Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2025: Celebrating the winners
The Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2025 once again brought together female chess players from across the globe in an exciting month-long celebration of competition, talent, and empowerment. Held throughout March—Women’s Month—the Festival highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for women and girls to play, excel and succeed in chess. The event featured two main competitions: the Queens’ Women Open Tournament and the Unrated Princesses’ Tournament. These tournaments gave players of all levels a chance to compete, connect, and enjoy the game. Spanning from March 1st to March 29th, the Festival included continental qualifiers, semifinals, and the grand finals. The finals saw some of the most talented female players rise to the occasion. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winners of all sections: The winners of the Queen’s Festival 2025: Queens’ Women Open Tournament 1st place – Aliona Garmash (FIDE)2nd place – Zoey Tang (USA)3rd place – Nataliya Buksa (Ukraine) And rest of the finalists: Omya Vidyarthi Veronika Shubenkova Maria Tsakona Maria Teresa Jimenez Salas Congratulations to all, especially new Queen of the whole Festival – Aliona Garmash! Continental tournaments winners Winners of the Continental qualifiers and Queens of the following continents are: Africa: Ndunakazi Nobuhle (RSA) America: Kelly Boor (USA) Asia: Veronika Shubenkova (FIDE) Europe: Monika Machlik (NOR) Princesses’ tournament winners U091st place – Swetha Narayanan (England)2nd place – Pagadala Ananya (India)3rd place – Despoina Theocharia Tafaki (Greece) U111st place – Hima Srinika Alla (India)2nd place – Isra Aara Ibrahim Shafeeu (Maldives)3rd place – R M Sayuni Suhansa Rajakaruna (Sri Lanka) U131st place – Shiho Yula Katayama (Japan)2nd place – Roaa Mohanad Magdi (Egypt)3rd place – Romina Montes Cervantes (Mexico) U151st place – Yarroju Ramya (India)2nd place – Anqi Yang (England)3rd place – Aishwarya Nedunoori (India) U171st place – Lee-Anne Matima (South Africa)2nd place – Karimella Sahasra (India)3rd place – Bokao Setlhare (South Africa) Prize fund and awards The Queens’ Festival Chess Tournament had a lot of different prizes to award the winners. Most importantly – the winner of the Festival, Aliona Garmash, will be invited to visit the next Chess Olympiad. The champion received €500, the runner-up – €300, and the third-place finisher – €200. Additionally, the winners of each continental qualifier (Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe) will be awarded a physical trophy and the title of Queens’ Festival Continental Queen. The winner of the Princesses’ Tournament shall also receive a physical trophy. All participants were awarded electronic certificates of participation. In addition, the top 10 players in each qualification tournament (a total of 60 players) earned two 45-minute training sessions with Women Grandmasters, providing them with valuable learning opportunities. Championing queens of the game The Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2025 proved once again that chess is a powerful platform for women’s empowerment. With 121 countries represented and nearly 1,000 players signing up, the event showed the increasing enthusiasm for women’s chess and highlighted the need for even greater accessibility and inclusivity in future editions. This festival is not just about competition; it is about building a global chess community that supports and uplifts women in the sport. By bringing together grandmasters, rising stars, and young talents, and amateur players, the event strengthens the bonds between players, mentors, and chess lovers worldwide. A heartfelt thank you to all participants for their enthusiasm, dedication, and incredible sportsmanship—truly embodying Gens Una Sumus spirit. Special gratitude goes to FIDE, the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, and the entire organizing team for making this celebration of women in chess possible. Together, we continue to champion the presence of women in chess and create meaningful opportunities for future generations. We look forward to an even bigger and better edition in 2026!
FIDE April 2025 rating list published
The April rating list was primarily influenced by the Prague International Festival, the European Individual Championship in Eforie Nord, Romania, FIDE WGP Cyprus, and several European leagues. Magnus Carlsen continues his reign at the top, slightly extending his lead over world No. 2, Hikaru Nakamura. Both gained a few rating points in March—Carlsen in the Norwegian Premier League and Nakamura in the American Cup. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi reclaimed the No. 4 spot after earning five points in the Schachbundesliga 2024-2025. Anna Muzychuk (+10) and Zhu Jiner (+11) each moved up one position in the women’s top 10 after strong performances in the Women’s Grand Prix Cyprus. Biggest gains in top 100 (Open and Women) Shukhman, Anna WIM FIDE 2413 (+48) Sliwicka, Alicja WGM POL 2376 (+34) Bluebaum, Matthias GM GER 2662 (+19) Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. GM IND 2749 (+18) Assaubayeva, Bibisara IM KAZ 2494 (+18) Gurel, Ediz GM TUR 2636 (+16) Roebers, Eline IM NED 2383 (+16) Tari, Aryan GM NOR 2636 (+15) Bulmaga, Irina IM ROU 2377 (+15) Svane, Frederik GM GER 2668 (+14) Anna Shukhman achieved the biggest rating increase for the second time this year, following her outstanding performances at the FIDE World Junior Championship (where she won the title and gained 30 points) and the 3rd International Women’s Tournament in Samarkand (where she finished second and gained 18 points). The 15-year-old reached career highs in both the Women’s (#34) and Women’s Junior (#3) rating lists. Photo: Mitar Djukanovic The winner of the aforementioned event in Samarkand, Alicja Sliwicka, also finished second in another women’s tournament—the Vera Menchik Memorial. Despite losing points in the FE 2 Piccola Fenice – Torneo di Carnevale, she returned to her career-high ranking of No. 66 in the women’s list. The newly crowned European Champion, Matthias Bluebaum (+19; pictured below), along with Aryan Tari (+15) and Frederik Svane (+14), made significant rating gains in Eforie Nord. Photo: David Llada Bibisara Assaubayeva tied a match against the much higher-rated Daniil Yuffa, earning 18 points. Aravindh Chithambaram, who has been steadily climbing the chess rankings over the past two years, reached a major milestone in April 2025. The Thirunagar, Madurai native triumphed in the Prague International Festival – Masters and soared to No. 11 in the rating list. Photo: Prague Chess Festival/Petr Vrabec Eline Roebers had a very busy March playing in four competitions and gaining rating points in 38th Festival International des Jeux de Cannes – Open A and Frauenbundesliga 2024-2025.