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 | ||
|
Rating: 2561 (World No. 2) | |||
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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (July 2025) | ||||
| The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 | Zhu Jiner (winner) | 22 | 2533 | 6 |
| Aleksandra Goryachkina (runner-up) | 26 | 2533 | 7 | |
| The top three finishers in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 | TBD | |||
| TBD | ||||
| TBD | ||||
| The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2025 | 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. 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.[2]
References
- ^ "FIDE WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CYCLE 2025-2026". FIDE. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
- ^ "Qualification paths for FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 finalized". FIDE. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2025-02-28.