The winner of the Women's World Chess Championship 2017 has the right to defend her title in the match.

The 64-player knockout tournament was initially scheduled for October 2016, but postponed due to the lack of an organizer.

[9] The match was contested over ten games at classical time control, with additional rapid and blitz tie-breaks if needed.

Due to various hosting and timing issues, the championships had varied from their intended annual calendar, pushing the 2017 event into early 2018.

[1] Ju Wenjun entered the tournament as top rated player and won the event.