The event will take place in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria from 28 Aug to 18 Sep 2008.
List of Qualifiers per July 2008 (among top players)
| Name | Title | Country | Rating |
| Xu, Yuhua | gm | CHN | 2483 |
| Koneru, Humpy | gm | IND | 2622 |
| Hou, Yifan | wgm | CHN | 2557 |
| Stefanova, Antoaneta | gm | BUL | 2550 |
| Cramling, Pia | gm | SWE | 2544 |
| Sebag, Marie | im | FRA | 2529 |
| Zhao, Xue | im | CHN | 2522 |
| Kosintseva Tatiana | im | RUS | 2511 |
| Kosteniuk Alexandra | g | RUS | 2510 |
| Cmilyte, Viktoria | im | LTU | 2508 |
| Muzychuk, Anna | wgm | SLO | 2504 |
Mawarlina
