Norway Chess: Top Woman Player Ju Wenjun Confirms Participation

Women's world No.2 Ju Wenjun of China, No. 9 Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine and No. 21 Sarasadat Khademalsharieh of Spain on Monday confirmed their participation in next year's Norway Chess Women, which also has India's R. Vaishali in the fray.

The event will be held from May 26 to June 6.

Vaishali, the elder sister of Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa and one of the rising stars in women's chess, had confirmed her participation in the prestigious tournament last month.

Wenjun is one of the most formidable figures in women's chess with a live rating of 2,563. She is the reigning four-time Women's world champion, a two-time World Rapid champion, and the reigning Norway Chess Women champion. She is also only the fifth woman in history to achieve a rating above 2600, marking her place among the elite.

Muzychuk is a three-time world champion in fast chess. She clinched the Women's World Rapid Championship in 2014 and the Women's World Blitz Championship in both 2014 and 2016. Her feat of winning both the World Rapid and World Blitz Championships in the same year in 2016 places her alongside legends like Susan Polgar and Norway's Magnus Carlsen.

Sarasadat, who is originally from Iran but now represents Spain, became the national champion in her adopted country. She finished second in both the 2018 World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, as well as the 2015-16 FIDE Women's Grand Prix.

The Norway tournament brings together the top male and female players in a distinctive six-player double round-robin format.

India's recently-crowned world champion D. Gukesh will take on Magnus Carlsen, the world's highest-rated player, in a highly-anticipated contest in the men's category.

In 2023, Gukesh finished third in Stavanger.

Besides Gukesh, Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who recently became the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to reach the gold-standard ELO rating of 2800, will make his debut at the prestigious tournament.