LaviChess

Xie Jun

Xie Jun was the first women's world chess champion from China. She won the title in 1991 and held it in two reigns, 1991–1996 and 1999–2001. Five more Chinese women have become world champion since.

Xie Jun
Photo: Gerhard Hund, 1992. CC BY 3.0. Cropped and toned.
  • BornOctober 30, 1970, Baoding, China
  • CountryChina
  • Women's world champion1991–1996, 1999–2001
    Two reigns
  • In the line of women's championsNo. 7 of 17
  • Highest rating2574 (January 2008)
    FIDE's official lists (from July 1971)

The road to the title

Xie Jun was born in Baoding in 1970. In 1984 she won China's girls' championship. In 1991 she faced the reigning champion, Maia Chiburdanidze, in Manila and won 8½–6½.

The title matches

Xie Jun's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A tiebreak at faster time controls is given separately.
YearAgainstResultWhere
1991Maia Chiburdanidze8½–6½ (+4 −2 =9)
Won the title		Manila
1993Nana Ioseliani8½–2½ (+7 −1 =3)
Kept the title		Monaco
1996Susan Polgar4½–8½ (+2 −6 =5)
Lost the title		Jaén, Spain
1999Alisa Galliamova8½–6½ (+5 −3 =7)
Won the title		Kazan and Shenyang
2000Qin Kanying2½–1½
Kept the title · the final of FIDE's knockout		New Delhi

Two reigns

Xie Jun defended her title against Nana Ioseliani in 1993 but lost it in 1996 to Susan Polgar. In 1999 Polgar and FIDE could not agree on the conditions for her title defense, and FIDE declared that she had forfeited the title. Xie Jun instead won a title match against Alisa Galliamova of Russia, 8½–6½.

In 2000 the title was decided for the first time in a knockout tournament of 64 players, in New Delhi. Xie Jun won that too, beating Qin Kanying 2½–1½ in the final.

Afterward

Xie Jun was also the first woman from China to receive the grandmaster title, and she has served as president of the Chinese Chess Association.

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Xie Jun
  • Chess.com: Xie Jun
  • OlimpBase: the title matches 1991–1999 and the 2000 knockout
  • Mark Weeks: the women's championship 1991–1999
  • FIDE: Xie Jun's rating history

The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked game by game.

Updated November 8, 2026