Ju Wenjun Stuck in Gibraltar Due to Visa Mix-Up

Chinese chess grandmaster stranded in Gibraltar after being blocked from UK

Women's world No 15 Ju Wenjun refused permission to board flight to London as she did not hold a transit visa

 

Roxanne Escobales

guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 February 2013 19.03 EST

A top Chinese chess player has found herself stuck between the Rock and a hard place after an airline refused to allow her to board a flight to London following a tournament in Gibraltar because she did not hold a transit visa to enter the UK.

Ju Wenjun found herself stranded after taking part in the 11th annual Tradewise chess festival held in Gibraltar, having travelled there on 19 January via London from Hong Kong on a British Airways flight. However, when she went to board her return flight to China via Heathrow on 1 February, the day after her 22nd birthday, she was denied entry onto the flight.

"I don't have a UK transit visa and they let me board (in Hong Kong). When I arrived in the UK, I told them I was going to play in Gibraltar at the Tradewise festival. I showed them my airline ticket and they let me pass through. They let me show my tickets and my invitation," said Ju on the telephone from Gibraltar.

Ju is a grandmaster, ranked No 15 in international women's chess and No 3 in China. The
tournament organisers, who have been rallying on her behalf, said she has been told she must send her passport to the UK to be issued a transit visa and then have it sent back to Gibraltar. But Ju doesn't understand why she should have to go through this when she was allowed to pass through the UK in January on her way to the chess tournament.

"I don't want to send my passport to the UK. It takes time, and my parents are worried about me," she said. "I hope this will end soon."

The tournament director, Stuart Conquest, said Ju is growing increasingly distressed about her extended stay on the Rock. "I think they should use a bit of compassion and let this girl go home. What is the point of making her send her passport to the UK? Everyone's waiting for her in China," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said that the UK Border Agency was not responsible for visa checks made by airline carriers outside the country. "It has nothing to do with us," she said.
At the time of publication, British Airways was unavailable for comment.

Conquest says this is the first time any incident like this has happened to international players participating in the tournament in the 11 years it has been running.

In the meantime, Ju is being looked after by Conquest and others in Gibraltar, even being treated to a meal out - at Kowloon Chinese restaurant.

2012 Women's World Chess Championship: Summary Thus Far

Will I live to see the day when the press in the USA covers chess like the Indians do?  Nah. 

From The Times of India:

World Women's Chess Championship enters final stage

PTI | Nov 26, 2012, 10.10 AM IST

KHANTY MANSIYSK: The Indian interest over after D Harika's ouster, the World Women's Chess Championship entered into its closing stage in which Ukraine's Anna Ushenina will take on Anotaneta Stefanova for the top prize.

The upsets continued as Ushenina made the finals at the expense of Ju Wenjun of China winning the first set of rapid tie-break games that concluded.

After drawing two back-to-back normal time control games rather quickly, Ushenina struck with her white pieces in the first game of rapid tiebreaker and then drew the next to make it to the finals of the $4,50,000 championship.

Stefanova will now fight it out with Ushenina for the ultimate crown in a four games match that commences tomorrow.

Stefanova had beaten Harika in the other semifinal that lasted just two games. Harika had lost the first and drawn the second to bow out of the championship with a bronze medal.

At the award ceremony Harika thanked everyone involved to help her get to the semifinal stage.

"I am very grateful for the support from my friends, parents, grandmother, my trainer, who teaches me since my childhood. We were in touch during the whole championship. Grandmaster Eesha Karavade sent me her opening analysis.

"Grandmaster Ganguly participated in one of my training sessions prior to the championship. Grandmaster Harikrishna also helped me to prepare for some games," said the semifinalist.

After the ouster of top-rated Indian Koneru Humpy as early as in round two, all eyes were on Harika as she was playing quite well in the gruelling schedule.

Harika thought she should have done better when asked about what she felt about her achievement.

"My friends have mixed opinions. Everyone is happy for me, but they are also a bit disappointed, because I did not advance to the final, which I feel was possible," said Harika.

Citing tiredness as the main reason, Harika insisted that she had not lost focus.

"Cannot say I lost my focus, I just felt a bit tired. Maybe this is why I lost the first game to Stefanova."

The championship now enters the final stage where there will be four games in all. In case of a tie, shorter games will be played to determine the champion who in 2013 will play a match with Yifan Hou of China.

Stevanova Through to Final in 2012 FIDE WWCC!!!

Holy Hathor! Stevanova is just smoking hot hot hot right now.  She won her match against Harika Dronavalli 1.5 - 0.5 and will face either Anna Ushenina or Ju Wenjun for the Women's World Champion title.

Ushinina and Ju tied their match and so will be going to play-offs tomorrow!  What a way to spend a weekend, following this action!

Results Round 5, Game 2:

Name	G1	G2	R1	R2	r3	r4	B1	B2	SD	Tot
Round 5 Match 01
Stefanova, Antoaneta (BUL)	1	½								1½
Harika, Dronavalli (IND)	0	½								½
Round 5 Match 02
Ushenina, Anna (UKR)	½	½								1
Ju, Wenjun (CHN)	½	½								1

Official website. 

The second games of the Women’s World Championship semifinals were played today in Khanty-Mansiysk
24.11.2012

Stefanova ascendant!

Harika Dronavalli (India) needed to win as White to tie the match score against Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria). In a slow maneuvering game the Indian advanced her pawns on the queenside, and Stefanova pushed on the kingside. As the game got more open, Black sacrificed a piece for White’s three central pawns and obtained a big advantage. However, Stefanova did not try to win the game outright and just forced a draw by repetition, securing the match victory. Now the former World Champion will have a chance to win her second title.

At the risk of jinxing her for tomorrow's play-off, Ushenina looks ready to rumble!  Killer eyes...
 

Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) and Ju Wenjun (China) agreed to an early draw. The Chinese was unable to get an opening advantage with White and offered a draw on the 18^th move. Tomorrow, November 25^th, the tie-break will determine the second participant of the final match. It will be the fifth tie-break at this championship for Ju Wenjun, and the second one for Ushenina.

2012 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship

Happy Thanksgiving Day, everyone.  Only Americans celebrate this iconic holiday on this particular day (the 4th Thursday in November), but there are similar holidays celebrated throughout the world, for the same reasons.  It is a combination of thanksgiving and harvest festival, a day of reflection and introspection, but also a day of overindulging in food and drink, watching NFL football on television practically non-stop until later tonight when the 7 p.m. game at last wraps up, and celebrating in one's own particular way.

About 30 minutes ago, I visited the official website to see if I could pick up information on the three different play-offs taking place in Kamksy Mansky, Russia (where?)  Okay, it's actually Khanty Masisky, no, that's not right either...  It actually Khanty Mansiysk - or something like that.  Anyway, my goal was to post a news flash here whilst in the midst of my Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

So, I had discerned that Stefanova had KNOCKED OUT GM Marie Sebag, and that one of the Chinese players had probably knocked out a different Chinese player, but it was basically undecipherable to me what the heck was actually going on - couldn't figure out how to register (not that I wanted to!), or to navigate the games properly, well, par for the course for moi. 

The Week in Chess to the rescue.  Here are the results from the Round 4 playoffs:

Name	G1	G2	R1	R2	r3	r4	B1	B2	SD	Tot
Round 4 Match 01
Sebag, Marie (FRA)	1	0	0	0						1
Stefanova, Antoaneta (BUL)	0	1	1	1						3
Round 4 Match 02
Ju, Wenjun (CHN)	½	½	½	½	½	1				3½
Huang, Qian (CHN)	½	½	½	½	½	0				2½
Round 4 Match 03
Kosintseva, Nadezhda (RUS)	½	0								½
Ushenina, Anna (UKR)	½	1								1½
Round 4 Match 04
Zhao, Xue (CHN)	½	½	0	½						1½
Harika, Dronavalli (IND)	½	½	1	½						2½

Players advancing from the play-offs to Round 5:  Antoaneta Stefanova, Ju Wenjun, and Harika Dronavalli.  Anna Ushenina had previously secured a spot for herself in the semi-final during regular play and did not have to go through a play-off.

I have to say, this is about an as unlikely group of potential female world chess champions as I could have imagined - and did not!  Holy Hathor! 

I'm just going to sit back and be entertained over the next several days, beginning with Round 5, whenever that is.  Don't the players EVER get a break in this event?  Geez!