The Women’s Candidates Chess Tournament 2022 qualifying path has been approved by the FIDE Council. The Women’s Candidates will be an eight player double round robin event, copying the format of the open Candidates which just finished.
Women’s Candidates Chess 2022
- 1 player from the FIDE WC Match 2020, Runner-up (GM Aleksandra Goryachkina)
- 2 players from the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019-20
- 3 players from the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021
- 1 player from the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament 2021
- 1 player by Rating
There was only one undefined qualification spot so far, which stayed in the official rules as TBD. Traditionally, in major FIDE events, one spot is a wild card chosen either by the organizers or the FIDE President himself. This time the participant will be determined by rating.
1 player from the FIDE WC Match 2020, Runner-up
GM Alexandra Goryanchkina, the winner of the Women’s Candidates 2019, is already part of the Women’s Chess Candidates 2022 field as a runner-up in the 2020 Women World Chess Championship.
Read more: Goryachkina wins Women’s Candidates 2019
2 players from the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019-20
The FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019-20 was interrupted last year due to the pandemic. The forth stage of the Grand Prix, initially planned from 2 to 15 May 2020 in Sardinia, was postponed. It is now scheduled to take place 22 May to 2 June 2021 in Gibraltar.
Currently Goryachkina is leader in the general standings, but her final position will not matter, as she is already qualified for the Women’s Candidates 2022 as a WC Match runner-up. Therefore, Humpy Koneru and Alexandra Kosteniuk are currently at qualification positions, with Nana Dzagnidze, Kateryna Lagno, and Harika Dronavalli close behind.
| Rank | Player | Skolkovo | Monaco | Lausanne | Gibraltar | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) | 120 | 133⅓ | 145 | 398⅓ | |
| 2 |  Humpy Koneru (IND) | 160 | 133⅓ | 293⅓ | ||
| 3 | Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) | 45 | 133⅓ | 15 | 193⅓ | |
| 4 |  Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) | 35 | 145 | 180 | ||
| 4 | Kateryna Lagno (RUS) | 90 | 90 | 180 | ||
| 4 | Dronavalli Harika (IND) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 | |
| 7 |  Anna Muzychuk (UKR) | 80 | 85 | 165 | ||
| 8 |  Ju Wenjun (CHN) | 120 | 35 | 155 | ||
| 9 | Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) | 45 | 85 | 130 | ||
| 10 | Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) | 60 | 60 | 120 | ||
| 11 |  Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) | 110 | 110 | |||
| 12 |  Pia Cramling (SWE) | 10 | 60 | 35 | 105 | |
| 13 |  Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) | 75 | 20 | 95 | ||
| 14 | Valentina Gunina (RUS) | 75 | 10 | 85 | ||
| 14 |  Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) | 25 | 60 | 85 | ||
| 16 |  Marie Sebag (FRA) | 25 | 15 | 40 | ||
| 17 | Zhao Xue (CHN) | 35 | 35 |
3 players from the FIDE Women’s World Cup
The FIDE Women’s World Cup is going to take place in Sochi July 10 – August 3, 2021. It will feature 103 players – 78 of them will go through a qualification round and 25 will be seeded. The two finalists and the winner of the match for 3rd place will qualify for the Women’s Candidates 2022.
Note: if a top three finisher is Alexandra Goryachkina or a player that already qualified to the Women’s Candidates 2022 through the Grand Prix series, then the 4th place is awarded a qualification to the Candidates. If more than one player has already qualified, then the remaining qualifying spots are awarded by rating.
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1 player from the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament 2021
FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss will be held October 25 – November 8, 2021. The organizers will invite 40 players by rating, who will be joined by seven other FIDE nominees, plus three organizer’s wildcards.
The Winner will qualify for the Women Candidates 2022. If the winner has already qualified, the spot is handed to the next non-qualifying player.
1 player by Rating
The player having the highest standard rating in the January 2022 FIDE rating list. The requirement is to have 15 or more rated games in 2021 and/or to have participated in the FIDE Women World Cup or the FIDE Grand Swiss.
As a general rule, if unawarded positions remain after the events listed above, rating criteria will be used to determine the final list of participants.
