Women's Candidates Tournament 2026

Women's Candidates Tournament 2026
Venue	Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort
Location	Pegeia, Cyprus
Dates	28 March –16 April 2026
Competitors	8
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The FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 will be an eight-player chess tournament that will determine the challenger for the Women's World Chess Championship 2026. The tournament will take place at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, between 28 March and 16 April 2026. It will be held alongside the Candidates Tournament 2026. ^{[1] [2]}

It will be a double round-robin tournament. The winner of the tournament will earn the right to play the Women's World Chess Championship 2026 against the reigning Women's World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun.

Qualification

The eight players to qualify will be: ^[3]

Qualification method	Player	Age	Rating	World ranking
		(January 2026)
The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25	Zhu Jiner (winner)	23	2579	2
	Aleksandra Goryachkina (runner-up)	27	2534	6
The top three finishers in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025	Divya Deshmukh (winner)	20	2497	12
	Koneru Humpy (runner-up)	38	2535	5
	Tan Zhongyi (third place)	34	2524	7
The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2025	Vaishali Rameshbabu (winner)	24	2470	16
	Kateryna Lagno (runner-up)	36	2508	9
Highest place in the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25 not already qualified [a]	Bibisara Assaubayeva	21	2497	11

FIDE Women's Events 2024–25

In conjunction with the Open Candidates Tournament 2026, the runner-up of the previous championship match no longer automatically qualifies, unlike any previous Women's Candidates Tournament. Instead, the 2025 match is part of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25, a new qualification path which is a circuit that includes the 2024 and 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Grand Prix series, the World Cup and the Grand Swiss. ^[4] A player's score is the sum of her highest scores in up to 5 qualifying events. ^[5]

Ranking point system for the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25

•  : Qualified for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026
•  : Current World Champion – ineligible for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 qualification
•  : Player qualified for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 via another path
•  : Player ineligible for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 qualification

The table is collapsed by default and can be sorted on any column.

Top 25 players as of December 2025 ^[5]

No.	Player	Points	Events	World Rapid 2024	World Blitz 2024	World Champ	Grand Prix	World Cup	Grand Swiss	World Rapid 2025	World Blitz 2025
1	Koneru Humpy	280.00	4	1st 84.00	—N/a	—N/a	4th 60.00	2nd 80.00	—N/a	T 2nd-3rd 56.00	—N/a
2	Tan Zhongyi	216.10	5	T 2nd-7th 38.50	—N/a	2nd 25.00	5th 40.00	3rd 50.00	T 3rd-5th 60.00	T 7th-14th 2.60	—N/a
3	Zhu Jiner	214.00	4	—N/a	T 5th-8th 8.00	—N/a	1st 120.00	—N/a	—N/a	2nd 70.00	T 3rd-4th 16.00
4	Aleksandra Goryachkina	185.78	3	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	2nd 100.00	—N/a	—N/a	1st 84.00	T 7th-15th 1.78
5	Vaishali Rameshbabu	176.30	4	—N/a	T 3rd-4th 16.00	—N/a	—N/a	T 5th-8th 20.00	T 1st-2nd 110.00	T 4th-6th 30.30	—N/a
6	Kateryna Lagno	167.10	4	T 2nd-7th 38.50	T 3rd-4th 16.00	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 1st-2nd 110.00	T 7th-14th 2.60	—N/a
7	Bibisara Assaubayeva	147.40	5	T 8th-12th 1.40	T 5th-8th 8.00	—N/a	6th 30.00	—N/a	T 3rd-5th 60.00	—N/a	1st 48.00
8	Divya Deshmukh	142.60	3	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	7th 20.00	1st 120.00	—N/a	T 7th-14th 2.60	—N/a
9	Anna Muzychuk	114.60	3	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	3rd 80.00	—N/a	—N/a	T 7th-14th 2.60	2nd 32.00
10	Ju Wenjun	86.50	2 [b]	T 2nd-7th 38.50	1st 48.00	1st 0.00	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
11	Song Yuxin	81.78	3	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 5th-8th 20.00	T 3rd-5th 60.00	—N/a	T 7th-15th 1.78
12	Lei Tingjie	64.60	3	—N/a	2nd 32.00	—N/a	—N/a	4th 30.00	—N/a	T 7th-14th 2.60	—N/a
13	Harika Dronavalli	58.50	2	T 2nd-7th 38.50	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 5th-8th 20.00	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
14	Afruza Khamdamova	38.50	1	T 2nd-7th 38.50	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
	Alexandra Kosteniuk	41.10	2	T 2nd-7th 38.50	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 7th-14th 2.60	—N/a
16	Savitha Shri Baskar	30.30	1	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 4th-6th 30.30	—N/a
	Ekaterina Atalik	30.30	1	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 4th-6th 30.30	—N/a
18	Mariya Muzychuk	26.40	3	T 8th-12th 1.40	—N/a	—N/a	T 8th-9th 5.00	—N/a	T 6th-8th 20.00	—N/a	—N/a
19	Nana Dzagnidze	25.00	2	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 8th-9th 5.00	T 5th-8th 20.00	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
20	Irina Krush	20.00	1	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 6th-8th 20.00	—N/a	—N/a
	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	20.00	1	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 6th-8th 20.00	—N/a	—N/a
22	Valentina Gunina	16.00	1	—N/a	T 5th-8th 8.00	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	5th 8.00
	Eline Roebers	16.00	1	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	T 3rd-4th 16.00
24	Carissa Yip	8.00	1	—N/a	T 5th-8th 8.00	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
	Antoaneta Stefanova	8.00	1	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	6th 8.00

Organization

The tournament will be an eight-player, double round-robin tournament, meaning there will be 14 rounds with each player facing each of the others twice: once with the white pieces and once with the black pieces. The tournament winner will qualify to play Ju Wenjun for the World Championship in 2026.

Regulations

The time control will be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting from move 1. Players will get 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.

Tiebreaks for the first place will be addressed as follows: ^[2]

• If two players are tied, they will play two rapid chess games at 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If a three- to six-way tie occurs, a single round-robin will be played. If seven or eight players are tied, a single round-robin will be played with a time limit of 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move.
• If any players are tied for first after the rapid chess games, they will play two blitz chess games at 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. In the case of more than two players being tied, a single round-robin will be played.
• If any players are still tied for first after these blitz chess games, the remaining players will play a knock-out blitz tournament at the same time control. In each mini-match of the proposed knock-out tournament, the first player to win a game will win the mini-match, or if there are two draws then an armageddon game will decide the match winner.

Ties for places other than first will be broken by, in order: (1) Sonneborn–Berger score; (2) total number of wins; (3) head-to-head score among tied players; (4) drawing of lots.

Schedule

Date	Day	Event
28 March 2026	Saturday	Opening Ceremony
		Media Day
		Technical Meeting
29 March 2026	Sunday	Round 1
30 March 2026	Monday	Round 2
31 March 2026	Tuesday	Round 3
1 April 2026	Wednesday	Round 4
2 April 2026	Thursday	Rest Day
3 April 2026	Friday	Round 5
4 April 2026	Saturday	Round 6
5 April 2026	Sunday	Round 7
6 April 2026	Monday	Rest Day
7 April 2026	Tuesday	Round 8
8 April 2026	Wednesday	Round 9
9 April 2026	Thursday	Round 10
10 April 2026	Friday	Rest Day
11 April 2026	Saturday	Round 11
12 April 2026	Sunday	Round 12
13 April 2026	Monday	Rest Day
14 April 2026	Tuesday	Round 13
15 April 2026	Wednesday	Round 14
16 April 2026	Thursday	Tie-breakers (if required)
		Closing Ceremony

References

1. "Mediterranean Stage Set for Chess History: The 2026 FIDE Candidates Come to Cyprus". FIDE. 10 November 2025. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025.
2. "Regulations for the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
3. "FIDE WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CYCLE 2025-2026". FIDE . Retrieved 28 February 2025.
4. "Qualification paths for FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 finalized". FIDE . 3 December 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
5. "FIDE WOMEN'S EVENTS 2024-2025". FIDE . Retrieved 23 July 2025.

Notes

1. Koneru Humpy finished first in the 2024–2025 FIDE Women's Events circuit, but had already qualified for the Candidates through a second place finish at the Women's Chess World Cup 2025. As a result, the qualifying spot was awarded to the highest finisher of the FIDE Women's Events circuit who had not already qualified for the event (Bibisara Assaubayeva).
2. Does not include the World Championship match that awarded Ju zero points.

See also

• Women's Candidates Tournament