The 1953

Women's World Chess Championship The Women's World Chess Championship is a chess match played to determine the Women's World Chess Champion. It has been administered by FIDE since its inception in 1927, unlike the absolute World Chess Championship, which only came under FIDE's ...

was the first to feature a Candidates Tournament that produced a challenger for the reigning champion, much like the system used for the open championship title. The first Candidates Tournament was won by

Elisabeth Bykova Elisaveta Ivanovna Bykova (or ''Elisabeth Bykova'', Russian: Елизаве́та Ива́новна Бы́кова; 4 November 1913 – 8 March 1989) was a Soviet chess player and twice Women's World Chess Champion, from 1953 until 1956, and a ...

, who went on to beat

Lyudmila Rudenko Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko (, ; 27 July 1904 – 4 March 1986) was a Soviet chess player and the second women's world chess champion, from 1950 until 1953. Rudenko was awarded the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Interna ...

and become the third Women's World Champion.

1952 Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament was held in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in October and November 1952, with Bykova eventually emerging the winner. :

1953 Championship Match

The championship match was played in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

from 15 August to 20 September 1953. It was a 14-game event (the first player to reach 7.5 points will be the winner.) Bykova won three of the last four games and thus the title. :

References

{{Women's World Chess Championships Women's World Chess Championships 1953 in chess 1953 in women's sport