Women's World Champions
Every Women's World Chess Champion since the title's creation in 1927, in reign order — a distinct, equally rich championship history, not a footnote to the open title. (Multi-reign champions are consolidated into one profile each, the same convention used for Botvinnik on the main Champions page.)
Vera Menchik
The first Women's World Champion — and utterly dominant for the entirety of her 17-year reign.
Lyudmila Rudenko
Won the first Women's World Championship held after Menchik's death, ending a six-year vacancy caused by the Second World War.
Elisaveta Bykova
Won the title twice, with Olga Rubtsova's brief reign sandwiched in between.
Olga Rubtsova
The only person ever to hold both the Women's World Chess Championship and the Women's World Correspondence Chess Championship.
Nona Gaprindashvili
Held the title for 16 years and, in 1978, became the first woman ever awarded the full Grandmaster title.
Maia Chiburdanidze
Became champion at just 17 — the youngest Women's World Champion ever at the time — and held the title for 13 years.
Xie Jun
China's first Women's World Champion, ending 41 years of unbroken Soviet dominance.
Susan Polgár
The eldest of the legendary Polgár sisters, raised from early childhood in a deliberate experiment testing whether chess genius could be systematically trained.
Zhu Chen
Won the title in a knockout tournament, then largely stepped back from top competition for a diplomatic career.
Antoaneta Stefanova
The only Bulgarian, and one of very few Europeans from outside the former Soviet Union, ever to hold the Women's World Championship.
Xu Yuhua
Won the title while several months pregnant — one of the most unusual champion stories in chess history.
Alexandra Kosteniuk
A former child chess prodigy who became champion in 2008, on her way to eliminating a 14-year-old Hou Yifan en route.
Hou Yifan
Became Women's World Champion at 16 — the youngest ever — and is widely regarded as the strongest woman player since Judit Polgár.
Anna Ushenina
Won the title via the 2012 knockout tournament that reigning champion Hou Yifan chose not to defend in.
Mariya Muzychuk
Won the 2015 knockout championship, becoming the second Ukrainian (after Ushenina) to hold the title.
Tan Zhongyi
Won the 2017 knockout championship in Tehran — an event notable for requiring all competitors to wear a hijab under Iranian law.
Ju Wenjun
The reigning Women's World Champion, with the longest active, stable reign the title has seen since the Soviet era.