WR Women’s Chess Tour 2026 | Africa Online Qualifiers
An opportunity open to all women players with a FIDE title to qualify for a top-level event which will be played OTB in vibrant Maputo, Mozambique in late August!The Organising Committee of the WR Women’s Chess Tour, in collaboration with Lichess, is pleased to announce another Online Qualifier offering women holding a FIDE title the opportunity to qualify for the Africa leg of the WR Women’s Chess Tour 2026.
The OTB event will take place in Maputo, Mozambique on 21 – 22 August, featuring a prize fund of USD 40,000, with all travel and accommodation expenses covered!
Qualification Pathway
- Stage 1: Qualifier Arena - open to all women with a FIDE title (WCM, WFM, WIM, WGM, women with CM, FM, IM, GM)
- Stage 2: Swiss Semi-Finals - open to all women with the IM or GM title via direct entry, and the top 30 finishers of Stage 1
- Stage 3: Knockout Final - the top 8 from the Swiss compete in a Knockout with the winner guaranteed entry to the OTB tournament, all expenses covered.
All participants will be assumed to have consented to the tournament regulations, which can be accessed here.
Stage 1 - Qualifier Arena: 30th June at 16:30 UTC
- Time control: 3+0
- Arena length: 2 hours
- Open to all women with a FIDE titled verified by Lichess, and a public Lichess account
- Top 30 players advance to the Semi-final
- Must be a member of the WR Women Chess Tour Team on Lichess
- Arena begins 30th June at 16:30 UTC, and can be found here
Stage 2 - Swiss Semi-Final: 4th July at 16:30 UTC
- Time control: 3+2
- 11 round Swiss tournament (platform Swiss and platform tiebreaks used)
- Direct entry for all women with the IM or GM title, verified by Lichess, and a public Lichess account
- Top 8 finishers advance to the KO stage
- Must be a member of the WR Women Chess Tour Team on Lichess
- Swiss begins 4th July at 16:30 UTC
Stage 3 - Online Knockout: 8th July at 16:30 UTC
- Time control: 3+2
- Best of 4 mini-matches
- 8 player single elimination
- Winner proceeds to the OTB event held in Maputo on 21 – 22 August!
- Online Knockout begins 8th July at 16:30 UTC
About the Tour
A global circuit of four continental tournaments and a Grand Final, the WR Women's Chess Tour runs across Asia and Oceania, the Americas, Africa, and Europe.
The field combines invitation and qualification. Out of eight spots in each continent, four are directly invited, three qualify through being the highest rated player in the FIDE rating lists, and the final spot is reserved for any global contender who makes it via online qualification. GM Vaishali Rameshbabu and GM Kateryna Lagno have punched their tickets to the Grand Final in Stuttgart, Germany by sharing first place in Tokyo.
Read more about the WR Women's Chess Tour.