Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2025: Celebrating the Winners
The Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2025 was an exciting global event that brought together female chess players of all levels. Held throughout March, in honor of Women’s Month, the festival highlighted the importance of giving women and girls more opportunities to compete and succeed in chess.
Tournament Highlights
The festival featured two main competitions:
- Queens’ Women Open Tournament – For experienced players.
- Unrated Princesses’ Tournament – For beginner and young talents.
The tournament spanned from March 1st to March 29th, including continental qualifiers, semifinals, and grand finals.
Queens’ Women Open Tournament Winners
The final stage saw some of the best female chess players rise to victory. Congratulations to the champions!
🥇 1st place – Aliona Garmash (FIDE)
🥈 2nd place – Zoey Tang (USA)
🥉 3rd place – Nataliya Buksa (Ukraine)
Other finalists:
- Omya Vidyarthi
- Veronika Shubenkova
- Maria Tsakona
- Maria Teresa Jimenez Salas
A special shoutout to Aliona Garmash, the new Queen of the Festival!
Continental Tournament Champions
The best players from each continent were crowned as Queens:
- Africa – Ndunakazi Nobuhle (RSA)
- America – Kelly Boor (USA)
- Asia – Veronika Shubenkova (FIDE)
- Europe – Monika Machlik (NOR)
Princesses’ Tournament Winners
The Princesses’ Tournament celebrated young rising stars in different age categories:
Under 9
🥇 Swetha Narayanan (England)
🥈 Pagadala Ananya (India)
🥉 Despoina Theocharia Tafaki (Greece)
Under 11
🥇 Hima Srinika Alla (India)
🥈 Isra Aara Ibrahim Shafeeu (Maldives)
🥉 R M Sayuni Suhansa Rajakaruna (Sri Lanka)
Under 13
🥇 Shiho Yula Katayama (Japan)
🥈 Roaa Mohanad Magdi (Egypt)
🥉 Romina Montes Cervantes (Mexico)
Under 15
🥇 Yarroju Ramya (India)
🥈 Anqi Yang (England)
🥉 Aishwarya Nedunoori (India)
Under 17
🥇 Lee-Anne Matima (South Africa)
🥈 Karimella Sahasra (India)
🥉 Bokao Setlhare (South Africa)
Prizes and Awards
The Queens’ Festival offered amazing prizes:
- Grand Champion (Aliona Garmash): €500 and an invitation to the next Chess Olympiad.
- 2nd Place: €300
- 3rd Place: €200
- Continental Queens: A physical trophy and the title of “Queens’ Festival Continental Queen.”
- Princesses’ Tournament Winners: A physical trophy.
- All Participants: Electronic certificates.
- Top 60 Players: Two 45-minute training sessions with Women Grandmasters.
Empowering Women in Chess
The 2025 festival was a huge success, with 121 countries represented and nearly 1,000 players participating. The event showcased the growing enthusiasm for women’s chess and emphasized the need for even greater inclusivity.
Beyond the competition, the festival fostered a global chess community. It connected grandmasters, rising stars, and young talents, strengthening the bonds between players, mentors, and chess lovers worldwide.
A big thank you to all players for their dedication and sportsmanship! Special appreciation goes to FIDE, the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, and the organizing team for making this event possible.
See you in 2026 for an even bigger and better festival!
Photos: FIDE_chess
Source: FIDE CHESS NEWS
