Ju Wenjun, right, let Lei Tingjie off the hook in the middlegame as the third match of the FIDE Women's World Championship Match ended in a draw ©FIDE

Ju Wenjun of China let her compatriot Lei Tingjie off the hook in the middlegame as the third match of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Women's World Championship Match ended in a draw.

After a rest day and two draws, there was not a lot of changes on the third day except that defending champion Ju took the initiative, compared to Lei in the last match.

Lei started in similar fashion to game one and opened with 1.e4 while Ju played the Berlin line in the Ruy Lopez.

Lei switched things up by countering with 1.d3, that led to the anti-Berlin.

However, the 26-year-old Lei lost a pawn after some imprecision, putting herself in a difficult spot.

Ju Wenjun of China and compatriot Lei Tingjie are tied at 1.5 each after three games ©FIDE
Ju Wenjun of China and compatriot Lei Tingjie are tied at 1.5 each after three games ©FIDE

But thanks to a surprising 19…a5 from Ju, Lei managed to escape.

Ju, a Kazan 2013 World University Games gold medallist, still had chances to press but decided to allow white to regain a pawn, leading to the score being tied at 1.5 each.

"Black had some chances but it was very complicated," Ju said after the game.

The match ended on move 49 after a threefold repetition.

The FIDE Women's World Championship Match is scheduled to continue tomorrow with game four.