The Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 was an eight-player chess tournament held to determine the challenger for the Women's World Chess Championship 2027. The tournament took place at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, between 28 March and 16 April 2026. The event was held alongside the Candidates Tournament 2026.

It was a double round-robin tournament. Vaishali Rameshbabu, the lowest-rated player in the field, won the tournament and earned the right to play the Women's World Chess Championship 2027 match against the reigning Women's World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun.

Qualification The eight players to qualify to the Women's Candidates Tournament were:

Qualification methodPlayerAgeRatingWorldranking(March 2026)The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 Zhu Jiner 2578 2 Aleksandra Goryachkina 2534 7The top three finishers in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 Divya Deshmukh 20 2497 12 Koneru Humpy 2535 5 Tan Zhongyi 2535 6The top two finishers in the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2025 Vaishali Rameshbabu 2470 18 Kateryna Lagno 2508 10Highest place in the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25 not already qualified Bibisara Assaubayeva 2516 9 Anna Muzychuk 2522 8 Humpy Koneru withdrew a week before the tournament began, citing safety concerns in Cyprus due to the 2026 Iran war. Anna Muzychuk, the next highest scoring player in the FIDE Women's Events Series, was brought on as a replacement.

FIDE Women's Events 2024–25 In conjunction with the Open Candidates Tournament 2026, the runner-up of the previous championship match no longer automatically qualified, unlike any previous Women's Candidates Tournament. Instead, the 2025 match was part of the FIDE Women's Events 2024–25, a new qualification path which was a circuit that included the 2024 and 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Grand Prix series, the World Cup and the Grand Swiss. A player's score was the sum of her highest scores in up to 5 qualifying events.

: Qualified for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 : Current World Champion – ineligible for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 qualification : Player qualified for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 via another path : Player ineligible for Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 qualification

Top 25 players as of December 2025 No. Player Points Events World Rapid 2024 World Blitz 2024 World Champ Grand Prix World Cup Grand Swiss World Rapid 2025 World Blitz 2025 1 Koneru Humpy 280.00 4 1st84.00 4th60.00 2nd80.00 T 2nd-3rd56.00 2 Tan Zhongyi 216.10 5 T 2nd-7th38.50 2nd25.00 5th40.00 3rd50.00 T 3rd-5th60.00 T 7th-14th2.60 3 Zhu Jiner 214.00 4 T 5th-8th8.00 1st120.00 2nd70.00 T 3rd-4th16.00 4 Aleksandra Goryachkina 185.78 3 2nd100.00 1st84.00T 7th-15th1.78 5 Vaishali Rameshbabu 176.30 4 T 3rd-4th16.00 T 5th-8th20.00 T 1st-2nd110.00 T 4th-6th30.30 6 Kateryna Lagno 167.10 4 T 2nd-7th38.50 T 3rd-4th16.00 T 1st-2nd110.00 T 7th-14th2.60 7 Bibisara Assaubayeva 147.40 5 T 8th-12th1.40 T 5th-8th8.00 6th30.00 T 3rd-5th60.00 1st48.00 8 Divya Deshmukh 142.60 3 7th20.00 1st120.00 T 7th-14th2.60 9 Anna Muzychuk 114.60 3 3rd80.00 T 7th-14th2.602nd32.00 10 Ju Wenjun 86.50 2 T 2nd-7th38.50 1st48.00 1st0.00 11 Song Yuxin 81.78 3 T 5th-8th20.00 T 3rd-5th60.00 T 7th-15th1.78 12 Lei Tingjie 64.60 3 2nd32.00 4th30.00 T 7th-14th2.60 13 Harika Dronavalli 58.50 2 T 2nd-7th38.50 T 5th-8th20.00 14 Afruza Khamdamova 38.50 1 T 2nd-7th38.50 Alexandra Kosteniuk 41.10 2 T 2nd-7th38.50 T 7th-14th2.60 16 Savitha Shri Baskar30.301 T 4th-6th30.30 Ekaterina Atalik30.301 T 4th-6th30.30 18 Mariya Muzychuk 26.40 3 T 8th-12th1.40 T 8th-9th5.00 T 6th-8th20.00 19 Nana Dzagnidze 25.00 2 T 8th-9th5.00 T 5th-8th20.00 20 Irina Krush 20.00 1 T 6th-8th20.00 Ulviyya Fataliyeva 20.00 1 T 6th-8th20.00 22 Valentina Gunina 16.00 1 T 5th-8th8.00 5th8.00 Eline Roebers16.001 T 3rd-4th16.00 24 Carissa Yip 8.00 1 T 5th-8th8.00 Antoaneta Stefanova8.001 6th8.00

Organization The tournament was an eight-player, double round-robin tournament, meaning there were 14 rounds with each player facing each of the others twice: once with the white pieces and once with the black pieces. The tournament winner will qualify to play Ju Wenjun for the World Championship in 2026.

Regulations The time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting from move 1. Players got 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.

Tiebreaks for the first place would have been addressed as follows:

If two players were tied, they would play two rapid chess games at 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If a three- to six-way tie occurred, a single round-robin would be played. If seven or eight players are tied, a single round-robin would be played with a time limit of 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move. If any players were tied for first after the rapid chess games, they would play two blitz chess games at 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. In the case of more than two players being tied, a single round-robin would be played. If any players were still tied for first after these blitz chess games, the remaining players would play a knock-out blitz tournament at the same time control. In each mini-match of the proposed knock-out tournament, the first player to win a game would win the mini-match.

Ties for places other than first were broken by, in order: (1) Sonneborn–Berger score; (2) total number of wins; (3) head-to-head score among tied players; (4) drawing of lots.

Prize money The prize money was €28,000 for first place, €17,000 for second place, and €8,600 for third place (with players on the same number of points sharing prize money, irrespective of tie-breaks), plus €2,200 per half-point for every player, for a minimum total prize pool of €300,000, according to the regulations.

Arbiters The Chief Arbiter for the event was Takis Nikolopoulos (Greece) with Andrew Howie (Scotland) and Ana Srebrnič (Slovakia) both acting as Deputy Chief Arbiter and Fair Play Officer.

Schedule On 10 November 2025, FIDE announced the following schedule. Matches began daily at 15:30 EEST (UTC +3). + Date Day Event28 March SaturdayOpening CeremonyMedia DayTechnical Meeting29 MarchSundayRound 130 MarchMondayRound 231 MarchTuesdayRound 31 AprilWednesdayRound 42 AprilThursdayRest Day3 AprilFridayRound 54 AprilSaturdayRound 65 AprilSundayRound 76 AprilMondayRest Day7 AprilTuesdayRound 88 AprilWednesdayRound 99 AprilThursdayRound 1010 AprilFridayRest Day11 AprilSaturdayRound 1112 AprilSundayRound 1213 AprilMondayRest Day14 AprilTuesdayRound 1315 AprilWednesdayRound 14 16 April ThursdayTie-breakers (if required) Closing Ceremony

Results Standings

Points by round This table shows the total number of wins minus the total number of losses each player has after each round. The symbol '=' indicates the player had won and lost the same number of games after that round. Green backgrounds indicate the player(s) with the highest score after each round. Red backgrounds indicate players who could no longer win the tournament after each round.

RankPlayerRounds1234567891011121314 1== = = −1 = +1+1+2+2+3+2+2+3 2== +1 +1 = −1 −1 −1 −1 = = +1+2+2 3== −1 =+1 = =+1+2 +1 +1+2 +1+1 4== = = = = = −1 −1 = −1 −1 =+1 5== =+1+1+2+2+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 == 6== +1 = +1 = =+1 = = = −1 = −1 7== = −1 −1 = =+1 = −1 −1 −2 −3 −3 8== −1 −1 −1 −1 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −2 −2 −3

Results by round In February 2026, FIDE announced pairings for the tournament.

Round 1 (29 March) Divya Deshmukh ½–½ Anna MuzychukC45 Scotch Game Vaishali Rameshbabu ½–½ Bibisara AssaubayevaB32 Closed Sicilian Aleksandra Goryachkina ½–½ Kateryna LagnoC84 Ruy Lopez Closed Zhu Jiner ½–½ Tan ZhongyiC55 Two Knights Defense Round 2 (30 March) Anna Muzychuk (½) ½–½ Tan Zhongyi (½)C42 Petrov Classical Kateryna Lagno (½) ½–½ Zhu Jiner (½)C07 French Tarrasch Bibisara Assaubayeva (½) ½–½ Aleksandra Goryachkina (½)D40 Semi-Tarrasch Defense Divya Deshmukh (½) ½–½ Vaishali Rameshbabu (½)D31 Queen's Gambit Declined Round 3 (31 March) Vaishali Rameshbabu (1) ½–½ Anna Muzychuk (1)C55 Two Knights Defense Aleksandra Goryachkina (1) ½–½ Divya Deshmukh (1)B31 Sicilian Rossolimo Zhu Jiner (1) 0–1 Bibisara Assaubayeva (1)B30 Sicilian Rossolimo Tan Zhongyi (1) 0–1 Kateryna Lagno (1)C53 Giuoco Piano Round 4 (1 April) Anna Muzychuk (1½) 1–0 Kateryna Lagno (2)C85 Ruy Lopez Closed Bibisara Assaubayeva (2) ½–½ Tan Zhongyi (1½)D30 Queen's Gambit Declined Divya Deshmukh (1½) 0–1 Zhu Jiner (1)A21 English Opening Vaishali Rameshbabu (1½) ½–½ Aleksandra Goryachkina (1½)C55 Two Knights Defense Round 5 (3 April) Aleksandra Goryachkina (2) ½–½ Anna Muzychuk (2½)B31 Sicilian Rossolimo Zhu Jiner (2) 1–0 Vaishali Rameshbabu (2)C55 Two Knights Defense Tan Zhongyi (1½) ½–½ Divya Deshmukh (1½)D30 Queen's Gambit Declined Kateryna Lagno (2) 1–0 Bibisara Assaubayeva (2½)B34 Closed Sicilian Round 6 (4 April) Zhu Jiner (3) 0–1 Anna Muzychuk (3)C50 Giuoco Pianissimo Tan Zhongyi (2) ½–½ Aleksandra Goryachkina (2½)C58 Two Knights Defense Kateryna Lagno (3) 0–1 Vaishali Rameshbabu (2)C28 Vienna Game Bibisara Assaubayeva (2½) 0–1 Divya Deshmukh (2)D52 Queen's Gambit Declined Round 7 (5 April) Anna Muzychuk (4) ½–½ Bibisara Assaubayeva (2½)B30 Sicilian Rossolimo Divya Deshmukh (3) ½–½ Kateryna Lagno (3)A13 English Agincourt Defense Vaishali Rameshbabu (3) 1–0 Tan Zhongyi (2½)B07 Pirc Defence Aleksandra Goryachkina (3) ½–½ Zhu Jiner (3)C80 Ruy Lopez Open Round 8 (7 April) Anna Muzychuk (4½) 0–1 Divya Deshmukh (3½)B27 Sicilian Hyperaccelerated Dragon Bibisara Assaubayeva (3) ½–½ Vaishali Rameshbabu (4)C55 Two Knights Defense Kateryna Lagno (3½) 1–0 Aleksandra Goryachkina (3½)C45 Scotch Game Tan Zhongyi (2½) 0–1 Zhu Jiner (3½)E32 Nimzo-Indian Classical Round 9 (8 April) Tan Zhongyi (2½) ½–½ Anna Muzychuk (4½)D80 Grünfeld Defence Zhu Jiner (4½) 1–0 Kateryna Lagno (4½)A06 Zukertort Opening Aleksandra Goryachkina (3½) ½–½ Bibisara Assaubayeva (3½)B30 Sicilian Rossolimo Vaishali Rameshbabu (4½) 1–0 Divya Deshmukh (4½)A06 Nimzowitsch–Larsen Attack Round 10 (9 April) Anna Muzychuk (5) ½–½ Vaishali Rameshbabu (5½)C55 Two Knights Defense Divya Deshmukh (4½) 0–1 Aleksandra Goryachkina (4)C90 Ruy Lopez Closed Bibisara Assaubayeva (4) 1–0 Zhu Jiner (5½)D43 Semi-Slav Defense Kateryna Lagno (4½) ½–½ Tan Zhongyi (3)B28 Sicilian O'Kelly Round 11 (11 April) Kateryna Lagno (5) ½–½ Anna Muzychuk (5½)E15 Queen's Indian Defense Tan Zhongyi (3½) ½–½ Bibisara Assaubayeva (5)B30 Sicilian Rossolimo Zhu Jiner (5½) ½–½ Divya Deshmukh (4½)B30 Sicilian Rossolimo Aleksandra Goryachkina (5) 0–1 Vaishali Rameshbabu (6)D02 London System Round 12 (12 April) Anna Muzychuk (6) ½–½ Aleksandra Goryachkina (5)C84 Ruy Lopez Closed Vaishali Rameshbabu (7) 0–1 Zhu Jiner (6)B12 Caro–Kann Defence Divya Deshmukh (5) 0–1 Tan Zhongyi (4)C44 King's Knight Opening Bibisara Assaubayeva (5½) 1–0 Kateryna Lagno (5½)C53 Giuoco Piano Round 13 (14 April) Bibisara Assaubayeva (6½) 1–0 Anna Muzychuk (6½)C45 Scotch Game Kateryna Lagno (5½) 1–0 Divya Deshmukh (5)B12 Caro–Kann Defence Tan Zhongyi (5) ½–½ Vaishali Rameshbabu (7)D32 Tarrasch Defense Zhu Jiner (7) 0–1 Aleksandra Goryachkina (5½)C50 Giuoco Pianissimo Round 14 (15 April) Anna Muzychuk (6½) ½–½ Zhu Jiner (7)B22 Alapin Sicilian Aleksandra Goryachkina (6½) 1–0 Tan Zhongyi (5½)C42 Petrov Classical Vaishali Rameshbabu (7½) 1–0 Kateryna Lagno (6½)B76 Dragon Sicilian Divya Deshmukh (5) ½–½ Bibisara Assaubayeva (7½)A45 Indian Defence

See also Candidates Tournament 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament

References

Notes

External links Official site, FIDE Regulations for the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026, FIDE