Women's Candidates Tournament
The tournament that decides who challenges the women's world champion.
- Founded
- 1967
- Held
- About every two years
- Where
- Varies
- Format
- Eight players, double round-robin (14 rounds)
- Champion
- Vaishali Rameshbabu (2026)
History
The Women’s Candidates was first held in 1967 and ran until 1997, then disappeared while the women’s title was decided by knockout events. It returned in 2019 and now uses the same eight-player, double round-robin format as the open Candidates.
Vaishali Rameshbabu won the 2026 edition in Cyprus, beating Kateryna Lagno in the final round to finish on 8½/14. She will challenge Ju Wenjun for the title in 2027.
Women's Candidates Tournament in The Chess Herald
Winners
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Vaishali Rameshbabu |
| 2024 | Tan Zhongyi |
| 2022 | Lei Tingjie · 2022–23 |
| 2019 | Aleksandra Goryachkina |
| 1997 | Xie Jun |
| 1994 | Zsuzsa Polgar · 1994–95 |
| 1992 | Nana Ioseliani · 1992–93 |
| 1990 | Xie Jun |
| 1988 | Nana Ioseliani |
| 1986 | Elena Akhmilovskaya |
Show all winners since 1967
| 1983 | Irina Levitina · 1983–84 |
| 1980 | Nana Alexandria · 1980–81 |
| 1977 | Maia Chiburdanidze · 1977–78 |
| 1974 | Nana Alexandria · 1974–75 |
| 1971 | Alla Kushnir |
| 1967 | Alla Kushnir |
Source: Wikipedia.
Page last reviewed September 29, 2026.