The Women's World Chess Championship (WWCC) is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE. Unlike with most sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee, where competition is either "mixed" (containing everyone) or split into men and women, in chess women are both allowed to compete in the "open" division (including the World Chess Championship) yet also have a separate Women's Championship (only open to females).
Women's World Chess Champions
| Name | Years | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Vera Menchik | 1927–1944 |
Russia (in exile) Czechoslovakia United Kingdom |
| none | 1944–1950 | World War II |
| Lyudmila Rudenko | 1950–1953 |
 Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR)
|
| Elisaveta Bykova | 1953–1956 |
Soviet Union (Russian SFSR)
|
| Olga Rubtsova | 1956–1958 |
Soviet Union (Russian SFSR)
|
| Elisaveta Bykova | 1958–1962 |
Soviet Union (Russian SFSR)
|
| Nona Gaprindashvili | 1962–1978 |
Soviet Union (Georgian SSR)
|
| Maia Chiburdanidze | 1978–1991 |
Soviet Union (Georgian SSR)
|
| Xie Jun | 1991–1996 | China |
| Susan Polgar | 1996–1999 | Hungary |
| Xie Jun | 1999–2001 | China |
| Zhu Chen | 2001–2004 | China |
| Antoaneta Stefanova | 2004–2006 | Bulgaria |
| Xu Yuhua | 2006–2008 | China |
| Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2008–2010 | Russia |
| Hou Yifan | 2010–2012 | China |
| Anna Ushenina | 2012–2013 | Ukraine |
| Hou Yifan | 2013–2015 | China |
| Mariya Muzychuk | 2015–2016 | Ukraine |
| Hou Yifan | 2016–2017 | China |
| Tan Zhongyi | 2017–2018 | China |
| Ju Wenjun | 2018– | China |
List of Women's World Chess Championships
| Year | Host country | Host city | World champion | Runner-up(s) | Won (+) | Lost (−) | Draw (=) | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's World Chess Championship (1927–1944) | ||||||||
| 1927 | United Kingdom | London | Vera Menchik | 11 players | 10 | 0 | 1 | 12-player round-robin tournament |
| 1930 | Germany | Hamburg | Vera Menchik | 4 players | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5-player double round-robin tournament |
| 1931 | Czechoslovakia | Prague | Vera Menchik | 4 players | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5-player double round-robin tournament |
| 1933 | United Kingdom | Folkestone | Vera Menchik | 7 players | 14 | 0 | 0 | 8-player double round-robin tournament |
| 1934 | Netherlands | Rotterdam | Vera Menchik | Sonja Graf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4-game match |
| 1935 | Poland | Warsaw | Vera Menchik | 9 players | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10-player round-robin tournament |
| 1937 | Sweden | Stockholm | Vera Menchik | 25 players | 14 | 0 | 0 | 26-player Swiss-system tournament |
| 1937 | Austria | Semmering | Vera Menchik | Sonja Graf | 9 | 2 | 5 | 16-game match |
| 1939 | Argentina | Buenos Aires | Vera Menchik | 19 players | 17 | 0 | 2 | 20-player round-robin tournament |
| Vera Menchik died in 1944 as reigning world champion. | ||||||||
| Women's World Chess Championship (1944–1950) | ||||||||
| Interregnum | ||||||||
| Women's World Chess Championship (1950–1999) | ||||||||
| 1950 |
Soviet Union
|
Moscow |
Lyudmila Rudenko
|
15 players | 11½ points out of 15 | 16-player round-robin tournament | ||
| 1953 |
Soviet Union
|
Moscow |
Elisaveta Bykova
|
Lyudmila Rudenko
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 14-game match |
| 1956 |
Soviet Union
|
Moscow |
Olga Rubtsova
|
Elisaveta Bykova
|
10 points out of 16 | 3-player (Rubtsova, Bykova, Rudenko) octuple round-robin | ||
| 1958 |
Soviet Union
|
Moscow |
Elisaveta Bykova
|
Olga Rubtsova
|
7 | 4 | 3 | 14-game match |
| 1959 |
Soviet Union
|
Moscow |
Elisaveta Bykova
|
Kira Zvorykina
|
6 | 2 | 5 | 13-game match |
| 1962 |
Soviet Union
|
Moscow |
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
Elisaveta Bykova
|
7 | 0 | 4 | 11-game match |
| 1965 |
Soviet Union
|
Riga |
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
Alla Kushnir
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 13-game match |
| 1969 |
Soviet Union
|
Tbilisi Moscow |
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
Alla Kushnir
|
6 | 2 | 5 | 14-game match |
| 1972 |
Soviet Union
|
Riga |
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
Alla Kushnir
|
5 | 4 | 7 | 16-game match |
| 1975 |
Soviet Union
|
Pitsunda Tbilisi |
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
Nana Alexandria
|
8 | 3 | 1 | 12-game match |
| 1978 |
Soviet Union
|
Tbilisi |
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
4 | 2 | 9 | 15-game match |
| 1981 |
Soviet Union
|
Borjomi Tbilisi |
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
Nana Alexandria
|
4 | 4 | 8 | 16-game match (draw) |
| 1984 |
Soviet Union
|
Volgograd |
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
Irina Levitina
|
5 | 2 | 7 | 14-game match |
| 1986 | Bulgaria | Sofia |
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
Elena Akhmilovskaya
|
4 | 1 | 9 | 14-game match |
| 1988 |
Soviet Union
|
Telavi |
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
Nana Ioseliani
|
3 | 2 | 11 | 16-game match |
| 1991 | Philippines | Manila | Xie Jun |
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
4 | 2 | 9 | 15-game match |
| 1993 | Monaco | Monaco | Xie Jun | Nana Ioseliani | 7 | 1 | 3 | 11-game match |
| 1996 | Spain | Jaén | Susan Polgar | Xie Jun | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13-game match |
| 1999 |
Russia China |
Kazan Shenyang | Xie Jun | Alisa Galliamova | 5 | 3 | 7 | 15-game match |
| Women's World Chess Championship (2000–present) (addition of the knockout format) | ||||||||
| 2000 | India | New Delhi | Xie Jun | Qin Kanying | 1 | 0 | 3 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match) |
| 2001 | Russia | Moscow | Zhu Chen | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2+3 | 2+1 | 0 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, plus tie-breaks) |
| 2004 | Russia | Elista | Antoaneta Stefanova | Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | 2 | 0 | 1 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, won early) |
| 2006 | Russia | Yekaterinburg | Xu Yuhua | Alisa Galliamova | 2 | 0 | 1 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, won early) |
| 2008 | Russia | Nalchik | Alexandra Kosteniuk | Hou Yifan | 1 | 0 | 3 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match) |
| 2010 | Turkey | Hatay | Hou Yifan | Ruan Lufei | 1+2 | 1 | 2+2 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, plus tie-breaks) |
| 2011 | Albania | Tirana | Hou Yifan | Humpy Koneru | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10-game match, won early |
| 2012 | Russia | Khanty-Mansiysk | Anna Ushenina | Antoaneta Stefanova | 1+1 | 1 | 2+1 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, plus tie-breaks) |
| 2013 | China | Taizhou | Hou Yifan | Anna Ushenina | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10-game match, won early |
| 2015 | Russia | Sochi | Mariya Muzychuk | Natalia Pogonina | 1 | 0 | 3 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match) |
| 2016 | Ukraine | Lviv | Hou Yifan | Mariya Muzychuk | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10-game match, won early |
| 2017 | Iran | Tehran | Tan Zhongyi | Anna Muzychuk | 1+1 | 1 | 2+1 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, plus tie-breaks) |
| May 2018 | China | Shanghai Chongqing | Ju Wenjun | Tan Zhongyi | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10-game match |
| Nov 2018 | Russia | Khanty-Mansiysk | Ju Wenjun | Kateryna Lagno | 1+2 | 1 | 2+2 | 64-player knock-out tournament (4-game championship match, plus tie-breaks) |
