1991 Women's World Chess Championship
At the 1991 Women's World Chess Championship, World Champion Maia Chiburdanidze lost to her Chinese challenger Xie Jun . For the first time after the Second World War, the world chess champion did not come from the Soviet Union and for the first time since 1962 not from the Georgian Soviet Republic .
Interzonal tournaments
At the 1990 interzonal tournaments, 18 players each competed who had previously qualified in regional tournaments. From each of these tournaments three players qualified for the candidates tournament.
Candidates tournament
The Candidates Tournament was played again as a round-robin tournament, with each player having to compete against each other. In addition to the six players from the interzonal tournaments, there were two finalists from the previous candidate tournament. The tournament took place in Borjomi in October 1990 .
| Pl. | Surname | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
 Xie Jun
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 4½ | |
| 2. |
.svg){kind=small} Alisa Marić
|
0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4½ | |
| 3. |
 Alissa Galljamova
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4th | |
| 4th |
Nana Iosseliani
|
0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4th | |
| 5. |
Nona Gaprindashvili
|
0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3½ | |
| 6th |
 Elena Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya
|
0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 7th |
Ketino Kachiani
|
1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 2½ | |
| 8th. |
 Eliška Klímová-Richtrová
|
½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 2 |
Playoff
In the subsequent playoff, Xie Jun clearly prevailed. This match took place in February 1991, first in Belgrade and then in Beijing .
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alisa Marić
|
0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 2½ |
|
Xie Jun
|
1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4½ |
World championship fight
The world championship match was held in Manila in September and October 1991 . The main judge was Robert Graham Wade from the United Kingdom .
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Xie Jun
|
½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 8½ |
|
Maia Chiburdanidze
|
½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 6½ |
