was played in Shanghai in 2002

Play like a champion!

Black to move.

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When I want to do something sooner or later I’ll achieve it. If I have a goal I always have it in my mind and I go for it.

No matter how challenging the game gets, I remind myself to stay focused, remain calm, and never give up.

On Chen

Chen frequently expressed her devotion to helping the less fortunate and bridging cultures through her power as a champion.

The main factor in her victory was not so much her technique, which is only slightly superior to that of her colleagues, but rather her great mental resilience which had accumulated during her 18-year chess career.