Women's World Chess Championship 2026

Women's World Chess Championship 2026

2026
	Defending champion	Challenger
	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, who will be the winner of the previous match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi, and a challenger, who will be the winner of the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026. The dates and host city are yet to be decided.

Candidates Tournament

The challenger will qualify by winning the eight-player Women's Candidates Tournament 2026, which will be held in April 2026. ^[1] The following players will qualify:

Qualification method	Player	Age	Rating	World ranking
		(TBD)
The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25	TBD
	TBD
The top three finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2025	TBD
	TBD
The top two finishers in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025	TBD
	TBD
	TBD
The winner of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25	TBD

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. However, the 2025 match is part of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25, a new qualification path which includes the 2024 and 2025 Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Grand Prix series, the World Cup and the Grand Swiss. ^[2]

References

• Chess portal
• Sports portal
• Games portal

1. "FIDE WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CYCLE 2025-2026". FIDE . Retrieved 2025-02-28.
2. "Qualification paths for FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 finalized". FIDE . 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2025-02-28.