Women's World Chess Championship 2026

Women's World Chess Championship 2026

2026
	Defending champion	Challenger
	Ju Wenjun
	Born 31 January 1991 34 years old
	Winner of the Women's World Chess Championship 2025	Winner of the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026
←  2025

The Women's World Chess Championship 2026 is an upcoming chess match which will determine the new Women's World Chess Champion. It will be played between the defending champion Ju Wenjun, the winner of the Women's World Chess Championship 2025, and a challenger, who will be the winner of the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026. ^{[1] [2]} The dates and host city are yet to be decided.

Candidates Tournament

Main article: Women's Candidates Tournament 2026

The challenger will qualify by winning the eight-player Women's Candidates Tournament 2026, which will be held in April 2026. The following players will qualify:

Qualification method	Player	Age	Rating	World ranking
		(March 2026)
The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25	Zhu Jiner (winner)	23	2578	2
	Aleksandra Goryachkina (runner-up)	27	2534	7
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	2535	6
The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2025	Vaishali Rameshbabu (winner)	24	2470	18
	Kateryna Lagno (runner-up)	36	2508	10
The highest eligible player of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25	Bibisara Assaubayeva	22	2516	9

References

• Chess portal
• Sports portal
• Games portal

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.