Chess
12:59, 15-Mar-2019
China grabs fourth gold at women's World Team Chess Championship
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Even without top players Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun, the Chinese women's team came out on top at the World Team Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Consisting of Tan Zhongyi, Huang Xi, Lei Tingjie, Shen Yang and Ding Yixin, team China defeated the Ukrainian team with 3.5-0.5 in the final round and won the gold medal on Thursday.
With an unbeaten run in nine games, the Chinese side scored 18 points and crowned the World Team Championship for the fourth time after three consecutive victories in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
The runner-up Russia scored 14 points as the Georgian team took 12 points to come in third.
"I am so happy that we regain the title after eight years," said Chinese coach Yu Shaoteng.
In the men's section, defending champions China came in third, with a 2.5-1.5 victory over the host Kazakhstan. England defeated Sweden to claim the silver medal behind Russia, who had already secured gold on Wednesday.
The World Team Chess Championship is the world's highest-level chess group competitions together with the Chess Olympics. The championship, founded in 1985, was originally held every four years, but was changed to a biennial event in 2011. The women's competition became independent in 2007.