Tan Zhongyi, a 25-year-old female Chinese chess player, entered as rank ninth in the Women's World Chess Championship. The world championship crown came as a surprise to her after she won the finals, defeating the crowd-favorite Anna Muzychuk from Ukraine on a tie-break.
The 2017 Women's World Chess Championship was held in Tehran, Iran. Tan defeated Muzychuk on a tie-break with 1,5 - 0,5 to claim the title. This made her the 16th Women's World Champion, and the fifth Chinese player to win the highest title in the history of chess.
Chess master Tan Zhongyi said: "I had expected to make some moves at this big event, such as reaching the last 16. Every game was very tough and I think my mental strength helped me in the final."
Tan was born in Chongqing in 1991. She started to learn the game of chess from her father at the age of six. According to her, her father taught her all types of chess games, and she fell in love with the game.
She soon showed her talent and won the World Youth U10 Girls Chess Championship in Oropesa del Mar, Spain in the year 2000 and 2001. She then won the World Youth U12 Girls Chess Championship in Heraklion, Greece in the year 2002.
Tan had represented China in the Women's World Team Championship since 2009.
Tan also competed in the Chess Olympiad for China in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and won the women's gold medal for board 4 at the 42nd Chess Olympiad in 2016.
Her father said that his daughter used to train for 10 hours a day and participated in about 80 matches a year.
As chess is a high-stress activity, Tan unwinds by staying at home whenever possible, playing video games and reading fantasy fictions.
Tan is hoping to explore more possibilities and looks forward to having more achievements in chess in the future.