Five down, three to go: World Cup shakes up Women’s Candidates race

The Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 is scheduled to take place in April 2026. The winner will play reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun for the title. Currently, five players are qualified for the Candidates: Humpy Koneru, Tan Zhongyi, Divya Deshmukh, Zhu Jiner, and Aleksandra Goryachkina. But who has the best chances of claiming one of the three remaining spots? Here’s an update from FIDE.