WR Women’s Chess Tour 2026 Asian Leg Qualifier on Lichess

The Organising Committee of the WR Women’s Chess Tour, in collaboration with Lichess, is pleased to announce an Online Qualifier offering women holding a FIDE title the opportunity to qualify for the Asian leg of the WR Women’s Chess Tour 2026.

The event will take place in Tokyo, Japan on 6–7 June, featuring a prize fund of USD 40,000, with travel and accommodation expenses covered.

Qualification Pathway

The Online Qualifier consists of three stages:

• Stage 1: Qualifier arena
• Stage 2: Swiss semifinals
• Stage 3: Knockout final

All qualifier participants will be assumed to have consented to the regulations, which can be found here.

Stage 1 – Qualifier Arena

• Time control: 3+0 Blitz
• Open to all women with a verified FIDE title and public account
• Top 30 players advance to the Semifinal
• Duration: 2 hours
• Date: April 30th, 13:00 UTC

Stage 2 – Swiss Semifinal

• 11-round Swiss tournament
• Time control: 3+2 Blitz
• Top 8 players advance to the Final
• Date: May 3rd , 13:00 UTC

Stage 3 – Online Knockout

• Format: 8-player knockout
• 4 games matches
• Time control: 3+2
• Date: May 6th 13:00 UTC
• Professional arbiter supervision

Prizes

Based on the Knockout standings, a $1,000 prize fund will be distributed as following:

• 1st: $300 and the invitation to the WR Women Chess Tour Asia Leg in Tokyo, Japan
• 2nd: $250
• 3rd: $150
• 4th: $100
• 5th-8th: $50

About the Asian Leg of the Tour in Japan

The President of the Japan Chess Federation, Hiroshi Manabe, welcomed the new event held in Tokyo. "This is a landmark moment for chess in Japan, and I trust the organizer will be making it a success. Having a chess event of this level for the first time allows us to showcase the world’s best women players to a new audience and bring the game closer to the public,” he said. "Chess has been developing rapidly here, but there are still much fewer players than Shogi. However, the global reach of chess is enormous, with over 700 million players worldwide. We see this as a unique opportunity to accelerate its growth in Japan and connect our community to the international stage.”

“It is an honor to bring a competition of this caliber to Japan for the first time,” said Wadim Rosenstein, who is sponsoring the tour through his company WR Group Holding. “Chess is immensely popular in some Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, but still relatively small in Japan, and we plan to change that. We believe chess has all the elements to resonate with Japanese society, and I am determined to invest in making it happen,” he added. “Besides, I deeply care about the development of women’s competitions, and bringing these events to prime locations around the world is a good way to achieve that goal.”