Victory means Ju becomes women’s world chess champion for a fourth consecutive time, while four titles equals the record of her compatriot Hou Yifan.

Heading into the final game, Ju and her opponent Lei Tingjie were tied at 5.5 points apiece, with nine of the 11 games up to today having been drawn.

The stakes were high going into game 12, with both players knowing victory would secure the crown, and Lei appeared to struggle under the pressure of the occasion.

The contest was evenly poised in the middlegame, before an error by Lei gave Jun the advantage, however she did not capitalise on this occasion.

A positional mistake on the 22^nd move proved Lei’s undoing, with Jun not letting her off the hook a second time and executing a series of precise moves to take control of the contest.

Despite Lei battling on she was not able to find a way back, and had to resign on the 68^th move, giving Ju the win by 6.5 points to 5.5, as well as prize money of €500,000 (£432,000/$556,000).

Reflecting on the contest, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said: "To win a world crown is an amazing success, but to do it for a fourth consecutive time as Ju Wenjun did is something else.

"Congratulations to Ju for her victory but also to Lei for putting up a great fight. The chess world has another fantastic memorable event, and it was great to be a witness to it.

"This spectacular and tense match showed the best of women's chess. The games played by the two Chinese players, the atmosphere and the excellent organisation of our Chinese hosts will be remembered."

Both world chess champions this year are from China, after Ding Liren won the men’s crown in Astana in April, by beating neutral athlete Ian Nepomniachtchi in a rapid-play tiebreak.