China’s Ju Wenjun
Women’s World Chess Champion
Ready for a Challenger!
by
John Bain
The Candidates
Only one lady will challenge China’s Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Chess Champion title.
A Russian-Ukrainian Showdown?
FIDE has arranged the Women’s Chess Candidates Tournament brackets so that a Russian-Ukrainian showdown will be avoided until the Final match.
2022-2023 Women’s Chess Candidates Bracket*
*FIDE banned Russian flags from FIDE-sponsored events in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. So, Russian players’ flags are displayed as “FIDE flags.”
In the brackets, the players are separated into two Pools–Pool A and Pool B.
Pool A has the two Ukrainian players–sisters Anna Muzychuk and Mariya Muzychuk.
Pool B has the three Russian players–Aleksandra Goryachkina, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Kateryna Lagno.
Ratings are from the International Chess Federation (FIDE) January 2022 rankings list.
Pool 1 –
Humpy Koneru (2586) – India
Anna Muzychuk (2531) – Ukraine
Lei Tingjie (2535) – China
Mariya Muzychuk (2539) – Ukraine
Pool 2 –
Aleksandra Goryachkina (2610) – Russia
Alexandra Kosteniuk (2516) – Russia
Kateryna Lagno (2550) – Russia
Tan Zhongyi (2525) – China
Ju Wenjun
Women’s World Chess Champion
Born: January 31, 1991
Shanghai, China
FIDE Rating 2560
The Candidates Tournament!
The Women’s Candidates Tournament has three stages:
1) Quarter Finals–4 games matches;
2) Semi Finals–4 game matches;
3) the Finals–a 6 game match to determine the winner.
Pool A will takes place October 24 through November 6, 2022 in Monaco.
Pool B runs November 28 through December 11, 2022 in Khiva.
The winner of the Candidates Tournament will challenge the Women’s World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun in a 12-game match sometime in 2023 at a place and date to be determined.
Aleksandra Goryachkina
Aleksandra won the Candidates Tournament two years ago, then challenged Ju Wenjun for the title in a 12-game Classical Chess match in 2020.
In the title match, each player won 3 games and drew 6 games and the match was tied at the end of regulation play. In Rapid Chess tiebreaks, Ju Wenjun retained her title scoring 2.5 points to Alexandra’s 1.5 points.
Aleksandra Goryachkina
2020 Women’s World Chess Challenger
Born: September 28, 1998
Orsk, Russia
FIDE Rating 2610
Humpy Koneru
Humpy is the youngest woman to earn the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years, 1 month, 27 days old, beating Judit Polgár’s previous record by three months.
In 2019, she won the FIDE Women’s Rapid Chess Championship.
Humpy Koneru
#3 Rated Woman in the World
Born: March 31, 1987
Gudivada, India
FIDE Rating 2586
Ekaterina Lagno
Ekaterina is a chess prodigy, earning the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) at the young age of 12 years, 4 months and 2 days old. Then, in 2007, she earned the Grandmaster (GM) title.
In August 2010, Lagno became the Women’s World Blitz Chess Champion. In April 2014, Lagno won the Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship by tie-break over Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Today, although born in Ukraine, she is a Russian chess Grandmaster (GM).
Ekaterina Lagno
#5 Rated Woman in the World
Born: December 27, 1989
Lviv, Ukraine
FIDE Rating 2550
Mariya Muzychuk
Mariya Muzychuk is a Ukrainian chess Grandmaster and the Women’s World Chess Champion from April 2015 to March 2016.
Mariya Muzychuk
#6 Rated Woman in the World
Born: September 21, 1992
Lviv, Ukraine
FIDE Rating 2539
Lei Tingjie
Lei Tingjie is a Chinese chess Grandmaster (GM), who won the 2017 Women’s Chinese Chess Championship.
Lei Tingjie
#7 Rated Woman in the World
Born: March 13, 1997
Fuling District, Chongqing, China
FIDE Rating 2535
Anna Muzychuk
Anna Muzychuk is a Ukrainian chess Grandmaster (GM). She is the fourth woman in chess history to attain a FIDE rating of at least 2600.
Anna is a three-time World Champion in speed chess. She won the Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship once in 2014 and the Women’s World Blitz Chess Championship twice–in 2014 and 2016.
Anna Muzychuk
#9 Rated Woman in the World
Born: February 28, 1990
Lviv, Ukraine
FIDE Rating 2531
Tan Zhongyi
Tan Zhongyi is a Chinese chess Grandmaster (GM) and the 2017 Women’s World Chess Champion.
Tan Zhongyi
#10 Rated Woman in the World
Born: May 29, 1991
Chongqing, China
FIDE Rating 2525
Alexandra Kosteniuk
The one time 2008-2010 Women’s World Chess Champion rose to the top again in 2021–see The “Chess Queen” returns! 37-year-old Alexandra Kosteniuk wins the 2021 FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup!
Alexandra Kosteniuk
#12 Rated Woman in the World
Born: April 23, 1984
Perm, Russia
FIDE Rating 2516
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