FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026: Qualified players, qualification pathways for remaining spots

India’s Divya Deshmukh was crowned the FIDE Women’s World Cup champion after she beat compatriot Koneru Humpy in the final in Batumi, on Monday.

With their success in Georgia, Humpy and Divya secured two of the three FIDE Women’s Candidates spots offered at the World Cup.

The Candidates is set to happen early in 2026, with the winner of the eight-player event set to take on China’s Ju Wenjun for the world title later next year.

China’s Tan Zhongyi picked up the other Candidates spot at the World Cup after beating compatriot Lei Tingjie in the third-place playoff.

Chinese GM Zhu Jiner was the first player to qualify for the Candidates after she won the FIDE Women Grand Prix in May. Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina followed her, by finishing runner-up in the same event.

What are the other qualification pathways for FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026?

After the World Cup, three spots remain for Candidates.

The players who finish first and second in the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2025 will pick up two of the three remaining spots.

If the reigning World Champion and/or one or more of the players who have already qualified are among the two qualifiers at the Grand Swiss, the unallocated spot(s) shall be awarded to the next non-qualifying player(s).

The highest-placed player of ‘FIDE Women’s Events’ who hasn’t qualified by any other pathways will pick up the final Candidates spot.

FIDE Women’s Events 2025-26 include:

• Rapid and Blitz Championships 2024 and 2025: Including both rapid and blitz formats for two consecutive years.
• Women’s Grand Prix Series 2024/2025 edition: Final standings are a significant contributor to qualification.
• Women’s World Cup 2025.
• Women’s Grand Swiss 2025.