The Women's World Championship was established by FIDE in 1927. It was a tournament that was held alongside the Chess Olympiad. It was won by the legendary Vera Menchik (picture right), who went on to win every challenge and indeed ever championship she ever played in during her lifetime. Menchik died, undefeated, during the Second World War, and was succeeded by Ludmilla Rudenko, who won a round robin in 1949-50 to receive the title.

After this the system was changed to mirror the men's championship, i.e. a cycle of Candidates tournaments and Interzonals was held to to pick a challenger. The first was Elizaveta Bikova in 1952, who won the title in 1953, lost it in 1956 and regained it in 1958. Then came the "Georgian era", which lasted from 1962 to 1991 and saw Nona Gaprindashvili and Maya Chiburdaidze dominating women's chess.

In 1991 the Chinese player Xie Jun defeated Chiburdanidze to take the title. She was defeated in 1996 by the oldest Polgar sister, Susan, who kept the title until she lost it in 1999 by default to Xie Jun due to the birth of her first child. After this FIDE installed the knockout system for the Women's World Championship, and this was won in 2001 by the Chinese player Zhu Chen. The last championship in 2004 saw Bulgarian GM Antoaneta Stefanova win the title.

All women's world champions

Vera Menchik	1927–1944	United Kingdom
Ludmilla Rudenko	1950–1953	Soviet Union
Elisabeth Bikova	1953–1956	Soviet Union
Olga Rubzowa	1956–1958	Soviet Union
Elisabeth Bikova	1958–1962	Soviet Union
Nona Gaprindashvili	1962–1978	Georgia
Maya Chiburdanidze	1978–1991	Georgia
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

Participants

GM Antoaneta Stefanova, BUL, Women's World Champion 2004

IM Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, RUS, runner-up of WWCC 2004

GM Koneru Humpy, IND, semi-finalist of WWCC 2004

GM Maya Chiburdanidze, GEO, semi-finalist of WWCC 2004

WGM Ekaterina Korbut, RUS, World Junior Champion 2004

IM Elizabeth Paehtz, GER, World Junior Champion 2005

GM Alisa Galliamova, RUS, Rating List 7/2004 - 1/2005

WGM Xu Yuhua, CHN, Rating List 7/2004 - 1/2005

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, RUS, Rating List 7/2004 - 1/2005

GM Zhu Chen, CHN Rating List 7/2004 - 1/2005

WGM Natalia Zhukova, RUS, Dresden 2004

GM Pia Cramling, SWE, Dresden 2004

IM Tatiana Kosintseva, RUS, Dresden 2004

IM Kateryna Lahno, UKR, Kishinev 2005

IM Lilit Mkrtchian, ARM, Kishinev 2005

IM Almira Skripchenko, FRA, Kishinev 2005 (after TB)

WGM Viktoria Cmilyte, LTU, Kishinev, reserve player

WGM Irina Krush, USA, Zone 2.1

WGM Tuduetso Sabure, BOT, Cont. Championship

Seedings

 

1	Koneru, Humpy	GM	2537
2	Cramling Pia	GM	2515
3	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	GM	2514
4	Chiburdanidze, Maya	GM	2511
5	Xu, Yuhua	WGM	2502
6	Lahno Kateryna	IM	2500
7	Stefanova, Antoaneta	GM	2499
8	Zhu, Chen	GM	2482
9	Kosintseva Nadezhda	IM	2480
10	Hoang Xuan Thanh Khiet	IM	2480
11	Kosintseva Tatiana	IM	2479
12	Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman	IM	2479
13	Socko Monika	IM	2475
14	Cmilyte, Viktoria	IM	2475
15	Zhao, Xue	WGM	2473
16	Qin, Janying	WGM	2469
17	Galliamova, Alisa	IM	2467
18	Dembo Yelena	IM	2461
19	Skripchenko Almira	IM	2461
20	Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina	IM	2458
21	Mkrtchian Lilit	IM	2453
22	Dzagnidze Nana	IM	2452
23	Krush, Irina	IM	2447
24	Javakhishvili Lela	IM	2444
25	Zhukova Natalia	WGM	2432
26	Khurtsidze Nino	IM	2430
27	Matveeva Svetlana	IM	2428
28	Korbut, Ekaterina	WGM	2427
29	Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan	IM	2426
30	Danielian Elina	IM	2423
31	Paehts, Elizabeth	IM	2422
32	Zaiatz Elena	IM	2422
33	Radziewicz Iweta	IM	2421
34	Kononenko Tatiana	WGM	2417
35	Sebag Marie	IM	2415
36	Peng Zhaoqin	GM	2407
37	Foisor Cristina-Adele	IM	2402
38	Zielinska Marta	WGM	2398
39	Ushenina Anna	WGM	2398
40	Vasilevich Irina	WGM	2386
41	Wang, Yu	WGM	2385
42	Shen, Yang		2380
43	Slavina-Turova Irina	WGM	2379
44	Ovod Evgenija	WGM	2366
45	Ruan, Lufei		2361
46	Pina, Sulennis	WGM	2358
47	Houska Jovanka	WGM	2355
48	Lujan, Carolina	WGM	2346
49	Purtseladze Maka	WGM	2341
50	Aketaeva, Dana	WIM	2330
51	Kursova Maria	WIM	2319
52	Pourkashiyan, Atousa	WIM	2296
53	Ju, Wenjun		2290
54	Meenakshi Subbaraman	WGM	2289
55	Berezina-Feldman, Irina	WIM	2285
56	Hou, Yifan	WFM	2269
57	Arribas, Maritza	WGM	2261
58	Abrahamyan, Tatev	WFM	2254
59	Zapata, Karen	WIM	2218
60	Khoudgarian, Natalia	WIM	2106
61	Sohair Farid Basta	WIM	2083
62	Sabure, Tuduetso	WGM	2072
63	Mezioud Amina		1989
64	Reserve player from Americas