Women's World Chess Championship 2018 (November)


The Women's World Chess Championship 2018 was a knock-out tournament to crown a new women's world champion in chess. It was the second world championship held in 2018, after the Tan Zhongyi vs Ju Wenjun match in May 2018. The tournament was played as a 64-player knockout type from 2 to 23 November in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Three semi-finalists, except the tournament winner, Ju Wenjun, qualified to the 2019 Candidates Tournament, which decided the challenger for the 2020 World Championship.

Organization

Schedule

The schedule of the tournament:
The total prize fund was $450,000.
RoundPlayersPrize money
Winner160,000
Runner-up130,000
Semi-finals220,000
Quarter-finals412,000
Round of 1688,000
Round of 32165,500
Round of 64323,750

Regulations

The time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, and then 30 minutes for the rest of the game; plus a 30-second increment per move starting from move 1.
In the event of a tie after the regular games, the following tie breaks were used, in order:
  1. Two tie break games at a time limit of 25 minutes plus 10 second increment per move;
  2. Two tie break games at a time limit of 10 minutes plus 10 second increment per move;
  3. Two tie break games at a time limit of 5 minutes plus 3 second increment per move;
  4. Armageddon game, at a time limit of 5 minutes for white, and 4 minutes for black, plus 3 seconds per move from move 61; with white having to win and black having to draw or win.

    Players

The 64 participating players are:
  1. Ju Wenjun, GM, 2561
  2. Humpy Koneru, GM, 2557
  3. Kateryna Lagno, GM, 2556
  4. Anna Muzychuk, GM, 2555
  5. Alexandra Kosteniuk, GM, 2551
  6. Aleksandra Goryachkina, GM, 2536
  7. Mariya Muzychuk, GM, 2533
  8. Tan Zhongyi, GM, 2527
  9. Valentina Gunina, GM, 2525
  10. Elisabeth Paehtz, IM, 2513
  11. Nana Dzagnidze, GM, 2509
  12. Dronavalli Harika, GM, 2500
  13. Antoaneta Stefanova, GM, 2490
  14. Natalija Pogonina, WGM, 2485
  15. Zhansaya Abdumalik, IM, 2482
  16. Nino Batsiashvili, GM, 2482
  17. Olga Girya, WGM, 2479
  18. Zhao Xue, GM, 2478
  19. Lela Javakhishvili, IM, 2475
  20. Dinara Saduakassova, IM, 2470
  21. Bela Khotenashvili, GM, 2469
  22. Lei Tingjie, GM, 2468
  23. Monika Socko, GM, 2451
  24. Anna Ushenina, GM, 2451
  25. Alina Kashlinskaya, IM, 2447
  26. Ekaterina Atalik, IM, 2445
  27. Alisa Galliamova, IM, 2432
  28. Ni Shiqun, WGM, 2427
  29. Anastasia Bodnaruk, IM, 2423
  30. Hoang Thanh Trang, GM, 2423
  31. Jolanta Zawadzka, WGM, 2421
  32. Irina Krush, GM, 2417
  33. Inna Gaponenko, IM, 2409
  34. Marina Nechaeva, IM, 2409
  35. Elina Danielian, GM, 2409
  36. Sabrina Vega, IM, 2404
  37. Natalia Zhukova, GM, 2403
  38. Guliskhan Nakhbayeva, WGM, 2394
  39. Deysi Cori, WGM, 2391
  40. Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, WGM, 2385
  41. Lilit Mkrtchian, IM, 2384
  42. Yuliya Shvayger, IM, 2375
  43. Anita Gara, IM, 2370
  44. Vo Thi Kim Phung, WGM, 2368
  45. Ana Matnadze, IM, 2362
  46. Zhu Jin'er, WIM, 2360
  47. Carolina Luján, IM, 2359
  48. Zhai Mo, WGM, 2351
  49. Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, GM, 2345
  50. Padmini Rout, IM, 2338
  51. Bhakti Kulkarni, CM, 2314
  52. Sabina-Francesca Foisor, WGM, 2311
  53. Sopiko Khukhashvili, IM, 2301
  54. Yerisbel Miranda Llanes, WIM, 2239
  55. Mobina Alinasab, WIM, 2205
  56. Ingrid Aliaga Fernández, WIM, 2194
  57. Sun Fanghui, WIM, 2183
  58. Shahenda Wafa, WGM, 2148
  59. Maili-Jade Ouellet, WIM, 2122
  60. Danitza Vázquez, WIM, 2086
  61. Rani Hamid, WIM, 1909
  62. Jesse Nikki February, WIM, 1893
  63. Hayat Toubal, WIM, 1852
  64. Kathryn Hardegen, WFM, 1832

    Qualification paths

Final match

The final is the only match of the tournament which consists of four classical games. Those are played on consecutive days with a rest-day between the semi-final tie-breaks and match 1. Eventual tie-breaks are scheduled to 23 November, in the same manner as the whole tournament.
Top seed Ju Wenjun, the reigning women's world champion and current women's rapid world champion, advanced to the final without playing a tie-break. Her opponent Kateryna Lagno played three tie-breaks including one armageddon game against Natalia Pogonina in the third round.
Before the final both had played each other five times at classical time control with all games ending in a draw.

Bracket

Player positions were determined by the October FIDE rating list. No. 1 plays no. 64, 2 plays 63, and so on.