Womens World Championship

Women's World Chess Championship 2006
08.02.2006 – FIDE has announced the list of players who will take part in the World Women's Championship, to be held from 10-27 March 2006, in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The reigning world champion is Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, who won the title in 2004. We bring you complete lists and lots of pictures.

Women's World Championship in Ekaterinburg
10.03.2006 – Sixty-four of the strongest female players in the world have arrived in Ekaterinburg, 1500 km east of Moscow, to play for the FIDE Women's World Championship. One participant is Elisabeth Pähtz, the reigning Junior World Champion from Germany. Elli and her team documented their trip and their arrival in Ekaterinburg. Here's the pictorial report.

Favourites go through, while stars tumble
13.03.2006 – The first round of the 64-player Women's World Championship that is being staged by FIDE in Ekaterinburg, Russia, saw the top rated players going through in their mini-matches, while thee stars, Almira Skripchenko, Elisabeth Pähtz and Kateryna Lahno, were knocked out before they could really get started. Big illustrated report.

Favourites falter in Ekaterinburg
15.03.2006 – Round one saw some high-ranking players knocked out, after round two we can bid goodbye to the world's two highest ranking females (after Judit Polgar) and the reigning women's world champion. Only Alexandra Kosteniuk, number four in the world, remains, having won all her games so far. Big report with remarkable pictures by Pufichek.

Kosteniuk out, three Russians left
16.03.2006 – Of the 13 top ranked players 11 have been eliminated after just three rounds of the Women's World Chess Championship in Ekaterinburg. Only the fourth and fifth seeds, Maia Chiburdanidze and Xu Yuhua remain in the competition. Today saw high drama, some of it brought on by pure fatigue. Even poor Moxi is confused.

Xu Yuhua wins the first game of queens
24.03.2006 – The Russian hosts were understandably a bit upset. Alisa Galliamova, finalist at the Women's World Championship in Ekaterinburg, showed great resolve and a determination to win. But in the queen ending she did so at the cost of weakening her position, which Chinese WGM Xu Yuhua used to take a critical lead in the match.

Xu Yuhua is the eleventh Women's World Champion
25.03.2006 – After winning her first game and drawing the second, Chinese WGM Xu Yuhua today took the title at the Women's World Chess Championship by defeating her opponent, IM Alisa Galliamova of Russia, with the black pieces. According to our calculations this makes Xu the eleventh champion, since Vera Menchik first won the title in 1927. Congratulations Xu!