Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a Russian and Swiss chess grandmaster who was the Women's World Chess Champion from 2008 to 2010 and Women's World Rapid Chess Champion in 2021. She was European women's champion in 2004 and a two-time Russian Women's Chess Champion. Kosteniuk won the team gold medal playing for Russia at the Women's Chess Olympiads of 2010, 2012 and 2014; the Women's World Team Chess Championship of 2017; and the Women's European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017; and the Women's Chess World Cup 2021. In 2022, due to sanctions imposed on Russian players after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she switched federations, and as of March 2023 she represents Switzerland.
Kateryna Aleksandrovna Lagno is a Russian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, she earned the title Woman Grandmaster (WGM) at the age of 12 years, four months and two days. In 2007, she was awarded the grandmaster title.
Nana Dzagnidze is a Georgian chess player. She was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2008. Dzagnidze was a member of the gold medal-winning Georgian team in the Women's Chess Olympiad in 2008 and European women's individual champion in 2017.
Hou Yifan is a Chinese chess grandmaster, four-time Women's World Chess Champion and professor at Shenzhen University. She is the second highest rated female player of all time. A chess prodigy, she was the youngest female player ever to qualify for the title of grandmaster and the youngest ever to win the Women's World Chess Championship.
Karina Cyfka is a Polish chess player. FIDE awarded her the titles Woman Grandmaster in January 2010 and International Master in September 2016.
Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster and Women's World Chess Champion from April 2015 to March 2016. She is also a twice women's champion of Ukraine, World Team and European Team champion with Ukraine in 2013. Muzychuk has experienced multiple successes with Ukraine at the Women's Chess Olympiad winning gold in 2022, silver in 2018 and bronze in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Tícia Gara is a Hungarian chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She was the Hungarian women's champion in 2006, 2007 and 2019. In the 2009 edition she and her sister Anita were tied for first place, with Anita receiving the title on tie-break. Gara has played for the Hungarian team in the Women's Chess Olympiad, the Women's European Team Chess Championship, the European Youth Girls Team Championship and the Women's Mitropa Cup. Her team won the gold medal in the 2015 Women's Mitropa Cup in Mayrhofen, Austria. She contributed to the victory scoring six wins from six games playing board two.
The 42nd Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 1 to 14 September 2016. It was the first time that the Chess Olympiad had been hosted in Azerbaijan, the birthplace of former world champion Garry Kasparov; however, Azerbaijan had previously hosted strong tournaments, including the annual Shamkir Chess super-tournament in memory of Vugar Gashimov (1986–2014) and the Chess World Cup 2015.
Guo Qi is a Chinese chess player. She holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM), which FIDE awarded her in 2014 and 2011 respectively.
Olga Alexandrovna Girya is a Russian chess player. She holds the title of Grandmaster (GM), which FIDE awarded her in 2021. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Russian team in the 2014 Women's Chess Olympiad and in the 2017 Women's World Team Chess Championship. Girya competed in the Women's World Chess Championship in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won the Russian Women's Chess Championship in 2019.
Anastasia Mikhailovna Bodnaruk is a Russian chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is the current women's World Rapid Chess Champion after winning the World Rapid Chess Championship 2023.
Dinara Saduakassova is a Kazakh chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
Gunay Vugar qizi Mammadzada is an Azerbaijani chess player who holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) through the International Chess Federation (FIDE). She has been an under-10 girls' World Youth Champion, and both an under-8 and an under-14 girls' European Youth Champion. Mammadzada is a two-time Azerbaijani women's national champion, which she achieved in 2017 and 2019. She has represented Azerbaijan at the Chess Olympiad, the World Team Chess Championship, and the European Team Chess Championship, winning both team and individual bronze medals at the latter in 2019. Mammadzada has a peak FIDE rating of 2483 and has been ranked as high as No. 18 in the world among women.
The women's event at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), was held from 2–13 September 2016 in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is contested by a record number of 142 teams representing 138 nations. Azerbaijan, as host nation, field three teams, whilst the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provide one team. A total number of 693 players are participating in the women's event.
The 43rd Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising open and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event held in Batumi, Georgia, from 23 September to 6 October 2018. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in Georgia with the Georgian Chess Federation also hosting the Chess World Cup 2017 in Tbilisi.
Petra Papp is a Hungarian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster.
Laura Unuk is a Slovenian chess player who holds the title of Woman Grandmaster and International Master. She has been twice world girls' champion in her age category, and was the Slovenian women's champion in 2013. Unuk is the top female player of Slovenia.
Jovana Rapport is a Serbian chess player currently playing for Romania. She holds the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM), which FIDE awarded her in 2009. She is a two-time Montenegrin women's champion and also a Serbian women's champion (2014).
Olga Badelka is a Belarusian chess player, currently playing for the Russian Chess Federation, who holds the FIDE title of International Master. In 2021, she was on the chess team of the University of Missouri in the United States.As of 2022, Badelka now plays chess full-time.
Govhar Beydullayeva is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster. She is the 2022 World Girls U-20 Champion as well as the World Girl's U18 Champion in 2021.
