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.
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.
As part of the qualification process, an Interzonal tournament was held in Chişinău in 1995, featuring the best players from each FIDE zone. 52 players took part with the top seven qualifying for the Candidates Tournament. For the third time, the Interzonal was played as a 13-round Swiss system tournament. [1]
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Points | Tie break | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ketevan Arakhamia (Georgia) | +36 | +44 | +11 | =2 | +4 | +8 | -3 | +9 | =7 | =6 | +10 | -5 | +19 | 9½ | |
| 2 |  Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska (Germany) | +45 | +43 | +20 | =1 | +19 | +4 | =6 | =11 | =3 | =10 | =5 | =7 | =8 | 9 | |
| 3 | Nana Ioseliani (Georgia) | +33 | =17 | =8 | +32 | =7 | =12 | +1 | +20 | =2 | =9 | =4 | =11 | =5 | 8½ | 64.50 |
| 4 |  Alisa Galliamova-Ivanchuk (Ukraine) | +16 | +31 | =19 | +5 | -1 | -2 | =26 | +18 | +11 | =17 | =3 | =9 | +7 | 8½ | 63.50 |
| 5 |  Peng Zhaoqin (China) | =15 | +42 | +39 | -4 | -17 | +18 | =25 | +27 | +21 | =7 | =2 | +1 | =3 | 8½ | 60.75 |
| 6 |  Alisa Marić (Serbia and Montenegro) | =38 | =26 | +47 | =29 | =18 | +19 | =2 | =8 | +12 | =1 | -7 | +20 | +11 | 8½ | 60.25 |
| 7 | Nino Gurieli (Georgia) | +27 | =39 | =18 | +25 | =3 | =9 | =8 | +17 | =1 | =5 | +6 | =2 | -4 | 8 | 60.50 |
| 8 |  Vesna Bašagić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) | +24 | +9 | =3 | =19 | +20 | -1 | =7 | =6 | -10 | +23 | =17 | +21 | =2 | 8 | 60.00 |
| 9 |  Svetlana Matveeva (Russia) | +13 | -8 | +40 | =17 | +33 | =7 | +12 | -1 | +20 | =3 | =11 | =4 | =15 | 8 | 57.00 |
| 10 | Nataša Bojković (Serbia and Montenegro) | =34 | -18 | +42 | =23 | =25 | =13 | +38 | +29 | +8 | =2 | -1 | =15 | =20 | 7½ | 51.25 |
| 11 | Qin Kanying (China) | +23 | +47 | -1 | =18 | =29 | +38 | +27 | =2 | -4 | +31 | =9 | =3 | -6 | 7½ | 50.50 |
| 12 | Inna Gaponenko (Ukraine) | +37 | =25 | =17 | =33 | +36 | =3 | -9 | +23 | -6 | +39 | -21 | =14 | +30 | 7½ | 48.75 |
| 13 | Nino Khurtsidze (Georgia) | -9 | -24 | +15 | +31 | =22 | =10 | -28 | =14 | =27 | +44 | =32 | +41 | +33 | 7½ | 47.75 |
| 14 |  Elvira Sakhatova (Kazakhstan) | -39 | =27 | -37 | =46 | +50 | =49 | =45 | =13 | +42 | =28 | +25 | =12 | +29 | 7½ | 44.25 |
| 15 |  Petra Krupková (Czech Republic) | =5 | -32 | -13 | -45 | +51 | +37 | =36 | +49 | +33 | =26 | +31 | =10 | =9 | 7½ | 44.25 |
| 16 | Lidia Semenova (Ukraine) | -4 | =35 | -27 | +51 | =43 | -28 | +50 | =34 | +45 | -19 | +23 | +37 | +26 | 7½ | 40.50 |
| 17 |  Cristina Adela Foișor (Romania) | +41 | =3 | =12 | =9 | +5 | =27 | =21 | -7 | +28 | =4 | =8 | -19 | =18 | 7 | 51.00 |
| 18 | Wang Lei (China) | =28 | +10 | =7 | =11 | =6 | -5 | +32 | -4 | +30 | =20 | =19 | =31 | =17 | 7 | 49.00 |
| 19 | Zhu Chen (China) | +49 | +30 | =4 | =8 | -2 | -6 | -23 | +44 | =22 | +16 | =18 | +17 | -1 | 7 | 45.75 |
| 20 |  Almira Skripchenko (Moldova) | +48 | +22 | -2 | +34 | -8 | +26 | +29 | -3 | -9 | =18 | +41 | -6 | =10 | 7 | 43.75 |
| 21 |  Hoang Thanh Trang (Vietnam) | -25 | =37 | +43 | =49 | =40 | +36 | =17 | +30 | -5 | =29 | +12 | -8 | =22 | 7 | 43.25 |
| 22 | Tatjana Shumiakina (Russia) | +46 | -20 | =49 | =40 | =13 | =23 | =30 | =33 | =19 | =25 | +39 | =29 | =21 | 7 | 42.50 |
| 23 | Miranda Khorava (Georgia) | -11 | +52 | +28 | =10 | -26 | =22 | +19 | -12 | +38 | -8 | -16 | +39 | +32 | 7 | 38.75 |
| 24 | Suzana Maksimović (Serbia and Montenegro) | -8 | +13 | =30 | -36 | -45 | =42 | +43 | -32 | =46 | =47 | +52 | +38 | +34 | 7 | 36.00 |
| 25 | Lu Xiaosha (China) | +21 | =12 | =32 | -7 | =10 | +33 | =5 | =28 | -26 | =22 | -14 | +27 | =31 | 6½ | 44.25 |
| 26 |  Anjelina Belakovskaia (USA) | =40 | =6 | =36 | +37 | +23 | -20 | =4 | -39 | +25 | =15 | =29 | =30 | -16 | 6½ | 44.00 |
| 27 | Marina Sheremetieva (Moldova) | -7 | =14 | +16 | +30 | +28 | =17 | -11 | -5 | =13 | =32 | =33 | -25 | +41 | 6½ | 43.00 |
| 28 |  Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) | =18 | =34 | -23 | +48 | -27 | +16 | +13 | =25 | -17 | =14 | -30 | =35 | +40 | 6½ | 42.00 |
| 29 |  Elina Danielian (Armenia) | -43 | +45 | +46 | =6 | =11 | +32 | -20 | -10 | +40 | =21 | =26 | =22 | -14 | 6½ | 39.75 |
| 30 | Natalia Edzgveradze (Georgia) | +51 | -19 | =24 | -27 | +35 | +41 | =22 | -21 | -18 | +34 | +28 | =26 | -12 | 6½ | 37.25 |
| 31 | Natalia Zhukova (Ukraine) | +35 | -4 | -33 | -13 | +48 | =40 | +49 | +45 | +39 | -11 | -15 | =18 | =25 | 6½ | 25.50 |
| 32 | Ludmila Zaitseva (Russia) | =42 | +15 | =25 | -3 | +34 | -29 | -18 | +24 | =41 | =27 | =13 | =33 | -23 | 6 | 39.25 |
| 33 |  Monika Bobrowska (Poland) | -3 | +41 | +31 | =12 | -9 | -25 | +35 | =22 | -15 | +40 | =27 | =32 | -13 | 6 | 37.00 |
| 34 | Maia Lomineishvili (Georgia) | =10 | =28 | +44 | -20 | -32 | +46 | -39 | =16 | =35 | -30 | +45 | +42 | -24 | 6 | 34.25 |
| 35 |  Dagnė Čiukšytė (Lithuania) | -31 | =16 | -38 | +42 | -30 | +43 | -33 | =46 | =34 | =45 | +47 | =28 | =37 | 6 | 33.50 |
| 36 |  Monika Tsiganova (Estonia) | -1 | +50 | =26 | +24 | -12 | -21 | =15 | -38 | -43 | +51 | =44 | =49 | +45 | 6 | 31.25 |
| 37 | Natalia Kiseleva (Ukraine) | -12 | =21 | +14 | -26 | -41 | -15 | +52 | +47 | =44 | =38 | +46 | -16 | =35 | 6 | 30.00 |
| 38 | Irina Kulish (Russia) | =6 | -40 | +35 | =39 | +49 | -11 | -10 | +36 | -23 | =37 | =42 | -24 | +52 | 6 | 29.75 |
| 39 |  Mónica Calzetta (Spain) | +14 | =7 | -5 | =38 | -44 | +47 | +34 | +26 | -31 | -12 | -22 | -23 | =48 | 5½ | 34.50 |
| 40 | Lin Ye (China) | =26 | +38 | -9 | =22 | =21 | =31 | =44 | =41 | -29 | -33 | =50 | +46 | -28 | 5½ | 32.00 |
| 41 |  Irina Berezina (Australia) | -17 | -33 | +52 | =44 | +37 | -30 | +48 | =40 | =32 | +43 | -20 | -13 | -27 | 5½ | 24.75 |
| 42 | Zorica Nikolin (Serbia and Montenegro) | =32 | -5 | -10 | -35 | +52 | =24 | =47 | +50 | -14 | +48 | =38 | -34 | =51 | 5½ | 23.50 |
| 43 |  Tatiana Ratcu (Brazil) | +29 | -2 | -21 | =47 | =16 | -35 | -24 | +48 | +36 | -41 | =51 | -50 | =49 | 5 | 27.50 |
| 44 | Elena Radu (Romania) | +50 | -1 | -34 | =41 | +39 | =45 | =40 | -19 | =37 | -13 | =36 | =48 | – | 5 | 26.50 |
| 45 | Svetlana Petrenko (Moldova) | -2 | -29 | =51 | +15 | +24 | =44 | =14 | -31 | -16 | =35 | -34 | +52 | -36 | 5 | 25.75 |
| 46 |  Bhagyashree Thipsay (India) | -22 | +48 | -29 | =14 | =47 | -34 | =51 | =35 | =24 | +52 | -37 | -40 | =50 | 5 | 22.00 |
| 47 |  Tatjana Lematschko (Switzerland) | +52 | -11 | -6 | =43 | =46 | -39 | =42 | -37 | +50 | =24 | -35 | +51 | – | 5 | 19.25 |
| 48 |  Johanna Paasikangas (Finland) | -20 | -46 | +50 | -28 | -31 | +52 | -41 | -43 | +51 | -42 | +49 | =44 | =39 | 5 | 17.75 |
| 49 | Natia Janjgava (Georgia) | -19 | +51 | =22 | =21 | -38 | =14 | -31 | -15 | =52 | =50 | -48 | =36 | =43 | 4½ | 21.75 |
| 50 | Ivona Jezierska (USA) | -44 | -36 | -48 | +52 | -14 | +51 | -16 | -42 | -47 | =49 | =40 | +43 | =46 | 4½ | 16.00 |
| 51 | Sharon Ellen Burtman (USA) | -30 | -49 | =45 | -16 | -15 | -50 | =46 | +52 | -48 | -36 | =43 | -47 | =42 | 3 | |
| 52 | Cristina Moshina (Moldova) | -47 | -23 | -41 | -50 | -42 | -48 | -37 | -51 | =49 | -46 | -24 | -45 | -38 | ½ |
The last round game between Radu and Lematschko wasn't played.
The seven qualifiers from the Interzonal Tournament were joined by the loser of the last championship match, Xie Jun, as well as the two runners-up from the previous tournament, Chiburdanidze and Cramling. These ten players contested a double round-robin tournament in Groningen in December 1997, from which the top two would advance to the final to determine the challenger.
Galliamova and Xie Jun finished first and second. FIDE decided that the whole final match should be played in Shenyang, China, after Chinese sponsors made the best offer for the prize fund. However, Galliamova refused to play entirely on her opponent's home turf, so Xie Jun was declared the winner by default and given the right to challenge champion Polgar. [2]
| Player | Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alisa Galliamova (Russia) | 2445 | - | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 1½ | 1½ | 1½ | 2 | 2 | 13½ |
| 2 | Xie Jun (China) | 2495 | 1½ | - | 1½ | ½ | ½ | 1½ | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 12½ |
| 3 | Nana Ioseliani (Georgia) | 2520 | 1 | ½ | - | 1 | 1½ | 1½ | ½ | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 4 | Maia Chiburdanidze (Georgia) | 2525 | ½ | 1½ | 1 | - | 1 | 1½ | ½ | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 5 | Peng Zhaoqin (China) | 2400 | 0 | 1½ | ½ | 1 | - | ½ | 1½ | 1 | 1½ | 1½ | 9 |
| 6 | Alisa Marić (Serbia and Montenegro) | 2460 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1½ | - | 1 | 1½ | 1½ | 1½ | 9 |
| 7 | Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (Georgia) | 2430 | ½ | 0 | 1½ | 1½ | ½ | 1 | - | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 8 |  Pia Cramling (Sweden) | 2520 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 2 | - | 0 | 1½ | 8½ |
| 9 | Nino Gurieli (Georgia) | 2370 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 2 | - | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska (Germany) | 2415 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | - | 1½ |
Kachiani-Gersinska withdrew after 10 rounds.
The championship match was at first scheduled to take place in November 1998, but champion Susan Polgar requested a postponement because she was pregnant. FIDE had been unable to find a satisfactory sponsor, so the request was granted. By the time FIDE announced the new date and venue for the title match to be played China in 1999, Polgar had given birth to her son Tom—however, she still considered that the time to recover from childbirth and prepare for the new match was insufficient. In addition, like Galliamova, she didn't want to play entirely in the opponent's home country. She also wanted a significantly larger prize fund, so she requested that the match be postponed again. This time FIDE refused and negotiations broke down.
Instead FIDE ruled that Polgar had forfeited the title and arranged a new title match between the two Candidates finalists, Xie Jun and Galliamova. The match was played in Kazan, Tatarstan, and Shenyang, China, in 1999. Xie Jun won by two points and regained the title that she had lost to Polgar three years previously. [3]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alisa Galliamova (Russia) | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 6½ |
| Xie Jun (China) | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 8½ |
Xie Jun is a Chinese chess grandmaster and is the first Asian female to become a chess grandmaster. She had two separate reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is one of three women to have at least two separate reigns, besides Elisaveta Bykova and Hou Yifan. Xie Jun is the current president of the Chinese Chess Association. In 2019, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Maia Chiburdanidze is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. She is the sixth Women's World Chess Champion, a title she held from 1978 to 1991, and was the youngest one until 2010, when this record was broken by Hou Yifan. Chiburdanidze is the second woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE, which took place in 1984. She has played on nine gold-medal-winning teams in the Women's Chess Olympiad.
Alisa Mikhailovna Galliamova is a Russian chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is twice runner-up at the Women's World Chess Championship, in 1999 and 2006, and three-time Russian women's champion. She was known as "Alisa Galliamova-Ivanchuk" from 1993 to 2001.
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The winner of the Candidates earns the right to a match for the World Championship against the incumbent world champion.
Xu Yuhua is a Chinese chess grandmaster and former Women's World Champion (2006–2008). She was China's third women's world chess champion after Xie Jun and Zhu Chen. She has been followed by Chinese women's world chess champions Hou Yifan, Tan Zhongyi, and Ju Wenjun.
Qin Kanying is a Chinese chess player who holds the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster. She is a former Women's World Chess Championship runner-up and five-time Chinese women's champion.
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.
China is a major chess power, with the women's team winning silver medals at the Olympiad in 2010, 2012, and 2014; the men's team winning gold at the 2014 Olympiad, and the average rating for the country's top ten players third in the FIDE rankings as of April 2023.
Alisa Marić, PhD is a Serbian chess player who holds the FIDE titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and International Master (IM).
Events of 1999 in chess include the list of top chess players and news.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1993, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1992, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1991, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess grandmaster. Polgár was Women's World Chess Champion from 1996 to 1999. On FIDE's Elo rating system list of July 1984, at the age of 15, she became the top-ranked female chess player in the world. In 1991, she became the third woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE. She won eleven medals at the Women's Chess Olympiad.
The 1991 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Xie Jun, who defeated the incumbent champion Maia Chiburdanidze in the title match. Just as Bobby Fischer ended Soviet domination in the open section in 1972 after 24 years, Xie Jun ended Soviet domination in the women's section after 41 years.
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.
While the World Chess Championship title, contested officially since 1886 and unofficially long before that, is in theory open to all players, it was for many years contested solely by men. In 1927, FIDE therefore established a Women's World Chess Championship exclusively for female players. Like the "open" title, the format for the women's championship has undergone several changes since then, the most important of which are described here.
Katarina Blagojević, also known as Katarina Blagojević-Jovanović was a Serbian chess player who held the title of Woman Grandmaster. She shared 4th–5th place in the Women's World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament in 1964. She was a three-time winner of the Yugoslav Women's Chess Championship and won a team silver medal and bronze individual medal at the Women's Chess Olympiads in 1963 and 1966, respectively.
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| Alternating format | |
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