The 1953 Women's World Chess Championship 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, who went on to beat Lyudmila Rudenko and become the third Women's World Champion.[1]
The Candidates Tournament was held in Moscow in October and November 1952, with Bykova eventually emerging the winner.[2]
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | Tie break | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Elisabeth Bykova (Soviet Union) |
- | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11½ | |
| 2 |  Fenny Heemskerk (Netherlands) |
1 | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10½ | 69.00 |
| 3 | Olga Ignatieva (Soviet Union) |
0 | 0 | - | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10½ | 67.25 |
| 4 | Valentina Belova (Soviet Union) |
1 | 0 | ½ | - | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 69.75 |
| 5 |  Edith Keller-Herrmann (East Germany) |
0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | - | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 62.75 |
| 6 | Kira Zvorykina (Soviet Union) |
0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | - | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 61.00 |
| 7 |  Eileen Betsy Tranmer (England) |
1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | - | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 9 | |
| 8 | Olga Rubtsova (Soviet Union) |
0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 8 | 58.50 |
| 9 |  Chantal Chaudé de Silans (France) |
0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 49.00 |
| 10 |  Jozsa Langos (Hungary) |
½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 48.50 |
| 11 |  Mona May Karff (USA) |
0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 12 | Rowena Mary Bruce (England) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | - | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 13 |  Nina Grushkova-Belska (Czechoslovakia) |
0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | - | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4½ | |
| 14 | Mary Bain (USA) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | ½ | ½ | 3½ | |
| 15 |  María Berea de Montero (Argentina) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | - | 0 | 3 | |
| 16 |  Salome Reischer (Austria) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | - | 1½ |
The championship match was played in Leningrad 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.)[3] Bykova won three of the last four games and thus the title.[4]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyudmila Rudenko (Soviet Union)
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Elisabeth Bykova (Soviet Union)
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
