The Women's World Chess Championship was established by FIDE in 1927. The format and regularity of the event has changed many times.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded in 1924 and quickly came up with the idea of taking control of the World Championship, although this did not happen until 1948. The Women's World Championship, however, was a new creation by FIDE and thus held under their auspices from the beginning.
All official Women's Championships except one before World War II were held as round-robin tournaments concurrently with one of the Chess Olympiads, also controlled by FIDE – and all of them were won by the same player: Vera Menchik, by far the dominating figure in this early era of organized women's chess. Menchik, who usually preferred to compete in regular open tournaments against men (and beat several of them), first won the title at the first official Olympiad in London in 1927 and since defended it successfully no less than eight times, six times at subsequent Olympiads (in 1930, 31, 33, 35, 37, and 39, respectively) and twice in matches against Sonja Graf, arguably the second-strongest female player of that era. These matches were arranged largely by the players themselves, much like the open title at the time. The first match (in 1934) was unofficial, while the second one (in 1937) was recognized by FIDE as official.
Both reigning champions died during or shortly after World War II, Menchik during a bombing raid on her home in England in 1944 and Alexander Alekhine under somewhat suspicious circumstances in early 1946. FIDE promptly seized the opportunity to take control of the open title and produce standardized rules for both titles. This meant a cycle of Zonal, Interzonal, and Candidates Tournaments to produce a challenger who would then face the defending champion in a match for the title.
Naturally, since women only made up a small part of the total number of players, this system was only introduced gradually for the women's title. The first Candidates Tournament was held in 1952 and the first Interzonal in 1971. In the same cycle (1971–72), the format for the Candidates Tournament was changed from a round-robin to a knock-out series of matches. In 1976, the number of Interzonals was increased to two, due to the growing number of zones and chess-playing nations worldwide.
In 1986, the Candidates Tournament went back to the round-robin format and from 1991 there was again only played one Interzonal, but with a higher number of participants and using the Swiss system. The last championship cycle using this format (from 1995 to 1999) was surrounded by much controversy and followed by some major changes to the system.
Beginning in 2001, the women's championship, like the open one, was contested as single-elimination tournaments with 64 players playing mini-matches for six rounds until only one remained. In the case of the open title this format was widely criticized, since several of the tournaments played during this period (1998–2004) were won by players with relatively low ratings. This was taken by some as a devaluation of the title. In the case of the women's championship, however, all of the knock-out tournaments were actually won by players who have before or since proven that they do belong to the absolute world elite.
From 2010, the women's championship was held every year but in two alternating formats. In even years, the championship was decided in a 64-player knock-out tournament. In odd years, the reigning champion from the year before defended her title in a match against a challenger determined through a Grand Prix series of six tournaments. This format ended after 2018, when a format similar to the open World Chess Championship was introduced, with the current champion defending in a match against the challenger who has qualified for and won the Candidates tournament.
The tables below show the qualifiers and results for all Interzonal, Candidates and World Championship tournaments and matches. Players shown bracketed in italics (e.g. (Kushnir) in 1973–75) qualified for or were seeded in a specific stage of the championship cycle, but did not play. Players listed after players in italics (like Stefanova in 2011) only qualified due to the non-participation of the bracketed players.
The "Seeded into Final" column usually refers to the incumbent champion, but this has a different meaning for the 1949–50 tournament which was held to produce a new champion after the death of Menchik, and for the knock-out tournaments since 2001, where the defending champion gets no special privileges.
| width=6% | Years | width=14% | Interzonal Format | width=17% | Interzonal Qualifiers | width=8% | Seeded into Candidates | width=20% | Candidates Format | width=13% | Candidates Winner(s) | width=5% | Seeded in Final | width=18% | Championship Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | None. After the death of Vera Menchik in 1944 FIDE decided to stage a tournament to determine the new champion. | 16 players | Moscow 1949–50 Single round robin 1. Rudenko 11½ / 15 2. Rubtsova 10½ 3.-4. Bykova, Belova 10 | ||||||||||||
| 1952–53 | None | 16 players | Moscow 1952 Single round robin 1. Bykova 11½ / 15 2.-3. Heemskerk, Ignatieva 10½ | Bykova | Rudenko (1950 champion) | Moscow 1953 14 game match Bykova won 8–6 | |||||||||
| 1955–56 | None | 20 players | Moscow 1955 Single round robin 1. Rubtsova 15 / 19 2. Volpert 14½ 3. Keller-Herrmann 14 | Rubtsova | Bykova (1953 champion), Rudenko (1950 champion) | Moscow 1956 3 players, Octuple round-robin 1. Rubtsova 10 / 16 2. Bykova 9½ 3. Rudenko 4½ | |||||||||
| 1958 | Rematch | Rubtsova, Bykova | Moscow 1958 14 game match Bykova won 8½–5½ | ||||||||||||
| 1959 | None | 15 players | Plovdiv 1959 Single round robin 1. Zvorykina 11½ / 14 2. Nedeljković 10½ 3. Volpert 9½ | Zvorykina | Bykova (1958 champion) | Moscow 1959 13 game match Bykova won 8½–4½ | |||||||||
| 1961–62 | None | 17 players | Vrnjačka Banja 1961 Single round robin 1. Gaprindashvili 13 / 16 2. Borisenko 11 3. Zvorykina 10 | Gaprindashvili | Bykova (1959 champion) | Moscow 1962 11 game match Gaprindashvili won 9–2 | |||||||||
| 1964–65 | None | 18 players | Sukhumi 1964 Single round robin 1.-3. Lazarević, Kushnir, Zatulovskaya 12½ / 17 4.-5. Zvorykina, Jovanović 11 | Kushnir (won playoff) | Gaprindashvili (1962 champion) | Riga 1965 13 game match Gaprindashvili won 8½–4½ | |||||||||
| 1967–69 | None | 18 players | Subotica 1967 Single round robin 1. Kushnir 13½ / 17 2.-3. Kozlovskaya, Zatulovskaya 12½ | Kushnir | Gaprindashvili (1965 champion) | Tbilisi and Moscow 1969 14 game match Gaprindashvili won 9½–4½ | |||||||||
| 1971–72 | Ohrid 1971 18 players Single round robin 3 qualified | 1. Alexandria 2.-3. Lazarević, Zatulovskaya | Kushnir[1] | 1971 4 players, matches Semi-finals: Kushnir beat Zatulovskaya, Alexandria beat Lazarević | Kushnir (beat Alexandria in the final) | Gaprindashvili (1969 champion) | Riga 1972 16 game match Gaprindashvili won 8½–7½ | ||||||||
| 1973–75 | Menorca 1973 20 players Single round robin 4 qualified | 1. Kozlovskaya 2.-5. Shul, Levitina, Alexandria[2] | (Kushnir)[3] | 1974–75 4 players, matches Semi-finals: Alexandria beat Shul, Levitina beat Kozlovskaya | Alexandria (beat Levitina in the final) | Gaprindashvili (1972 champion) | Pitsunda and Tbilisi 1975 12 game match Gaprindashvili won 8½–3½ | ||||||||
| 1976–78 | Two 11–14 player, single round robin Interzonals 3 qualified from each | Roosendaal 1976 1.-2. Akhmilovskaya, Kushnir 3.-4. Lematschko[4] | Alexandria, Levitina[5] | 1977–78 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Chiburdanidze beat Akhmilovskaya, Kushnir beat Fatalibekova | Chiburdanidze (beat Kushnir in the final) | Gaprindashvili (1975 champion) | Tbilisi 1978 15 game match Chiburdanidze won 8½–6½ | ||||||||
| Tbilisi 1976 1. Fatalibekova 2.-3. Chiburdanidze, Kozlovskaya | |||||||||||||||
| 1979–81 | Two 17–18 player, single round robin Interzonals 3-4 qualified from each | Rio de Janeiro 1979 1. Ioseliani 2. Verőci-Petronić 3. Alexandria | Gaprindashvili,[6] (Kushnir)[7] | 1980–81 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Alexandria beat Litinskaya, Ioseliani beat Gaprindashvili | Alexandria (beat Ioseliani in the final) | Chiburdanidze (1978 champion) | Borjomi and Tbilisi 1981 16 game match Drawn 8–8 Chiburdanidze retained title | ||||||||
| Alicante 1979 1.-2. Lematschko, Akhmilovskaya 3. Gurieli 4. Litinskaya | |||||||||||||||
| 1982–84 | Two 15–16 player, single round robin Interzonals 3 qualified from each | Bad Kissingen 1982 1. Gaprindashvili 2. Semenova 3. Lematschko | Alexandria, Ioseliani[8] | 1983–84 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Levitina beat Alexandria, Semenova beat Ioseliani | Levitina (beat Semenova in the final) | Chiburdanidze (1981 champion) | Volgograd 1984 14 game match Chiburdanidze won 8½–5½ | ||||||||
| Tbilisi 1982 1. Mureșan 2. Levitina 3. Liu Shilan | |||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Two 14–16 player, single round robin Interzonals 3 qualified from each | Havana 1985 1. Alexandria 2. Akhmilovskaya 3.-5. Cramling[9] | Malmö 1986 8 players Double round-robin 1. Akhmilovskaya 9½ / 14 2. Alexandria 8 3. Litinskaya 8 | Akhmilovskaya | Chiburdanidze (1984 champion) | Sofia 1986 14 game match Chiburdanidze won 8½–5½ | |||||||||
| Zeleznovodsk 1985 1. Litinskaya 2. Wu Mingqian 3.-4. Brustman[10] | |||||||||||||||
| 1987–88 | Two 16–18 player, single round robin Interzonals 3 qualified from each | Smederevska Palanka 1987 1. Litinskaya-Shul 2.-3. Levitina, Gaprindashvili[11] | Akhmilovskaya, Alexandria[12] | Tsqaltubo 1988 8 players Double round-robin 1.-2. Ioseliani, Akhmilovskaya 10 / 14 3.-4. Levitina, Letinskaya-Shul 8 | Ioseliani (won playoff against Akhmilovskaya) | Chiburdanidze (1986 champion) | Telavi 1988 16 game match Chiburdanidze won 8½–7½ | ||||||||
| Tuzla 1987 1. Ioseliani 2. Arakhamia 3.-4. Brustman[13] | |||||||||||||||
| 1990–91 | Two 18 player, single round robin Interzonals 3 qualified from each | Azov 1990 1.-2. Kachiani, Galliamova 3. Klimova-Richtrova | Ioseliani, Akhmilovskaya[14] | Borzomi 1991 8 players Single round-robin 1.-2. Xie Jun, Marić 4½ / 7 3.-4. Galliamova, Ioseliani 4 | Xie Jun (won playoff against Marić) | Chiburdanidze (1988 champion) | Manila 1991 15 game match Xie Jun won 8½–6½ | ||||||||
| Genting Highlands 1990 1. Gaprindashvili 2. Xie Jun 3.-4. Marić[15] | |||||||||||||||
| 1991–93 | Subotica 1991 35 players Swiss 6 qualified | 1.-2. Gaprindashvili, Peng Zhaoqin 3.-4. Ioseliani, Levitina 5.-7. Wang Pin, Qin Kanying[16] | Chiburdanidze,[17] Marić[18] S. Polgar[19] | Shanghai 1992 9 players Double round-robin 2 advanced to final 1. S. Polgar 12½ / 16 2.-3. Ioseliani, Chiburdanidze 9½[20] | Monaco 1993 Final ended 6 - 6 Ioseliani won lottery | Xie Jun (1991 champion) | Monaco 1993 11 game match Xie Jun won 8½–2½ | ||||||||
| 1993–96 | Jakarta 1993 39 players Swiss 7 qualified | 1. Arakhamia 2. Galliamova 3.-5. Chiburdanidze, Marić, Peng Zhaoqin 6.-8. Cramling, Foisor[21] | Ioseliani, S. Polgar[22] | Tilburg 1994 9 players Double round-robin 2 advanced to final 1.-2. S. Polgar, Chiburdanidze 10½ / 16 3. Cramling 8½ | Saint Petersburg 1995 S. Polgar won final 5½-1½ | Xie Jun (1993 champion) | Jaén 1996 13 game match S. Polgar won 8½–4½ | ||||||||
| 1995–99 | Chişinău 1995 52 players Swiss 7 qualified | 1. Arakhamia 2. Kachiani-Gersinska 3.-6. Ioseliani, Galliamova, Peng Zhaoqin, Marić 7.-9. Gurieli[23] | Xie Jun,[24] Chiburdanidze, Cramling[25] | Groningen 1997 10 players Double round-robin 2 advanced to final 1. Galliamova 13½ / 18 2. Xie Jun 12½ 3.-4. Ioseliani, Chiburdanidze 11 | Xie Jun, Galliamova[26] | (S. Polgar) (1996 champion)[27] | Kazan and Shenyang 1997 15 game match Xie Jun won 8½ - 6½[28] | ||||||||
| width=6% | Years | width=30% | Tournament Format | width=25% | Quarter-finals | width=25% | Semi-finals | width=18% | Championship Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | New Delhi November – December 2000 61 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Xie Jun beat Zhukova Kovalevskaya beat Peng Zhaoqin Qin Kanying beat Peptan Marić beat Skripchenko | Xie Jun beat Kovalevskaya Qin Kanying beat Marić | Xie Jun beat Qin Kanying 2½–1½ | |||||
| 2001 | Moscow November – December 2001 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Kosteniuk beat Skripchenko, Foisor beat Xu Yuhua, Chiburdanidze beat Peng Zhaoqin, Zhu Chen beat Khurtsidze | Kosteniuk beat Xu Yuhua, Zhu Chen beat Chiburdanidze | Zhu Chen beat Kosteniuk 5–3 | |||||
| 2004 | Elista May – June 2004 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Koneru Humpy beat Xu Yuhua, Kachiani-Gersinska beat Kovalevskaya, Stefanova beat Dzagnidze, Chiburdanidze beat Čmilytė | Kovalevskaya beat Koneru Humpy, Stefanova beat Chiburdanidze | Stefanova beat Kovalevskaya 2½–½ | |||||
| 2006 | Ekaterinburg March 2006 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Čmilytė beat Chiburdanidze, Galliamova beat Khurtsidze, Matveeva beat Sebag, Xu Yuhua beat Kovalevskaya | Xu Yuhua beat Matveeva, Galliamova beat Čmilytė | Xu Yuhua beat Galliamova 2½–½ | |||||
| 2008 | Nalchik August – September 2008 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Kosteniuk beat Ushenina, Cramling beat Stefanova, Hou Yifan beat Mkrtchian, Koneru Humpy beat Shen Yang | Kosteniuk beat Cramling, Hou Yifan beat Koneru Humpy | Kosteniuk beat Hou Yifan 2½–1½ | |||||
| 2010 | Hatay December 2010 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Ruan Lufei beat Dronavalli Harika, Zhao Xue beat Skripchenko, Hou Yifan beat Lahno, Koneru Humpy beat Ju Wenjun | Ruan Lufei beat Zhao Xue Hou Yifan beat Koneru Humpy | Hou Yifan beat Ruan Lufei 5–3 |
| width=6% | Years | width=35% | Qualification Format | width=25% | Qualifiers | width=22% | Seeded into Final | width=18% | Championship Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2009–2011 6 tournament series, winner qualified 1. Hou Yifan 410 2. Humpy Koneru 398 | Humpy Koneru[29] | Hou Yifan (2010 champion) | Tirana November 2011 10 game match Hou Yifan won 5½–2½ | |||||
| 2012 | Khanty Mansiysk November – December 2012 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Quarter-finals: Antoaneta Stefanova beat Marie Sebag, Zhao Xue beat Harika Dronavalli, Anna Ushenina beat Nadezhda Kosintseva, Huang Qian beat Ju Wenjun | Semi-finals: Stefanova beat Dronavalli Ushenina beat Wenjun | Ushenina beat Stefanova 3½–2½ | |||||
| 2013 | FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011–2012 6 tournament series, winner qualified 1. Hou Yifan 480 2. Humpy Koneru 415 | Hou Yifan | Anna Ushenina (2012 champion) | Taizhou, Jiangsu September 2013 10 game match Hou Yifan won 5½–1½ | |||||
| 2015 | Sochi March – April 2015 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Quarter-finals: Mariya Muzychuk beat Humpy Koneru, Harika Dronavalli beat Meri Arabidze, Natalia Pogonina beat Zhao Xue, Pia Cramling beat Anna Muzychuk | Semi-finals: M. Muzychuk beat Dronavalli Pogonina beat Cramling | M. Muzychuk beat Pogonina 2½–1½ | |||||
| 2016 | FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2013–14 6 tournament series, winner qualified 1. Hou Yifan 465 2. Humpy Koneru 380 | Hou Yifan | Mariya Muzychuk (2015 champion) | Lviv March 2016 10 game match Hou Yifan won 6–3. | |||||
| 2017 | Tehran February – March 2017 64 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Quarter-finals: Tan Zhongyi beat Ju Wenjun, Harika Dronavalli beat Nana Dzagnidze, Anna Muzychuk beat Antoaneta Stefanova, Alexandra Kosteniuk beat Ni Shiqun | Semi-finals: Tan beat Dronavalli A. Muzychuk beat Kosteniuk | Tan Zhongyi beat A. Muzychuk 3½–2½ | |||||
| 2018 (May) | FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2015–16 5 tournament series, winner qualified 1. Ju Wenjun 413 2. Humpy Koneru 335 | Ju Wenjun | Tan Zhongyi (2017 champion) | Shanghai and Chongqing May 2018 10 game match Ju Wenjun won 5½-4½ | |||||
| 2018 (November) | Khanty-Mansiysk November 201864 players 6 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Quarter-finals:Ju Wenjun beat Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova Alexandra Kosteniuk beat Anna Muzychuk | Semi-finals:Ju beat Kosteniuk Lagno beat M. Muzychuk | Ju Wenjunbeat Kateryna Lagno 5-3 |
| Years | Qualification format | Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | none | Kateryna Lagno[30] Alexandra Kosteniuk | Women's Candidates Tournament 20198 player double round-robin tournament Kazan, May-June 2019 | Aleksandra Goryachkina | Ju Wenjun (2018 Champion) | Shanghai and VladivostokJanuary 2020 12-game match drawn 6-6 Ju Wenjun won rapid play-off 2½-1½ | |
| 2023 | FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2019-2021September 2019-June 2021 Top two qualify | Koneru HumpyKateryna Lagno | Aleksandra Goryachkina[33] Mariya Muzychuk[34] | Women's Candidates Tournament 2022-238 player knockout tournament
October-December 2022, March-April 2023 | Lei Tingjie | Ju Wenjun(2020 Champion) | Shanghai and ChongqingJuly 2023 12-game match Ju Wenjun won 6½-5½ |
| Women's Chess World Cup 2021Sochi July-August 2021 103 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top three qualify | Alexandra KosteniukTan Zhongyi | ||||||
| FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2021Riga October-November 2021 50-player Swiss tournament Top player qualifies | Lei Tingjie | ||||||
| 2025 | FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022–23September 2022-May 2023 Top two qualify[35] | Kateryna LagnoAleksandra Goryachkina | Lei Tingjie[36] Koneru Humpy[37] | Women's Candidates Tournament 20248 player double round-robin tournament Toronto, April 2024 | Tan Zhongyi | Ju Wenjun(2023 Champion) | TBD12-game match |
| Women's Chess World Cup 2023Baku July-August 2023 103 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top three qualify | (Aleksandra Goryachkina)Nurgyul Salimova | ||||||
| FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2023Isle of Man October-November 2023 Top two qualify | R VaishaliTan Zhongyi | ||||||