A top 10 list of the best female chess players at the moment

Chess is among the most famous sports in the world, played almost everywhere. For a player to be at the top of their game, they require abstract strategy and a mind that can think ahead and simultaneously see all possible scenarios. Female chess players have risen to the occasion and are taking their place in the sport.

Historically, commander Han Xin invented the game around 200 BC in Eastern India as a battle simulator. Although the game has undergone modification over the past years, it has now been adapted into school curricula in several parts of the world and is played in clubs, homes, and online.

Top 10 best female chess players

The strategy has been the key feature to mastering the art of the sport since it is all about mental power. Some talented women have defied all odds to achieve unprecedented heights in the sport and, in doing so, have left a mark with their brilliant strategic minds. As per various sources, Sports Brief has compiled a list of the top 10 best female chess players as of 2023.

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10. Harika Dronavalli

• Age: 32 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Indian
• Current ratings: 2510
• Achievements: 3-times bronze Women's World Champion, FIDE Women's Grand Prix champion

Harika is among the famous Indian female chess players right now. She is popular in her country and worldwide because she has won several championships. India's government awarded her the Padma Shri and Arjuna awards due to her victory and contribution to the game.

9. Mariya Muzychuk

• Age: 30 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Ukrainian
• Current ratings: 2515
• Achievements: 2-times Ukraine Women's Champion, 2-times Women's World Champion

Mariya Muzychuk is among the top best Ukrainian female chess players. Like other athletes on this list, she is a grandmaster who has bagged several awards.

The renowned legend is famous for her aggressive playing style clouded with solid tactics and manoeuvring abilities. Aside from being a professional chess player, she is also a qualified lawyer with a degree from Lviv University.

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8. Alexandra Kosteniuk

• Age: 39 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Russian, Swiss
• Current ratings: 2523
• Achievements: World Women's Champion, World Under 12 Champion

Kosteniuk is among the best Swedish female chess players in history. She started participating in the sport at a young age. When she was 19, she graduated with a degree as a chess trainer from the Russian State Academy of Physical Education. During her youth, she dominated the franchise and thus went down in history as the World Under 12 Champion and Russian champion.

7. Tan Zhongyi

• Age: 32 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Chinese
• Current ratings: 2523
• Achievements: 1-time Women's World Champion, Women's World Rapid Champion, 3-times Chinese women's national champion

Tan made a name for herself when she won the Under 10 world championships in 2000 and 2001. She is among the world's best Chinese female chess players and has won the China Chess Queens title. The renowned legend became a grandmaster after defeating Anna Muzychuk in the rapids. In 2017 she won the Women's World Championship title and thus became the 16th athlete in the sport's history.

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6. Kateryna Lagno

• Age: 33 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Russian, Ukrainian
• Current ratings: 2552
• Achievements: 2-times European Women's Champion, 2-times Women's Olympiad champion, 1-time Women's World Rapid Champion

Alongside holding the Grandmaster and Woman Grandmaster titles, Lagno has won several awards in her career, including the Women's World Blitz Championship in 2014 and 2018. Since she grew up in a chess-rich town, she became a legend from an early age. She ranks as one of the best and most beautiful female chess players who hold the record for breaking Judit Polgar's outstanding record at just 12 years old.

5. Lei Tingjie

• Age: 26 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Chinese
• Current ratings: 2554
• Achievements: 2021 Women's Grand Swiss champion, Chinese women's national champion 2017

Lei is among the best Chinese female chess players at the moment. She rose to stardom when she won the 2021 Women's Grand Swiss championship competitions. She has been outstanding in her career with her technical skills and moves.

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4. Aleksandra Goryachkina

• Age: 24 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Russian
• Current ratings: 2557
• Achievements: 3-time Russian Women's Champion, third-youngest Woman Grandmaster of all time

Aleksandra Goryachkina is among the top Russian female chess players in history. Aside from that, she is also the highest-rated Russian woman and the fourth-highest-rated woman in sports history.

Despite her young age, she is among the most vigorous opponents any chase player can ever want to face. Although the famous legend works as a librarian, she doubles as a grandmaster who rose quickly to become one of the top female chess players.

3. Ju Wenjun

• Age: 32 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Chinese
• Current ratings: 2566
• Achievements: Women's World Champion, 4-time Women's Chinese Champion, 5-time Women's World Team Champion

Ju Wenjun is among the Chinese grandmasters not only in China but the globe at large. She went down in history as the fifth woman in the sports arena to achieve a rating of over 2600 and the sixteenth to win the Championship title.

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In 2020, the renowned player defended her title successfully against her rival, Aleksandra Goryachkina, in a championship tournament. Ju Wenjun has a law degree from the East China University of Political Science and Law.

2. Humpy Koneru

• Age: 36 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Indian
• Current ratings: 2567
• Achievements: Women's World Rapid Championship, BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year, Arjuna and Padma Shri Award

With her attacking and tactical playing style, Koneru ranks as one of the best Indian female chess players in the world. Since becoming the first youngest woman grandmaster at age 15, the superstar went on to win numerous career awards and made history in the sport.

The legendary player was named the Sportswoman of the Decade by Sportstar magazine after she bagged the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year Award in 2021.

1. Hou Yifan

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• Age: 29 years of age (as of June 2023)
• Nationality: Chinese
• Current FIDE ratings: 2628
• Achievements: Youngest-ever Women's World Champion at 16, 4-time Women's World Champion, 5-times Women's Olympiad gold medal, 2-time Women's Grand Prix Champion

Topping the list is Hou Yifan, the best female chess player at the moment. She is known and praised for her tactical skills, calmness when under stress, and strategic vision that makes her see all the possible moves for a perfect attack.

In her career, Hou has won several awards and has become a role model to the younger generations of female players who want to pursue a career in chess.

Who is the highest-rated female chess player?

The greatest female chess player of all time, Judit Polgar, is the highest-rated female player in history. The renowned celebrity beat Bobby Fisher, a chess champion when she was only 15 years of age.

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How many female chess grandmasters are there?

As of June 2023, 40 female chess players have been awarded the title of Grandmaster.

Like most sports, such as soccer, volleyball, hockey, and tennis, women players have proven to be great at whatever they set their minds to. When it comes to the sport, female chess players have defied the odds to prove that their minds work equally as well as their male counterparts since the game is a test of mental power.

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