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“I just enjoy playing chess so much. China was never the place for chess let's say ten years ago. I worked hard and became world champion. Somehow I never consider myself as a professional chess player. I love the game. I love my country. As far as I can play I play” … Xie Jun has always played chess for fun and her passion for the game. Friendly and soft-spoken, Jun has always claimed herself to be a non-professional. She is just a girl next door and has emotions like that of any other girl. The winner of Women’s World Chess Championship is that humble. She really walks with her feet on ground and thus believes relationships once made are to be carried on forever… “My trainer Ye, is a long term trainer for 12 years already almost”… and that is how she moves on with her life.
Xie Jun was born in the year 1970 on the 30th of October in Baoding, Hebei in China. A Grandmaster and winner of Women’s World Chess Champion 1991-1996 and 1999 – 2001, Jun is one of the most celebrated figures in China. Jun learnt to play Chinese chess at the age of 6. According to her… “It is very similar to this chess. I started to play Chinese Chess at the age of six. At the age of ten I became junior champion for Chinese Chess in the city Beijing. One trainer came up and said okay we have enough people to play Chinese Chess and why don't you go to play chess because the two games are very similar”. Her trainer Ye taught her all the right moves of chess until she started playing chess on a regular basis. She is a student of English and did her post graduation in Education. She is now pursuing her Doctorate degree in psychology. She has always looked up to Karpov as her idol… “At the beginning when I started to play chess, there was only one book. It is the Games Collection of Karpov. Somehow I studied his game and looked at him like God. He was my hero let's say”. Her dream was fulfilled in the year 2000 as she got a chance to play against the former World Champion Karpov, the beau ideal of chess. The match was played in four games, which was won by Karpov.
People know her for her ruthless attacks and strong style of playing. With her win in the Women’s World Chess Championship, chess became immensely popular in China and Asia. Xie hold the 2nd rank among women chess players. Presently she is working as an official in Beijing Sports Commission.
To start with…
Xie Jun started playing chess urged by her coach. Soon she became of the promising chess players in China. The government of China convinced her to play international tournaments and soon she was seen going through chain of successes. Her first big success was at the Chinese Girls' Chess Championship in the year 1984. She secured the second-fourth place at the Women's World Junior Championship in the year 1988. She won gold medal for the Chinese team at the Chess Olympiad 1998, held in Kalmykia, Russia.
Women’s World Chess championship
At the age of 20 Xie Jun she earned the right to contend for the Women’s World Chess Championship. It was in the year 1991 that she won the title and became a World Champion. She defeated Maya Chiburdanidze, the reigning World Champion in the final match. She defended her title in the year 1993 and lost it in the year 1996. She was again a challenger at the Women’s World Chess Championship in the year 1999 and won it to get back her title. She won the WWCC title again after FIDE changed the format of the tournament to knockout matches in the year 2000. She was succeeded by Zhu Chen of China in the year 2001. |
