Women's World Chess Championship facts for kids

The Women's World Chess Championship is a special chess competition. It decides who is the best female chess player in the world. This championship has been managed by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) since it started in 1927.
The history of the Women's World Championship can be split into three main periods. First, there was the Menchik era from 1927 to 1944. Then came the Soviet-dominated era, lasting from 1950 to 1991. Finally, we have the China-dominated era, which began in 1991 and continues today.
A player named Vera Menchik won every Women's World Championship from 1927 until 1944. After that, the Soviet Union won every title from 1950 until 1991. Two famous champions from this time were Nona Gaprindashvili and Maia Chiburdanidze from Georgia. They won five titles each, making it ten in a row for them!
Since 1991, China has been very strong in women's chess. Chinese players have won 16 out of the last 21 titles. Six different Chinese champions have held the title. This includes Xie Jun and Hou Yifan, who each won four times. The current World Champion, Ju Wenjun, has won five times.
The championship has changed its format over the years. It started as a tournament where many players competed. In the 1950s, it mostly became a match between two players. This continued until 2000, when a new knockout tournament style was introduced. The match format came back in 2011, sometimes switching with the knockout. Since 2020, it has been a match format again.
Contents
History of the Championship
The Menchik Era (1927–1944)
The Women's World Chess Championship was created by FIDE in 1927. FIDE wanted to control the main World Chess Championship. They thought creating a women's championship they already managed would help them.
FIDE held a women's tournament as a side event at the Chess Olympiad. Weeks after it ended, they decided that the winner, Vera Menchik, would be the first Women's World Chess Champion.
Menchik remained champion until she passed away. She defended her title seven more times. During her time, the world championship was mostly played as tournaments. This was different from the main World Chess Championship, which used a match format. There was one exception: a match in 1937 between Menchik and Sonja Graf. FIDE officially recognized this match. The Women's World Championship continued to be held with the Chess Olympiad. This meant it happened more often than the main World Championship.
Soviet Union's Strong Players (1950–1991)

Vera Menchik died in 1944 when her house was bombed. The next championship was a tournament in 1949–50. It was won by Lyudmila Rudenko. After this, a system similar to the main championship was set up. Players would compete in "Candidates" events to decide who would challenge the current champion.
The first Candidates tournament was in Moscow in 1952. Elisaveta Bykova won it. She then beat Rudenko to become the third champion. The next Candidates tournament was won by Olga Rubtsova. FIDE decided that the championship should be played between the top three players. Rubtsova won in Moscow in 1956. Bykova won the title back in 1958. She defended it against Kira Zvorykina in 1959.
In 1961, Nona Gaprindashvili from Georgia completely dominated the Candidates tournament. She then easily defeated Bykova in Moscow in 1962 to become champion. Gaprindashvili defended her title against Alla Kushnir in 1965 and 1969. In 1972, FIDE started using the same system for women's chess as for the main championship. This involved "Interzonal" tournaments followed by Candidates matches. Kushnir won again but was defeated by Gaprindashvili in 1972. Gaprindashvili defended her title one last time against Nana Alexandria in 1975.
In 1976–1978, 17-year-old Maia Chiburdanidze from Georgia became a surprise star. She won her matches to face Gaprindashvili in the 1978 finals. Chiburdanidze strongly defeated Gaprindashvili. This marked the end of one Georgian champion's rule and the start of another's. Chiburdanidze defended her title against Alexandria in 1981 and Irina Levitina in 1984. FIDE then brought back the Candidates tournament system. Elena Akhmilovskaya won the tournament but was still beaten by Chiburdanidze in 1986. Chiburdanidze's last title defense was against Nana Ioseliani in 1988.
The Post-Soviet Era (1991–2010)
Chiburdanidze's long reign ended in 1991. A young Chinese star, Xie Jun, defeated her. This meant that the Soviet Union's strong hold on the women's championship ended after 41 years.
Around this time, the three Polgar sisters—Susan Polgar, Sofia Polgar, and Judit Polgár—became very strong players. However, they often chose to compete in "open" tournaments, which included both men and women. They usually avoided the women's championship.
Susan Polgar later decided to compete. She won the Candidates tournament in 1992. The final match was a draw between Polgar and Ioseliani. Even after extra games, it was still tied. A lottery decided the winner, and Ioseliani won. However, Xie Jun then easily defeated Ioseliani in the championship in 1993.
Susan Polgar dominated the next championship cycle. She tied with Chiburdanidze in the Candidates tournament. She then easily beat Chiburdanidze in their match. Finally, she decisively defeated Xie Jun in 1996 to win the championship.
In 1997, Alisa Galliamova from Russia and Xie Jun from China finished first and second. But Galliamova did not want to play the final match entirely in China. FIDE eventually gave the match win to Xie Jun by default.
However, by the time these issues were sorted out, Polgar had given birth to her first child. She asked for the match to be delayed. FIDE said no. They set up the championship to be between Galliamova and Xie Jun. Xie Jun won the championship in 1999.
In 2000, a new "knockout" tournament style was used for the women's world championship. This was similar to the main FIDE title. Xie Jun won this event. In 2001, a similar event decided the champion, Zhu Chen. Another knockout tournament in 2004 made Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria the champion. Zhu Chen did not play in this event because she was pregnant.
In 2006, the title returned to China. The new champion, Xu Yuhua, was pregnant during the championship.
In 2008, the title went to Russian grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk. She beat the young Chinese player Hou Yifan, who was only 14 years old at the time.
In 2010, the title went back to China again. Hou Yifan, who was the runner-up before, became the youngest ever women's world champion at 16. She beat her fellow Chinese player Ruan Lufei.
Yearly Tournaments (2010–2018)
From 2010, the Women's World Chess Championship was held every year. It switched between two formats. In even years, there was a knockout tournament with 64 players. In odd years, there was a classical match between two players. The 2011 championship was between the 2010 champion, Hou Yifan, and Koneru Humpy.
In 2011, Hou Yifan successfully defended her title in Tirana, Albania, against Koneru Humpy. Hou won three games and drew five in their match, winning the title with two games left.
Hou Yifan was knocked out early in the Women's World Chess Championship 2012. This tournament was won by Anna Ushenina, who was ranked 30th. She won the final against Antoaneta Stefanova.
The Women's World Chess Championship 2013 was a 10-game match. It was between defending champion Anna Ushenina and Hou Yifan. Hou Yifan won the match easily to get her title back.
Hou chose not to defend her title at the Women's World Chess Championship 2015. The title was then won by Mariya Muzychuk, who defeated Natalia Pogonina in the final.
Hou defeated Muzychuk in March 2016 to win the Women's World Chess Championship 2016 title. This was her fourth championship.
The next year, Tan Zhongyi defeated Anna Muzychuk for the title at the Women's World Chess Championship 2017.
Tan lost her title when defending it against Ju Wenjun in the Women's World Chess Championship Match 2018. Hou did not play in this event.
Return to Match-Only Format (2019–Present)
The championships had not always followed their planned yearly schedule. This was due to problems with hosting and timing. FIDE held a second world championship in 2018 to get back on track.
After the 2018 championship tournament, the new FIDE president announced that the format would change back to matches only. He said that having many different champions each year made the title seem less important. Aleksandra Goryachkina won the Candidates tournament in June 2019. She then challenged for the World Championship. Ju Wenjun kept her title in the 2020 Championship.
Ju Wenjun also kept her title in the 2023 championship against Lei Tingjie. She also successfully defended her title in the 2025 championship against Tan Zhongyi.
List of Women's World Chess Champions
# | Name | Country | Years |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Vera Menchik | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
1927–1944 |
2 | Lyudmila Rudenko | ![]() |
1950–1953 |
3 | Elisaveta Bykova | ![]() |
1953–1956 |
4 | Olga Rubtsova | ![]() |
1956–1958 |
(3) | Elisaveta Bykova | ![]() |
1958–1962 |
5 | Nona Gaprindashvili | ![]() |
1962–1978 |
6 | Maia Chiburdanidze | ![]() |
1978–1991 |
7 | Xie Jun | ![]() |
1991–1996 |
8 | Susan Polgar | ![]() |
1996–1999 |
(7) | Xie Jun | ![]() |
1999–2001 |
9 | Zhu Chen | ![]() |
2001–2004 |
10 | Antoaneta Stefanova | ![]() |
2004–2006 |
11 | Xu Yuhua | ![]() |
2006–2008 |
12 | Alexandra Kosteniuk | ![]() |
2008–2010 |
13 | Hou Yifan | ![]() |
2010–2012 |
14 | Anna Ushenina | ![]() |
2012–2013 |
(13) | Hou Yifan | ![]() |
2013–2015 |
15 | Mariya Muzychuk | ![]() |
2015–2016 |
(13) | Hou Yifan | ![]() |
2016–2017 |
16 | Tan Zhongyi | ![]() |
2017–2018 |
17 | Ju Wenjun | ![]() |
2018–present |
Championship Events and Winners
Year | Host country | Host city | World champion | Runner-up | W | L | D | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tournament Formats (1927–1944) | ||||||||
1927 | ![]() |
London | ![]() |
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10 | 0 | 1 | RR (12 players) |
1930 | ![]() |
Hamburg | ![]() |
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6 | 1 | 1 | Double RR (5 players) |
1931 | ![]() |
Prague | ![]() |
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8 | 0 | 0 | |
1933 | ![]() |
Folkestone | ![]() |
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14 | 0 | 0 | Double RR (8 players) |
1935 | ![]() |
Warsaw | ![]() |
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9 | 0 | 0 | RR (10 players) |
1937 Jul | ![]() |
Semmering | ![]() |
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9 | 2 | 5 | 16-game match |
1937 Aug | ![]() |
Stockholm | ![]() |
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14 | 0 | 0 | Swiss (26 players) |
1939 | ![]() |
Buenos Aires | ![]() |
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17 | 0 | 2 | RR (20 players) |
Menchik passed away in 1944 as the reigning world champion. | ||||||||
Interregnum (1944–1950) | ||||||||
Match Format (1950–1999) | ||||||||
1950 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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9 | 5 | 1 | RR (16 players) |
1953 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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7 | 5 | 2 | 14-game match |
1956 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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7 | 6 | 3 | Octuple RR (3 players) |
1958 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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7 | 4 | 3 | 16-game match |
1959 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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6 | 2 | 5 | |
1962 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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7 | 0 | 4 | |
1965 | ![]() |
Riga | ![]() |
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7 | 3 | 3 | |
1969 | ![]() |
Tbilisi Moscow |
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6 | 2 | 5 | |
1972 | ![]() |
Riga | ![]() |
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5 | 4 | 7 | |
1975 | ![]() |
Pitsunda Tbilisi |
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8 | 3 | 1 | |
1978 | ![]() |
Tbilisi | ![]() |
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4 | 2 | 9 | |
1981 | ![]() |
Borjomi Tbilisi |
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4 | 4 | 8 | |
1984 | ![]() |
Volgograd | ![]() |
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5 | 2 | 7 | |
1986 | ![]() |
Sofia | ![]() |
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4 | 1 | 9 | |
1988 | ![]() |
Telavi | ![]() |
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3 | 2 | 11 | |
1991 | ![]() |
Manila | ![]() |
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4 | 2 | 9 | |
1993 | ![]() |
Monaco | ![]() |
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7 | 1 | 3 | |
1996 | ![]() |
Jaén | ![]() |
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6 | 2 | 5 | |
FIDE said Polgar lost her title in 1999. | ||||||||
1999 | ![]() ![]() |
Kazan Shenyang |
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5 | 3 | 7 | |
Knockout Format (2000–2010) | ||||||||
2000 | ![]() |
New Delhi | ![]() |
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1 | 0 | 3 | KO (64 players) |
2001 | ![]() |
Moscow | ![]() |
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2+3 | 2+1 | 0 | |
2004 | ![]() |
Elista | ![]() |
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2 | 0 | 1 | |
2006 | ![]() |
Yekaterinburg | ![]() |
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2 | 0 | 1 | |
2008 | ![]() |
Nalchik | ![]() |
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1 | 0 | 3 | |
2010 | ![]() |
Hatay | ![]() |
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1+2 | 1 | 2+2 | |
Alternating Formats (2011–2018) | ||||||||
2011 | ![]() |
Tirana | ![]() |
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3 | 0 | 5 | 10-game match |
2012 | ![]() |
Khanty-Mansiysk | ![]() |
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1+1 | 1 | 2+1 | KO (64 players) |
2013 | ![]() |
Taizhou | ![]() |
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4 | 0 | 3 | 10-game match |
2015 | ![]() |
Sochi | ![]() |
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1 | 0 | 3 | KO (64 players) |
2016 | ![]() |
Lviv | ![]() |
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3 | 0 | 6 | 10-game match |
2017 | ![]() |
Tehran | ![]() |
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1+1 | 1 | 2+1 | KO (64 players) |
2018 May | ![]() |
Shanghai Chongqing |
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3 | 2 | 5 | 10-game match |
2018 Nov | ![]() |
Khanty-Mansiysk | ![]() |
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1+2 | 1 | 2+2 | KO (64 players) |
Match Format (2019–Present) | ||||||||
2020 | ![]() ![]() |
Shanghai Vladivostok |
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3+1 | 3 | 6+3 | 12-game match |
2023 | ![]() |
Shanghai Chongqing |
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2 | 1 | 9 | |
2025 | ![]() |
Shanghai Chongqing |
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5 | 1 | 3 |
Key: RR = round-robin tournament, KO = knockout tournament
Number of Titles Won
Champion | Titles | Years |
---|---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() |
8 | 17 |
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5 | 16 |
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5 | 13 |
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5 | 7 |
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4 | 7 |
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4 | 5 |
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3 | 7 |
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1 | 3 |
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1 | 3 |
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1 | 3 |
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1 | 2 |
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1 | 2 |
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1 | 2 |
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1 | 2 |
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1 | 1 |
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1 | 1 |
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1 | 1 |
See also
In Spanish: Campeonato Mundial Femenino de Ajedrez para niños
- Development of the Women's World Chess Championship
- World Chess Championship
- Women's World Team Chess Championship 2009
- List of female chess players