Women's World Chess Championship 1975


The 1975 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Nona Gaprindashvili, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Alexandria. This was Gaprindashvili's fourth title defense - and the last successful one.

1973 Interzonal Tournament

An Interzonal tournament was held in Menorca in October and November 1973, featuring the best players from each FIDE zone. A total of 20 players took part, with the top four qualifying for the Candidates Tournament. Kozlovskaya won the tournament and progressed directly, while the four players tied for second place contested a playoff in Kislovodsk in February and March 1974 from which one was eliminated.

1974-75 Candidates Tournament

The top three from the Interzonal were supposed to have been joined by Alla Kushnir, the loser of the last championship match. However, Kushnir had recently fled the Soviet Union and was unable to participate, so instead four players qualified from the Interzonal.
These four players contested a knock-out series of matches. Alexandria won, earning the right to challenge reigning champion Gaprindashvili.

1975 Championship Match

The championship match was played in Pitsunda and Tbilisi in 1975. In the end, Alexandria was no match for Gaprindashvili, who retained her title by a comfortable margin.