Azerbaijan’s historic silver and China’s resilient bronze cap a thrilling Women’s World Team Championship.
The 2025 Women’s World Team Championship concluded in Linares with a showcase of elite competition, rising talent, and historic performances.
Team FIDE claimed the world title with an undefeated run, Azerbaijan secured a landmark silver, and China completed the podium with a well-earned bronze.
Exceptional individual results across all six boards highlighted the global depth of the women’s game, from Ulviyya Fataliyeva’s commanding board-one gold to Polina Shuvalova’s sensational 9.5/10 and 2827 rating performance on board three.
Final standings
The closing ceremony brought a festive end to an intense and unforgettable week of competition. Winners’ trophies, gold, silver, and bronze medals, along with a selection of commemorative gifts, were presented by Auxi del Olmo, Mayor of Linares; Javier Ochoa, President of the Spanish Chess Federation; and Victor Bologan, FIDE Executive Director.
🏆 1st place – Gold Medal: FIDE Team
With undefeated match play and standout individual performances, the FIDE squad claimed the championship title in commanding style.
🥈 2nd place – Silver Medal: Azerbaijan
A remarkable run, full of grit and inspired tiebreak victories, earned Azerbaijan a well-deserved second place.
🥉 3rd place – Bronze Medal: China
Led by GM Hou Yifan and supported by a rising generation of talents, China secured the final podium spot after two narrow wins in the bronze-medal duel.
Individual board medals
Three individual medals – gold, silver, and bronze – were also awarded at the prize-giving ceremony by Martin De La Torre, Concejal de Juventud y Deportes.
The prizes were determined by rating performance, with eligibility requiring a minimum of five classical games played during the event.
Let’s take a closer look at how the afternoon unfolded. Luis Rentero Lechuga, son of Luis Rentero Suarez, driving force behind the classic Linares tournaments, opened the final round with the gong ceremony.
Team FIDE dominated Azerbaijan in the final with an impressive 5.5–2.5 overall score. Throughout the championship, the squad remained undefeated, conceding very few individual games.
While every team member delivered consistently strong performances, the backbone of their success came from the lower boards: Polina Shuvalova (gold on board three), Leya Garifullina (silver on board four), and Anna Shukhman (gold on board five), all of whom were in exceptional form.
The first match ended 3–1 for FIDE, with two wins and two draws. On board three, IM Polina Shuvalova (2473) continued her remarkable run, securing the board gold medal with an extraordinary 9.5/10, one of the finest individual results of the event.
On board one, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2540) once again demonstrated her world-class technique, gradually outplaying IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (2420) in a long and demanding queen endgame.
Queen endings are notoriously treacherous: perpetual check motifs lurk everywhere, and even a pawn advantage offers no guarantee of victory.
Fataliyeva had already defended with admirable resilience for seventy-four moves, but exhausted after a long tournament and a gruelling game, she missed the drawing resource 74…Qf7! Another good option was 74…Qa8+, maintaining the balance.
Instead, Ulviyya chose the wrong check 74…Qa5+?, a move that ultimately loses after 75.Kf6 Qa7+ 76.Qd7! Qa3+ 77.Kf6! The g-pawn, and the game, could not be saved.
It was a heart-breaking defeat for Ulviyya Fataliyeva, though her gold medal on board one remains a remarkable achievement and undoubtedly one she will treasure throughout her career.
The second match closed the event with a 2.5–1.5 victory for FIDE, featuring three draws, though GM Kateryna Lagno (2517) escaped one difficult moment, and a clean, confident win by IM Leya Garifullina (2458) that sealed the championship title.
In the battle for bronze, China prevailed over Kazakhstan with a narrow but deserved 5–3 overall score, delivered through two hard-fought 2.5–1.5 victories.
Led by GM Hou Yifan (2620), who guided a youthful line-up with her trademark calm authority, China secured an excellent third place along with a handful of individual distinctions.
The Chinese squad earned two silver medals: one for the former four-time Women’s World Champion on board one, and another for WGM Zhai Mo (2384) on board five.
They added two bronze medals as well, thanks to strong performances from IM Song Yuxin (2448) on board two and rising star IM Lu Miaoyi (2440) on board three.
Kazakhstan’s campaign, meanwhile, was undoubtedly hampered by the absence of their top player, GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (2513), during the semi-finals. According to the team captain, Assaubayeva had fallen ill.
She returned for the first game of today’s match, playing White on board one against IM Song Yuxin, who stepped in for Hou Yifan, but was defeated and understandably chose to rest again for the second encounter.
Even so, the Kazakh team did not leave empty-handed. They claimed three individual medals: gold for IM Meruert Kamalidenova (pictured above, center) on board two, gold for WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (2274) on board six, and bronze for WIM Zarina Nurgaliyeva (2310) on board five.
Despite narrowly missing out on a place in the final, the experience gained, especially for their young talents, will surely prove invaluable in the years ahead.
Written by IM Michael Rahal
Photos: Raúl Martínez / Pavel Dvorkovich
Official website: worldwomenteams2025.fide.com/