The moment of truth: Women’s Grand Prix heads to Austria for decisive stage

The sixth and final stage

The 2024/2025 FIDE Women`s Grand Prix series is nearing its conclusion. Only three players are still in the running for the overall championship title as the sixth and final stage is set to start in Austria on May 6th.

The six-stage FIDE Women`s Grand Prix (WGP) series for 2024/2025 kicked off in August 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was a fitting location, given Georgia`s historical dominance in women`s chess. For many years, Georgian players, both under the Soviet Union and their own flag, have been among the world`s elite, celebrated as national icons.

Since the groundbreaking success of Nona Gaprindashvili in the 1970s, widely regarded as one of the greatest female players ever, women`s chess has continuously advanced. The introduction of the Grand Prix in 2009 represented a significant development, establishing a structured series with regular opportunities. More recently, FIDE has actively promoted a systematic approach to supporting women in chess. The Grand Prix series exemplifies this, providing a platform for the top female players to showcase their skills.

Spanning six international locations, the Grand Prix offers a substantial prize fund of €600,000 and serves as a qualification route to the Women`s Candidates tournament for the top two finishers. While a highly competitive event, it also represents a significant step forward, highlighting and promoting women`s participation in chess.

What`s at stake in Austria and who will be playing

The culminating sixth stage of the 2024/2025 FIDE Women`s Grand Prix will be held in Grosslobming, Austria. This event is crucial, as it will not only determine the overall series champion but also the two players who will qualify for the 2026 Women`s Candidates tournament.

Aleksandra Goryachkina currently leads the series standings with 308.34 points. Although she is in a strong position to qualify for the 2026 Candidates, neither the overall WGP title nor her Candidates spot is guaranteed yet. Since Goryachkina is not participating in this final stage, China`s Zhu Jiner and Ukraine`s Anna Muzychuk have an opportunity to surpass her if they achieve high placements.

Zhu Jiner is best positioned to potentially overtake Goryachkina for the top spot. She currently stands at 235 points, trailing by 73.34. To claim the 2024/2025 WGP title, Zhu needs to finish in the top three in Austria.

Anna Muzychuk faces a more significant challenge, trailing Goryachkina by 119.17 points. To win the WGP series, she must secure clear first place in Austria, earning 130 points. While mathematically feasible, winning such a strong tournament requires more than just calculations!

With a strong field including three former women`s world champions – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tan Zhongyi, and Mariya Muzychuk – achieving a high placement, let alone clear first place, will be a difficult task.

Ten players are taking part in the tournament in Austria:

The road to Austria

The journey to the final stage in Austria has been challenging. Across the preceding five events, participants competed against a strong mix of the world`s most experienced top players and promising rising talents.

Each player was eligible to participate in three out of the six tournaments. Due to withdrawals or unavailability, some events included wildcard entries.

The first leg, held in Tbilisi (August 2024), was won by Alina Kashlinskaya (representing Poland) with six points. She entered the event as a replacement for Kateryna Lagno and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. Finishing half a point ahead of runner-up Bibisara Assaubayeva, Kashlinskaya earned 130 points and became the initial leader of the 2024/2025 WGP Series. Notably, she was accompanied by her baby son, a rare sight at elite events.

Shymkent, Kazakhstan hosted the second leg in October 2024. Aleksandra Goryachkina, a former world championship challenger, delivered a spectacular and dominant performance, clinching victory with a round remaining. Tan Zhongyi, who was preparing for the 2025 Women`s World Championship Match at the time, secured second place, half a point behind Goryachkina.

Goryachkina continued her success by also winning the third event in Monaco in February. While not as dominant as in Shymkent, she finished tied for first place with Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Koneru Humpy, winning the tiebreak. This result established Goryachkina as the sole leader in the WGP standings.

In the fourth tournament, held in Cyprus in March, Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner tied for first place, both scoring 6/9. They finished a full point ahead of Goryachkina, who still had a strong performance. While Goryachkina extended her substantial lead to 308.34 points, Zhu and Muzychuk entered the contention for the top spots.

Finally, in April, the fifth leg took place in Pune, India. Local player Koneru Humpy won the event, edging out Zhu Jiner on tiebreaks after both finished with seven points. This result moved Koneru into second place overall with 279.17 points, having completed her three events. For Zhu, who finished second in Pune, this was her second WGP appearance. With 279.17 points, she holds the best chance among the chasing pack to overtake Goryachkina with a strong performance in Austria.

About the Women`s Grand Prix series

The FIDE Women`s Grand Prix (WGP) Series for 2024–25 is a major event on the international women`s chess calendar. Now in its seventh season, it is a key qualification path to the Women`s Candidates tournament.

The series consists of six tournaments held in various countries: Georgia, Kazakhstan, Monaco, Cyprus, India, and Austria.

The scoring system is designed to reward consistent performance across events, not just individual tournament wins. Each player is eligible to participate in three of the six tournaments in the series.

As part of FIDE`s World Championship cycle, the top two players in the WGP series will qualify for the 2026 Women`s Candidates tournament. The winner of the Candidates will then challenge the reigning Women`s World Champion, Ju Wenjun, who successfully defended her title against Tan Zhongyi in their 2025 match.

About the Women`s Grand Prix tournament in Austria

The final tournament is being held in Grosslobming, Styria.

• Dates: May 5th – 15th (First games on May 6th)
• Format: A 10-player round-robin tournament (9 rounds). Time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move from move 1.
• Prize fund: €120,000, shared among the 10 participants based on their final standings.