Women's World Chess Championship

The Women's World Chess Championship is the individual world title of FIDE, the International Chess Federation, with eligibility restricted to women. It was first contested in 1927, when Vera Menchik won the inaugural event. It uses the same fundamental chess rules as other competitions; what differs is eligibility for the championship cycle.

Its format has changed considerably. It began as a round-robin tournament, meaning each participant played the others. For much of the second half of the twentieth century, a multi-game title match became the main format. Later periods included knockout tournaments, where losing a match could eliminate a player. Since 2020 the title has again been decided by a match.

In modern cycles, a series of competitions determines who earns the right to challenge the champion. Qualification routes, match lengths, and tiebreak rules can change between cycles, so it is useful to separate the stable idea of the title from the regulations of one edition.

It should not be understood as the women's version of a championship that is otherwise male-only. The main World Chess Championship is open with respect to gender, so women can also attempt to qualify for it. The Women's Championship additionally provides a title and cycle specifically for women players.