Olga Nikolaevna Rubtsova was a Soviet chess player and the fourth women's world chess champion. In 2015, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Elisaveta Ivanovna Bykova was a Soviet chess player and twice Women's World Chess Champion, from 1953 until 1956, and again from 1958 to 1962. She was awarded the titles of Woman International Master in 1950, International Master in 1953, and Woman Grandmaster in 1976. In 2013, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.
The Women's World Chess Championship (WWCC) is played to determine the world champion in women's chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE.
Fenny Heemskerk was a Dutch female chess master.
The Women's Soviet Chess Championship was played in the Soviet Union from 1927 through 1991 to determine the women's chess national champion.
The 1953 Women's World Chess Championship was the first to feature a Candidates Tournament that produced a challenger for the reigning champion, much like the system used for the open championship title.
The 1956 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Olga Rubtsova, who became the fourth women's champion.
The 1962 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Nona Gaprindashvili, who beat the reigning champion Elisabeth Bykova in the title match.
The 1969 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Nona Gaprindashvili, who successfully defended her title against challenger Alla Kushnir. This was the second of three consecutive title matches between the two strongest female players of their time.
The 1972 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Nona Gaprindashvili, who successfully defended her title against challenger Alla Kushnir. This was the third consecutive title match between the two strongest female players of their time.
The 1975 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Nona Gaprindashvili, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Alexandria. This was Gaprindashvili's fourth title defense - and the last successful one.
The 1978 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who defeated the incumbent champion Nona Gaprindashvili At only 17 years of age, Chiburdanidze became the sixth and youngest Women's World Champion.
The 1981 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Alexandria after a closely fought match, which ended in an 8-8 tie.
The 1984 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Irina Levitina.
The 1986 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Elena Akhmilovskaya.
The 1988 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Ioseliani.
The 1991 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Xie Jun, who defeated the incumbent champion Maia Chiburdanidze in the title match.
The 1993 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Xie Jun, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Ioseliani in the title match.
The 1996 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Hungarian Zsuzsa Polgar, who defeated the incumbent champion Xie Jun in the title match. Polgar was seeking American Citizenship at the time.
The 1999 Women's World Chess Championship was won by former champion Xie Jun, who regained her title after defeating Alisa Galliamova. Previous to the match, reigning champion Susan Polgar had been stripped of her title after much controversy.
Kira Zvorykina (Soviet Union)
Verica Nedeljković (Yugoslavia)
Edith Keller-Herrmann (East Germany)
Eva Ladanyike-Karakas (Hungary)
Kveta Eretova (Czechoslovakia)
Gisela Kahn Gresser (USA)
Elfriede Rinder (West Germany)
Maria Pogorevici (Romania)
Paunka Todorova (Bulgaria)
Soledad Gonzalez de Huguet (Argentina)
