Women and Chess

 

Zhansaya Abdumalik (2000- ) is a Kazakhstani Woman Grandmaster (2014) and International Master (2017). She twice won the World Youth Chess Championships in her age and gender category.

Anupama Abhyankar-Gokhale (1969- ) is a chess master from India. She was awarded the Women's International Master (WIM) title in 1985 after taking 1st place in the Asian Junior Girls' championship. She won the Indian Women's Championship five times. She won the Asian Women's Championship twice. She married chess master Raghunandan Gokhale, chairman of the Mumbai Chess Association and Anupama's coach. She works for a petroleum company.

Tatev Abrahamyan (1988- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (2011) who was born in Yerevan, Armenia. She started playing chess at 8 after her father took her to the Chess Olympiad games in 1996 and met Judit Polgar. She moved to the United States in 2001. In 2004, she tied for 1st in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship, but lost the play-off match to Rusudan Goletiani. In 2006, she won the Pan American Championship for Girls Under 18 with a perfect score. Abrahamyan has represented the USA in the Women's Chess Olympiads since 2008. She lives in Glendale, California. Her coach is IM Armen Ambartsoumian. She graduated in 2011 from California State University Long Beach, double majoring in psychology and political science. Her peak FIDE rating was 2396 in 2014.

Naira Agababean (1951- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (1998) from Moldova. She is a former Armenian woman chess champion, winning it 8 times. She represented Moldavia in the 1992 and 2003 Women's European Chess Team Championship. Her daughter is Woman Grandmaster Almira Skripchenko (1976- ).

Nelly Aginian (1981- ) was born on August 4, 1981 in Armenia. In 2005, she was awarded the Woman Grandmaster title. Her highest FIDE rating was 2380. She is the third player from Armenia, after Elina Danielian and Lilit Mkrtchian, to gain the Woman Grandmaster title. Her peak rating was 2380 in 2005.

Elena Akhmilovskaya (1957-2012) was born in Leningrad. In 1977, she was awarded the Woman Grandmaster title. In 1986, she was the challenger in the Women's World Championship, but lost. She represented the USSR in three Women Chess Olympiads. She lived in Tbilisi, Georgia until 1988, when she abruptly defected and eloped with American International Master John Donaldson to Seattle, Washington. At the time, she was representing the USSR in the Women's Chess Olympiad. She returned to the Soviet Union almost a year later to get her 7-year-old daughter. It took three weeks to secure their exit visas. Her mother, Lydia Akhmilovskaya, qualified several times for the USSR Women's Championship and was a top-ranked correspondence player. She took 1st place in three U.S. Women's Chess Championships. She represented the USA in four Women's Chess Olympiads. She was once married to IM John Donaldson, and later married IM Georgi Orlov. On November 18, 2012, WGM Elena Akhmilovskaya Donaldson died of brain cancer. She was only 55.

Anna Markovna Akhsharumova (1957- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (1978), married to GM Boris Gulko. She was the USSR Women's Champion in 1976 and 1984. By all rights, she should have won the 1983 Soviet Women's title played in Tallinn when she defeated her main competitor, Nana Ioseliani after she won by time forfeit. It would have given her 12 points to Nana's 11 points. The next day, Ioseliani filed a protest alleging a malfunction in the clock. Anna refused to play. The result of her game was arbitrarily reversed by the All-Union Board of Referees in Moscow, thereby forfeiting her title and ending up in 3rd place. She and her husband immigrated to the United States in 1986. She won the U.S. Women's championship in 1987 with a perfect 9-0 score. In 1990, she tied for 5th-6th place in the Genting Women's Interzonal.

Maria Albulet-Pogorevici (1932-2005) was a Romanian chess master. She won the Romanian Women's Chess Championship 3 times. In 1957, she was awarded the title of Woman International Master. In 1985, she was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster (emeritus). She was known as the grand lady of Romanian chess. She was a medical doctor. He daughter, Marina Makropulu, is a Greek Woman Grandmaster.

Natalia Vladimirovna Alekhina (1954- ) is a Russian chessplayer. In 1970, she won the USSR girls' championship. She won the Russian women's championship in 1977 and 1982. She was awarded the Woman Grandmaster title in 1990. In 1997, she won the Moscow championship. She was the only female player in the event. She is married to GM Sergey Archipov.

Grace Wishard Alekhine (1876-1956) was Alexander Alekhine's fourth wife. She was born Grace Wishard on October 26, 1876 in New Jersey. Her parents were Emile Bernard Wishard (Jewish) and Marie Ida Smith. She later married Archibald Freeman, a British tea-planter in Ceylon. He died in the early 1930s. She took up chess and played Alexander Alekhine in a simultaneous exhibition in Tokyo in 1933. The two started a relationship shortly thereafter. They were married in March 1934 at Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice, France. The marriage certificate says her maiden name was Wishaar. She was 16 years older than Alekhine. It was his 4th marriage and may have been her 4th marriage as well. She owned a chateau in Saint Aubin-le-Cauf, a few miles southwest of Dieppe in Normandy, France. In 1936/37, she participated in a minor tournament at Hastings. Alexander Alekhine won the premier section and she took 3rd place in her section. He won 15 pounds for 1st place and she won 1 pound for 3rd place. She played in several Women's French chess championships. In 1944, she was the women's champion of Paris. During World War II, the Nazis took over their chateau and looted it. She moved to Paris. Alekhine was free to travel, but no exit visa was given to Grace. After World War II, she sold her chateau under American Embassy protection. She was in failing health and in her 70s. She spent her final years in her studio in Paris, but visited St. Ives, Cornwall, where she was a member of the local chess club. She later led the effort to get Alekhine's body transferred to the Cimetiere de Montparnasse in Paris. The USSR and French Chess Federation paid to transfer the remains from Portugal to Paris. She died in March 1956. Her grave spells her maiden name as Wishar. After she died, the notes in Alekhine's handwriting were allegedly found in her effects to prove he wrote the Nazi articles.

Nana Georgievna Alexandria (1949- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (1976) from Soviet Georgia. She was the USSR Women's Champion in 1966 (the youngest ever), 1968, and 1969. She was Women's World Championship Challenger in 1975 (against Gaprindashvili) and 1981 (against Chiburdanidze). She is now an administrator to the World Chess Federation (FIDE). She was chairperson of the FIDE Women's Committee from 1986 to 2001. Her peak rating was 2415 in 1988.

Olga Alexandrova (1978) is a Ukrainian-born Spanish International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 2004, she won the women's Ukrainian championship. In 2013, she won the women's Spanish championship. She is married to Spanish GM Miguel Illescas.

Claudia Noemi Amura (1970- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (1998) from Argentina. She is the first Latin American woman to earn the male International Master title. She won 5 Women's Argentine Championships. She is married to GM Gilberto Hernandez of Mexico. Her peak rating was 2372.

Gertrude Alison Anderson (nee Field) (1875-1924) won the British Women's Chess Championship in 1909, 1912, and 1921.

Meri Arabidze (1994- ) is a Georgian International Master and Woman Grandmaster.

Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (1968- ) is a Georgian Grandmaster (2009) who now plays for Scotland. She was the Georgian Ladies Champion in 1983, 1984 and 1990. In 1985, she was the World Women's Under-16 Champion. She won the Women's Soviet Chess Championship in 1990. She won the 1995 Women's Interzonal at Kishinev. In 2003, she tied for 1st place (with Paul Motwani) in the Scottish championship, the first ever woman to achieve the honor. Her husband, Jonathan Grant, won it in 2006, making them the first husband-wife pair to win a full national championship. In 2011, she won the Scottish Championship outright. She has won the British Ladies' Championship 4 times. She is the #1 ranked woman in Scotland. Her peak rating was 2506 in 2009.

Eva Aronson (1908-1999) was born in Linkoping, Sweden. In 1967, she took place in the World Women's Championship Candidates tournament in Subotica, but took last place (1 win, 4 draws, 12 losses). In 1969, she won the women's championship in the 70th US Open in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1972, she tied for 1st place with Marilyn Koput in the US Women's Championship. In 1972, she was awarded the Woman International Master title. She lived it St Petersburg, Florida.

Venka Asenova (1930-1986) was a Woman International Master (1965) from Bulgaria. In 1986, she was awarded the Woman Grandmaster title (emeritus). In 1967, she participated in the World Chess Championship for Women Candidates tournament in Subotica. She won the Bulgarian Women's championship 9 times.

Ekaterina Atalik, nee Polovnikova, (1982- ) is a Russian-Turkish International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 2008 and 2016, she won the Turkish women's championship. She is married to GM Suat Atalik.

Helga Ursula Axt (1937- ) is a Woman International Master (1961) from Germany. She won the Women's West German championship in 1957, 1958, and 1961. His peak rating was 2668 in 2009. She is a physical training teacher by profession.

Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), who was born Betty Joan Perske, was an amateur chess player. She was married to Humphrey Bogart from 1945 to 1957 (his death). They often played chess together. In 1945, she appeared on the cover of the June-July issue of Chess Review with her husband, Humphrey Bogart. Bogart was playing a game with Charles Boyer as Lauren Bacall looked on.

Camilla Baginskaite (1967- ) is an American-Lithuanian Woman Grandmaster (2002). In 1987, she won the World under-20 Girls Chess Championship. In 1992, she won the Lithuanian Women's Championship. In 2000, she won the U.S. Women's Championship. She has a master's degree in history of art. She is married to GM Alex Yermolinsky.

Mary Weiser Bain (1904-1972) was born in the Magyar State of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which we now call Hungary. She and her sisters had to flee to Budapest to avoid capture during World War I. On the ship, coming to America, she defeated the ship's captain. He presented her with a loving cup. It was her first chess prize. She was the 1937 and 1952 challenger to the World's Women Championship. She won titles in Cuba, Sweden, Finland, and the United States. She was U.S. women's champion from 1951 to 1953. She was a pupil of Frank Marshall and Geza Maroczy. She was a Bridge expert and operated a duplicate-bridge club in New York. She was the first American woman to represent the United States in an organized chess competition. In 1963, she played for the United States in the Women's Olympiad. In 1952, she was awarded the Woman International Master title. She married Leslie Balogh Bain, a newspaper columnist, war correspondent and author, in 1925. He would later become a cameraman and motion picture director in Los Angeles. Her hobby was duplicate bridge, and she owned and operated a duplicate-bridge club in New York City. She died at her home in New York City at age 68.

Batchimeg Tuvshintugs (1986- ) is a Mongolian Woman Grandmaster (2009) and an International Master (2014). In 2011 and 2016, she won the Mongolian Women's Chess Championship.

Nino Batsiashvili (1987- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2015, she won the Women's Georgian Chess Championship.

Gertrude Baumstark (1941- ) is a Romanian-German Woman International Master. In 1967 and 1981, she won the Romanian women's championship.

In December 1882, Frideswide Beechey-Rowland (1843-1919) became the first woman to write a chess column. In 1883, she wrote Chess Blossoms: A Selection from Compositions. In 1884, she wrote Chess Fruits.

Anjelina Belakovskaia (1969- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (1993). She was born in the Ukraine and won the Women's Championship of the Soviet Union and the Ukraine. She graduated from Odessa University of Agriculture with a Bachelor's in economics and accounting. She has a Master's Degree in Mathematics in Finance. She came to the USA in 1991. Her first job in the United States was slicing watermelons and winning money from the chess hustlers at Washington Square Park. "Two, five and ten dollars per game" were the first English words she learned in the U.S. She won $35 the first day, and soon the hustlers would no longer play her because they had lost too much money from her. In 1993, she had a bit role in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. She played on the US women's team in the Chess Olympiads in 1994, 1996, and 1998. She was U.S. Women's Chess Champion in 1995 (with Sharon Burtman), 1996, and 1999. In 2013, she became an honors professor at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, adding the "Chess, Leadership and Business Strategy" course.

Liudmila Belavenets (1940- ) is a Russian Woman International Master (1977), International Master in Correspondence Chess (1979), and now Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess. In 1975, she won the Women's Soviet Chess Championship. She won the 4th Women's World Correspondence Chess Championship (1984-1992). She is the daughter of Sergey Belavents (1910-1942).

Jana Malypetrova Hartston Miles Bellin (1947- ) is a Woman GM (1982). She is the granddaughter of thrice Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Jan Malypetr (1873-1947). She won the Czech Women's Championship in 1965 and 1967. She has won the British Woman's Chess Championship 8 times. She has played in 15 Chess Olympiads. She was formerly married to Bill Hartston and Tony Miles, top British chessplayers. She is a medical doctor specializing in anesthesiology. She works at the Sandwell General Hospital in England. She is Chairman of the FIDE Medical Commission, which supervises drug testing of chessplayers.

Clare Benedict (1870-1961) was an American writer and probably the first woman chess patron. She made possible the Clare Benedict Cup, and annual West European team tournament, which was held from 1953 to 1979, when funds ran out. There were 23 Clare Benedict Cup tournaments. She also sponsored the Zurich 1954 tournament. Her great-grandmother was Fennimore Cooper's sister.

Clarice Benini (1905-1976) was an Italian Woman International Master (1950). In 1937, she took 2nd in the Women's World Chess Championship, behind Vera Menchik. She won the Italian women's championship in 1938 and 1939.

Maria Berea de Montero (1914-1983) was a Woman International Master (1952) from Brazil. In 1939, she was the Women's World Championship Challenger. In 1952, she took 15th place in the World Women's Chess Championship Candidates Tournament in Moscow.

Irina Berezina (1965- ) is an Australian International Master (1999). She is a 5-time Oceania women's chess champion. In 1999, she won the Australian Women's Championship. She is married to IM Vladimir Feldman.

Polly Bergen (1930-2014) played chess. A photo on the Internet shows her playing Gregory Peck on a small magnetic chess set in 1962. It was taken on the set of Cape Fear. She said that Gregory Peck taught her chess between scenes when they both starred in Cape Fear.

In 1886, the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), the first international stage star, played chess against the chess automaton Ajeeb. She loved chess and lived at the Hotel Chelsea from 1886 to 1900. Ajeeb was located at the Eden Musee, a block away from her hotel. She also played Ajeeb in 1900 and perhaps many times between 1886 and 1900 (losing every time). When asked how she spent her time on long sea voyages, she said she played chess.

Anna Katarina Beskow (1867-1937) was a Swedish chess master. In 1912, she founded the first Swedish chess club for women, the Stockholms kvinnliga schackklubb. She was a 4-time Women's World Chess Championship challenger. In 1927, she took 2nd, behind Vera Menchik, at the first Women's World Chess Championship, held in London.

Katarina Blagojevic, nee Jovanovic, (1943- ) is a Serbian Woman International Master (1964). She has won the Yugoslav women's championship 3 times.

Anastasia Bodnaruk (1992- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster and International Master.

Natasa Bojkovic (1971- ) is a Serbian International Master. In 1991, she won the Girls' World Junior Championship. She won the Women's Yugoslav Chess Championship 4 times.

Valentina Borisenko (1920-1993) was a Woman Grandmaster (1978). In 1945, 1955, 1957, 1960, and 1962, she won the USSR women's championship. She was the Women's World Championship Challenger in 1949-50. In 1968, he won the Uzbekistan women's championship. She was married to Georgi Borisenko.

Angela Borsuk (1967- ) is an Israeli International Master (1997) and Woman Grandmaster (2008). In 1999, she won the Israeli National Chess Championship.

Tea Bosboom-Lanchava (1974- ) is an International Master (2004) and Woman Grandmaster (2001). In 1988, she won the Girls World under-14 championship. In 1990, she won the Girls World under-16 championship. In 2012, she won the Dutch Women's Chess Championship.

Anna-Maria Botsari (1972- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (1993) from Greece. She has won the Greek Women's Championship 7 times. She has played in 15 Chess Olympiads. She once held the record of most opponents in consecutive chess games. In 2002, she played 1,102 consecutive games against different opponents, with 1,094 wins, 7 draws, and no losses. The event has at Kalavryta, Greece. In 2004, she tied for 1st in the Greek Women's championship. She was once married to Serbian GM Igor Miladinovic. Her peak rating was 2394 in 2003.

Anneliese Brandler (1904-1970) was a German woman chess master. In 1962, she won the West Germany Women's Championship.

Rowena Mary Bruce (1919-1999) is the only player to have played two world champions in a tournament on the same day. In the Plymouth 1938 tournament she played world woman champion Vera Menchik in the morning and world champion Alexander Alekhine in the afternoon for rounds 2 and 3. She has won the British Ladies' Championship 11 times, from 1937 to 1969. She was the World Girls' Champion in the 1920s (Rowena Dew).

Agnieszka Brustman (1962- ) is a Polish Woman International Master (1982) and Woman Grandmaster (1985). In 1980, she won the European Girls' Junior Chess Championship. In 1982, she won the first World World Girls Under-20 Championship. She won the Women's Polish Chess Championship 4 times.

Nataliya Buksa (1996- ) is a Ukrainian Woman Grandmaster (2015). In 2015, she won the Girls' World Junior Chess Championship.

Irina Bulmaga (1993- ) is a Moldovan-born Romanian Woman Grandmaster (2012) and International Master (2013).

Sharon Ellen Burtman (1968- ) is an American Woman International Master (1989). In 1995, she tied for 1st with Anjelina Belakovskaia in the U.S. women's championship.

In September 1953, Elisabeth Bykova (1913-1989) defeated current women's world champion Lyudmila Rudenko for the Women's World Chess Championship, scoring 7 wins, 5 losses, and 2 draws. The event was held in Moscow. Bykova was awarded the title of International Master (IM). She became the third Women's World Champion. She was Women's World Champion from 1953 to 1956, and from 1958 to 1962. From 1956 to 1958 she lost her title to Olga Rubtsova. In 1962, she lost her title to Nona Gaprindashvili. She was USSR Women's champion in 1947, 1948, and 1950. She earned the Women's Grandmaster title in 1976.

Teresa Candela-Gimenez (1959- ) is a Spanish Woman International Master (1987). She won the Catalona women's championship 6 times. She played for Spain in 5 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Arianne Caoli (1986- ) is a Filipino-Australian Woman International Master. In 2000, she won the Asian girls under-16 chess championship. In 2009, she won the Oceania women's chess championship and the London Classic Women's Invitational tournament. She played for the Philippines in 2 Chess Olympiads. She played for Australia in 5 Chess Olympiads. She married GM Levon Aronian in 2017. She works as a consultant for a global consultancy firm.

Ruth Volgl Cardoso (1934-2000) was born in Salvador, Brazil on February 9, 1934. She held the title of Woman International Master (WIM) from FIDE. She won the South American Women's Championship in 1966, 1969, and 1972. She won the Brazilian Women's Championship eight times in a row. She played four time in the Woman's Interzonal Championship. She played in five World Chess Olympiads, playing first board for the Brazilian team each time. She died on Feb 11, 2000.

Berna Carrasco-Araya (1914-2013) was a Chilean Woman International Master (1954). In 1939, she took 3rd in the Women's World Championship. She was the only woman to play in the 17th Chess Olympiad, held at Havana in 1966 out of 300 men. She was the only player to have finished without scoring a single point or half point. She lost all 4 of her games.

Daria Charochkina (1990- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster.

Chantal Chaude de Silans (1919-2004) was a French chessplayer and countess. In 1934, at the age of 15, she won the ladies championship of France. In 1949-50, she was a Women's World Championship Challenger. In 1950, she was awarded the Women's International Master title. She was the first female to play in a men's Olympiad. She played on the men's French team in 1950 at Dubrovnik. She won 1 game, drew 1 game, and lost 4 games. She managed the Caissa chess club in Paris for many years.

Jussara Chaves (1959- ) is a Brazilian Woman International Master (1982). She won the Brazilian women's championship 4 times. She has played in 8 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Maya Chiburdanidze (1961- ) was six-time World's women champion for 13 years, from 1978 until her defeat by Xie Jun of China in 1991. Her coach had been Eduard Gufeld. She was USSR women's champion at 15, won the women's Interzonal at 16, defeated three of the best women in the world (Alexandria, Akhmilovskaya, and Kusnir) in matches at 17, and world champion (defeating Gaprindashvili) at age 17, the youngest of any world champion in chess. She was awarded the title of International Woman Master in 1974 at the age of 13, making her the youngest title holder in the history of chess up to that time. She didn't even have a FIDE rating. In 1978, Maya Chiburdanidze defeated Nona Gaprindashvili in the Women's World Championship Match, scoring 8.5-6.5 (4 wins, 9 draws, and 2 losses). The event was held in Tbilisi, Georgia. She became the 7th women's world champion, and, at age 17, the youngest world chess champion up to that time. Her peak rating was 2560 in 1988.

Pavlina Chilingirova (1955- ) is a Bulgarian Woman International Master (1982). In 1993, she won the Bulgarian women's championship. In 2007, she won the Open Women Bulgarian Championship. She has played for Bulgaria in 8 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Dagne Ciuksyte (1977- ) is a Lithuanian-English International Master (1995) and Woman Grandmaster (2002).

Viktorija ?milyt? (1983- ) is a member of the Lithuanian parliament. She was twice Lithuanian champion and is a Grandmaster (2010). In 2011, she was European Women's Champion, Her peak rating was 2542 in 2017. She is perhaps the strongest chess-playing politician ever. She was married to GM Alexei Shirov from 2001 to 2007. In 2013, she married GM Peter Heine Nielsen.

Silvia Collas, nee Aleksieva, (1974- ) is a Bulgarian-French International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 2007, she won the French women's championship.

In 1860, H. I. Cooke wrote a book called The ABC of Chess by "A Lady." It was the first chess book written by a woman and went into 10 editions.

Deimante Cornette, nee Daulyte, (1989- ) is a Lithuanian International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She won the women's Lithuanian Chess Championship 5 times. She is married to GM Matthieu Cornette.

Charlotte Helene Cotton-Meirchin ( -1929) was a British female master. In 1924, a tournament was held in Meran in 1924 and was advertised as the unofficial European women's championship. Miss Charlotte Cotton and Miss Holloway, both from England, tied for first place.

Pia Ann Rosa-Della Cramling (1963- ) is a Grandmaster (1992) from Sweden. From 1983 to 1985 she was the world number one female chessplayer. Her brother, Dan, is a former Swedish national champion. She won the Women's Chess Oscar in 1983. She was awarded the WGM title in 1982, the IM title in 1983, and the GM title in 1992. Her peak rating was 2550 in 2008. She is married to Spanish GM Juan Bellon.

Rachel Crotto (1958- ) is a Woman International Master (1978). She played in the U.S. Women's chess championship at the age of 13. She was U.S. Women's Chess Champion from 1977 (age 17) to 1979. She took 12th-13th place at the 1979 Rio de Janeiro Women's Interzonal. She took last place in the 1982 Bad Kissingen Interzonal for the Women's World Chess Championship. She gave up the game in 1986.

Tunde Csonkics (1958- ) is a Hungarian Woman Grandmaster (1990). In 1981, she won the Hungarian women's championship. She played for Hungary in 4 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Elina Danielian (1978- ) is an Armenian Grandmaster (2010). She has won the Armenian women's championship 6 times. She has played for Armenia in 12 Chess Olympiads. In 1992, she won the World under-14 Girls Championship. In 1993, she won the World uner-16 Girls Championship. Her peak rating was 2521 in 2011.

Linda Darnell (1921-1965) played chess. She appeared in the October 1945 issue of Chess Review in connection with the August 1945 Pan-American Chess Congress, held in Hollywood. She was crowned Queen of Ceremonies at the Pan-Am tournament. She played several off-hand games, including one with actress Roseanne Murray.

Bette Davis (1908-1989) played chess. In 1932, she married musician Harmon Oscar Nelson, who was also a chess addict. Bette Davis, determined not to be a chess widow, learned the game during the filming of Kid Galahad in 1937. She played chess in two of her films, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and The Scapegoat (1959).

Viola Davis (1965- ), the actress, plays chess. In 2014, she donated $30,000 to the chess club at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island. Davis' sister is teacher at that school and Viola attend that school in the 1980s.

Sandra Dee (1942-2005) played chess. There is a photo on the Internet of her playing chess with Rock Hudson in Rome in 1960 on the set of Come September. She was married to Bobby Darin from 1960 to 1967. Darin was a chess fanatic and the two of them played chess together.

Yelena Dembo (1983- ), Russian-born, is a Greek Woman Grandmaster (2001) and an International Master (2003). She became a Woman GM when she was 17. She likes to jog, play table tennis, make candles, and listen to music. Her peak rating was 2482 in 2009.

Marlene Dietrich (1904-1992) played chess. A photo on the Internet shows her playing on a peg chess set with John Wayne in 1942. It was taken on set of the movie Pittsburgh. In 1945, she was a spectator at the Pan-American Chess Congress. She always carried a tine chess set and played chess during plane flights.

In February 2017, an 18-year-old Iranian Woman Grandmaster (2016) and International Master (2016), Dorsa Derakhshani (1998- ), was kicked off the Iranian national chess team after competing in an international chess tournament (Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival) without a hijab (headscarf). She has been prohibited from competing in national tournaments, and from joining the Iranian national chess team. Following the ban, Derakhshani accepted a place at Saint Louis University to study biology, winning a scholarship to play in the St Louis University Chess Team.

Antonina Dragasevic, nee Georgieva, (1948- ) is a Bulgarian-Serbian Woman International Master (1972). She won the Bulgarian Women's Championship 4 times. She played in 5 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Eliza Dushku (1980- ) who starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, plays chess. She said she picked up the hobby while in Los Angeles shooting the TV show Dollhouse in 2009. She was on the Howard Stern show in February 2009. Howard asked Eliza if chess played chess. She said that she does. She wrote in Twitter in June 2009, "Yes, I'm a chess nerd too."

Joanna Dworakowska (1978- ) is a Polish International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She won the Polish women's championship 3 times.

Nana Dzagnidze (1987- ) is a Georgian Grandmaster (2008). In 2017, she won the European Women's Championship and the Women's World Blitz Championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her peak rating was 2573 in 2015 when she was ranked #3 woman in the world.

Esther Epstein (1954- ) is a systems manager for the Bio-Molecular Engineering Research Center (BMERC) at Boston University. She is a Woman International Master (1972) and won the U.S. Women's chess championship in 1991 and 1997. She is married to GM Alex Ivanov.

Hanna Erenska-Barlo (1946- ) is the first Polish Woman Grandmaster (1981). She won the Polish women's championship 5 times. She played for Poland in 8 Women's Chess Olympiads. In 2007, she won the 17th World Women's Senior Chess Championship.

Kv?ta Eretova, nee Jenistova, (1926- ) is a Czech Woman Grandmaster (1986). She won the Czechoslovak Women's Chess Championship 10 times. She played for Czechoslovakia in 5 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Louisa Matilda Fagan (1850-1931) was the winner of a chess tournament in Bombay, India in which 12 men took part. She won all her games. She was disqualified because she was a woman playing in a club whose membership was confined to men. She appealed this decision in court and won. In 1897, she took 2nd place (behind Mary Rudge) in the Ladies' International tournament in London. She became an emancipation activist.

Moran Fairchild (1950- ) plays chess. She hosted a charity chess event in Mexico in 1988 and was a spectator at the 1988 World Action Chess Championship in Mazatlan, Mexico.

Mia Farrow (1945- ) plays chess and took chess lessons in 1981. Woody Allen and Mia Farrow have played chess together.

In 1933 Miss Fatima (1914- ?) won the British women's chess championship in 1933. She was a servant to maharaja Sir Umar Hayat Khan. Also in 1933, the British men's champion was Mir Sultan Khan, also a servant of Sir Umar Khan.

Pepita Ferrer-Lucas (1938-1993) was a Spanish Woman International Master (1974). She was the first Spanish chess player to receive this title. She won the Spanish women's championship 8 times.

Martha Lorena Fierro-Baquero (1977- ) is an Ecuadorian International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She is a vice president of FIDE and a chairperson for the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess.

In 1904, the first British Women's Chess Championship was held at Hastings, organized by the Ladies' Chess Club in London and the newly formed British Chess Federation. It was won by Kate Belinda Finn (1864-1932). She won 10 and drew one game. She won it again in 1905.

Gisela Fischdick (1955- ) is a German Woman Grandmaster (2006).

Cristina Adela Foisor, nee Badulescu, (1967-2017) was a Romanian Woman Grandmaster (1991) and an International Master (1997). She won the Romanian women's championship 5 times.

Sabina-Francesca Foisor (1989- ) is a Romanian-American Woman Grandmaster (2007). In 2017, she won the U.S. women's championship. Both her parents are International Masters.

Jane Fonda (1937- ) plays chess. When she was 21, Jane Fonda (1937- ) played chess with Susan Strasberg on the beach in Malibu. It was during these chess games that Jane was encouraged to take acting lessons and become an actress. Jane Fonda encourages chess playing among children and teenagers at risk. She has been involved with chess programs for inner-city youth. Jane played chess with her ex-husband, Roger Vadim (1928-2000) in the 1960s.

Eliza Campbell Foot (1851-1914) was the first president of the Women's Chess Club of New York, the only women's chess club in America in the 19th century. It was organized in January, 1894 with 30 members (including Mrs. Showalter and Harriet Worrall). In 1909 she advertised her availability to give chess lessons and issued chess puzzles (making her the first American woman chess author). She was a cousin to William Steinitz. She was one of the first to promote chess for women. She was killed by a hit and run driver in New York City on December 6, 1914.

Jennie Frenklakh, born in 1980 near Chernobyl, was a USCF master at 16. In 1991 she won the California Elementary Scholastic Championship. She won the US Junior Championship for players under 13 in 1993. She represented the United States in four World under-12, under-14, and under-20 championships. She has represented the U.S. six time at the World Junior Chess Championships, finishing 2nd in 1997. She is a Woman FIDE Master.

In May 1906, the first American Women's Chess Congress was held at the Hotel Martha Washington in New York. It was won by Mrs. Charles P. Frey (Mary Grace Rogers) of Newark, New Jersey.

In 1924, Marie Jeanne Frigard won the first Women's French Chess Championship, held in Paris.

In 1949, when Zsa Zsa Gabor (born in 1917) married the actor George Sanders (1906-1972), her third husband, they played chess "incessantly" on their honeymoon. George wrote in his autobiography that the two of them played chess nearly every night on their honeymoon.

Alisa Galliamova (1972- ) is a Russian International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 1988, she won the World Junior Girls Championship. She won the Russian women's championship 3 times.

Lilit Galojan (1983- ), is an Armenian Woman Grandmaster (2009) and International Master (2010). She has won the Armenian Women's Championship twice.

Inna Gaponenko (1976- ) is a Ukrainian International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 1994, she won the world under-18 girls' championship. In 2008, she won the Ukrainian women's championship.

Nona Gaprindashvili (1941- ) is a Russian Grandmaster (1978). In September-October 1962, Nona Gaprindashvili defeated Elisabeth Bykova in the Women's World Chess Championship, scoring 9-2 (7 wins, 4 draws, and no losses). She thus became the fifth women's world chess champion, and, at age 21, the youngest up to that time. The event was held in Moscow. In 1975, she had a perfume named after her. A Tbilis perfume factory manufactured a new scent, called Nona, which was sold in a bottle shaped like a chess queen. In 1978, Nona became the first woman to be awarded the Grandmaster title. She was the first woman to achieve the men's International Grandmaster title, in 1978. She became the first woman to win a "men's" chess tournament when she tied for first place at Lone Pine in 1977. She has had a perfume named after her in Russia. A Tbilisi perfume factory sold the perfume in a bottle shaped like a chess Queen. She maintained her maiden name after marrying her husband Chichikadze. She was the Women's World Chess Champion for 16 years, from 1962 to 1978. In 1962 she won the title by defeating Elizaveta Bykova with a score of 9-2. In 1978 she lost to Maya Chiburdanidze, who as 17. She has won the Women's Senior Championship 5 times. Her peak rating was 2495 in 1987.

Anita Gara (1983- ) is a Hungarian International Master (2009) and Woman Grandmaster. She has won the Hungarian women's championship 5 times.

Maria del Pino Garcia-Padron (1961- ) is a Spanish woman chess master. In 1980 and 1983, she won the Spanish women's championship. She played for Spain in 5 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Nieves Garcia-Vicente (1955- ) is a Spanish Woman International Master (1978). She won the Spanish women's championship 11 times. She played for Spain in 15 Women's Chess Olympiads, mostly on first board.

Ava Gardner (1922-1990) played chess. Here is a nice photo on the Internet of her playing chess in 1947. It was on the set of Singapore. She married Artie Shaw in 1945 and they played chess together. Later, Shaw hired a Russian chess master to tutor her in chess. After a few months of lessons, she started beating him at chess. He never asked her to play chess again.

Regina Gerlecka (1913-1983) was a Polish chess master. In 1935, she won the first Polish Women's Championship. She won it again in 1937. In 1935, she took 2nd in the 5th Women's World Chess Championship.

In 1879, Ellen E. Gilbert (nee Strong) (1837-1900) of the USA won an international correspondence chess match. She played first board for the USA in an 1879 correspondence chess match against England, winning all 4 games against England's top board, George Gossip. She was known as "The Queen of Chess."

Jessie Gilbert (1987-2006) was a British Woman FIDE Master. In 1999, at the age of 12, she won the Women's World Amateur Chess Championship. On July 26, 2006, Jessie Gilbert fell from the 8th floor of her hotel while playing in the Czech Open in the Czech Republic. It was a possible suicide. A few days later, it was revealed that her father, Ian Gilbert, a director at the Royal Bank of Scotland, had been previously charged with rape, with Jessica Gilbert as one of the victims, but he was found not guilty. Hours after the acquittal, Angela Gilbert, the mother of Jessie, was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill her ex-husband over claims she hired a hitman to murder her ex-husband. She was later released and lawyers decided not to proceed with the case.

Mary Gilchrist (1882-1947) was a Scottish female chess player. In 1929 and 1934, she won the British women's championship.

Rumiana Bojadjieva-Gocheva (1957- ) is a Bulgarian Woman International Master (1981). She has won the Bulgarian women's championship 6 times. She has played for Bulgaria in 5 Chess Olympiads.

Rusudan Goletiani (1980- ) is an International Master (2009) and a Woman Grandmaster (1999). She was the winner of the World Chess Championship for Girls Under 14 (1994), Under 16 (1995), and Under 18 (1997). She was born in Soviet Georgia and won the Soviet Junior Championship for Girls Under 12 in 1990 at the age of 9. She was awarded the International Woman's Grandmaster (WGM) title when she was 17. She immigrated to the United States in 2000. She won the US Women's Championship in 2004 and $12,500 when she beat WFM Tatev Abrahamyan in their playoff. She was the winner of the 18th annual Frank P. Samford chess fellowship in 2004. Her peak rating was 2403 in 2006.

Sonja Graf-Stevenson (1914-1965) was learned the game of chess at age four and was a pupil of Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch. She was the winner of four U.S. Women's Opens and two Closed Championships (1957 — tied with Gresser, 1964). She was woman champion of her native Germany until the outbreak of World War II. She traveled to Buenos Aires to play on the German team in the 8th Chess Olympiad. She was prevented from playing on the German team by a Nazi edict for her outspoken defiance of Hitler's government, and was taken off the list of Olympiad participants. She then decided to play in the Women's World Chess Championship, held at the same time in Buenos Aires. She went on to play at large under the banner of "Liberty." The Argentines made her a flag with the word "Libra" written on it. She played the entire tournament, winning 16 games and losing 3, taking 2nd place, behind world champion Vera Menchik. After the Olympiad, she refused to return to Germany and stayed in Argentina. She married a merchant mariner, Vernon Stevenson, and moved to Hollywood in 1947. In the 1930s she was considered the second-best woman chessplayer in the world, after Vera Menchik. Both Vera Menchik and Sonja Graf married a chessplayer named Stevenson. In 1957, she won the California Women's Chess Championship.

Gisela Gresser (1906-2000) was the winner of the U.S. Women's Championship 9 times (1944, 1948, 1955, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1969). She won the 1969 U.S. Women's Championship at the age of 63. Second place went to 55-year-old Mona Karff (6 times former Champion). She was the first woman in the U.S. to achieve a master's rating. She learned how to play chess after she borrowed a chess book while on a cruise from France to New York in 1937. She became interested in chess tournaments as a spectator at the 1938 U.S. Women's Championship at the Rockefeller Center in New York. She played in her first U.S. Women's Championship in 1940. She was born Gisela Kahn. She was awarded the International Woman Master title in 1950. She was an expert in hieroglyphics. In 1937, she won a fellowship at Harvard for Greek archeological research.

Elina Groberman (1983- ), born in Moldova, is an American chess player. In 2000, she tied for 1st with Camilla Bagimskaite in the U.S. women's championship. At the time, she was a freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She became a trader for Deutsche Bank.

Maria Grosch (1954- ) is a Hungarian Woman International Master (1984). In 1986, she tied for 1st in the Hungarian women's championship, but lost to Maria Ivanka in the play-off. She is married to GM Zoltan Ribli.

Lina Grumette (1908-1988) was a popular West Coast chess organizer who ran The Chess Set chess club in her Hollywood home. She competed in the US Women's championship of the 1940s and was one of the strongest females in the United States. It may have been her influence that Bobby Fischer continued his world championship match in Iceland in 1972.

Valentina Gunina (1989- ) is a Russian Grandmaster (2013) and Woman Grandmaster (2010). She won the Russian Women's Championship 3 times. In 2012, she won the Women's World Blitz Championship. In 2014, she won the Russian Women's Rapid Championship. In 2015, she won the Moscow Women's Blitz Championship. Her peak rating was 2548 in 2015.

Guo Qi is a Chinese Woman Grandmaster (2011) and an International Master (2014). In 2012, she won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship.

Sopiko Guramishvili (1991- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster (2009) and an International Master (2012). In 2006, she won the girls under-16 section of the World Youth Chess Championship. She is married to GM Anish Giri.

Nino Gurieli (1961- ) is an International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In 1976, she won the Georgian women's chess championship. She is married to GM Zurab Sturua.

Sopio Gvetadze (1983- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster.

Anna Hahn (1976- ), born in Latvia, is a Women's International Master (1995). She won the Latvian's Women's Championship in 1992. She tied for 2nd place in the World Girls' Championship in 1993. She was Women's US Champion for 2003. She won a playoff match between Irina Krush and Jennifer Shahade. She includes kick boxing as one of her hobbies. She works as a trader for D. E. Shaw & Co. in New York City.

Sandagdorj Handsuren (1940- ) is a Mongolian Woman International Master (1972). In 1968, she won the Mongolian women's championship.

Harika Dronavalli (1991- ) is an Indian Grandmaster (2011) and a Woman Grandmaster (2004). Her peak rating was 2543 in 2016.

Ruth Haring (1955- ) is a Woman International Master. She was president of the US Chess Federation for 5 years. She is married to GM Peter Biyiasas.

Gisela Harum (1903-1995) was an Austrian chess master. She played in 4 Women's World Championships.

Alfreda Hausner (1927- ) is an Austrian woman chess master. In 1953 and 1976, she won the Austrian women's championship. She played for Austria in 8 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Fenny Heemskerk (1919-2007) was a Dutch Woman Grandmaster (1977). She won the Dutch women's championship 10 times.

Katharine Hepburn (1909-2003) played chess. A photo on the Internet shows her playing chess with Humphrey Bogart. She and her brother, Tom, played chess growing up. She took chess lessons from Herman Steiner in the 1940s.

Dr. Roza Herman (1902-1995) was a Polish Woman International Master (1950). She won the Polish women's championship twice. She was a medical doctor. She died at the age of 93.

Hoang Thanh Trang (1980- ) is a Vietnamese-born Hungarian Grandmaster (2007). In 1998, she won the World Girls under-20 Championship. In 2000, she won the Asian women's championship. In 2013, she won the European women's championship. Her peak rating was 2511 in 2013. She has a degree in Economics.

In 1919, Edith Holloway (1868-1956) was the winner of the first post-World War I Women's British championship. In 1924, Edith Holloway played for England in the first unofficial Chess Olympiad, held in Paris. She was the first woman to play in a Chess Olympiad.

Krystyna Holuj-Radzikowska (1931-2006) was a Polish Woman Grandmaster (1984). She won the Polish women's championship 9 times. She played for Poland in 5 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Karolyne Honfi (1933-2010) was a Hungarian International Master (1969). In 1961, she won the Hungarian women's championship.

Iren Honsch (1932- ) is a Hungarian female chess master. She has won the Hungarian women's championship 3 times (1957, 1959, and 1960).

Hou Yifan (1994- ) learned chess at the age of three. She started taking chess lessons at the age of five. At age 9, she became a Woman FIDE master. At age 11, she qualified for the World Women's Chess Championship. At age 13, she became China's youngest ever women's national champion. She became a GM at the age of 14 years, 6 months, the youngest ever. She became the women's world champion at 16. In October 2005, at the age of 11, Hou Yifan qualified for the World Women's Chess Championship after winning the Chinese Women's Zonal tournament. Her performance rating in that event was 2526. In May 2016, Hou dropped out of the current Women's World Championship cycle. She objected to the format of a knockout tournament and then a match. She compared the 64-player knockout system to a lottery. She was Women's World Champion in 2010-2012, 2013-2015, and 2016-2017. In the final round of the Tradewise Gibralter Chess Festival, she appeared to throw her game against Indian Grandmaster Lalith Babu, playing a ridiculous opening and resigning after 5 moves. She later explained that she was upset about being paired against other female players in 7 of her 9 previous games of a Swiss system tournament, however tournament organizer Brian Callaghan said the pairings were simply the result of a computer program. She declined to defend her title at the Women's World Chess Championship 2017, and as a result forfeited her title. Her peak rating was 2686 in 2015.

Mary Mills Houlding (1850-1940) was an Australian-British chessplayer. In the late 19th century, she was recognized as the lady chess champion of Australia. In 1908, she defeated Emanuel Lasker in one of his simultaneous exhibitions in Newport, England. It was his only loss. She won the British Ladies' Championship in 1910, 1911, and 1914 (at age 64). In 1922, she won the Newport Chess Club Chess Championship in England. In 1928, she won the Newport Chess Club Chess Championship at the age of 78. She played in her last Women's British Championship in 1932, at the age of 82. She was a superintendent of the North Street Mission, a religious charity for helping the poor. She died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 89.

Jovanka Houska is an English International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She has won the British Women's Chess Championship 6 times. In 2006, she was voted English Chess Federation Player of the Year. She was the first woman to receive this accolade since its inception in 1984. She has a law degree.

Barbara Hund (1959- ) is West Germany's first woman Grandmaster (1982). She was born 13 days after her mother, Juliane, played in the German Women's Chess Championship. She won the German Women's Championship in 1978. She won the Women's Swiss Chess Championship in 1993. She now lives in Switzerland.

Dr. Harriet Hunt (1978- ) is an English International Master (2000) and Woman Grandmaster (1999). She has won the British Ladies' Championship 4 times. She is a researcher in archaeogenetics at the University of Cambridge.

Nana Mikhailovna Ioseliani (1961- ) is a former World Women's Championship challenger. She is a Woman Grandmaster (1980) and International Master (1993) from the Republic of Georgia and was once ranked no. 2 in the world for women chessplayers. She has won the Women's Soviet Chess Championship 4 times. She is now an entrepreneur in Prague. Her peak rating was 2520 in 1997.

Maria Ivanka (1950- ) is a Hungarian Woman Grandmaster (1978). She won the Hungarian women's championship 9 times. She won the Texan chess championship 3 times.

Antonia Ivanova (1930-2004) was a Bulgarian Woman Grandmaster (1983). She won the Bulgarian women's championship 6 times. She was married to GM Milko Bobotsov.

Inna Izrailov (1964- ) is an American Woman International Master (WIM) from Brooklyn. In 1986, she won the U.S. Women's Chess Championship.

Kate Jackson (1949- ) plays chess. In 1982, on the Tonight Show, she mentioned that she played chess with a chess computer. She said she would rather play with her Sargon chess computer than watch TV.

Sheila Jackson (1957- ) is an English Woman Grandmaster (1988). She won the British women's championship 4 times. She played for England in 10 Women's Chess Olympiads.

In 1989 Carol Jarecki (1935- ) became the first woman to serve as chief arbiter for any world chess championship cycle match (1989 Karpov-Hjartarson world championship quarterfinals). She is an international Arbiter and has directed dozens of large chess tournaments. She is a former anesthesiologist and avid aircraft pilot. She remains an active pilot, having flown her Cessna 210 throughout the United States, to Alaska and to many destinations in the Caribbean as far as St. Lucia, West Indies.

Lela Javakhishvili (1984- ) is a Georgian International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She has won the Georgian women's championship twice.

Hannelore Jorger-Weichert (1942) is a German woman chess master. In 1966, she won the Bavarian women's championship.

Ju Wenun (1991- ) is a Chinese Grandmaster (2014). She won the Women's Chinese Championship in 2010 and 2014. In 2017, she won the Women's World Rapid Chess Championship in Riyadh. She is the challenger in the 2018 Women's World Chess Championship. Her peak rating was 2604 in 2017.

Anna Jurczynska (1926-2009) was a Polish Woman International Master (1981). She won the Polish women's championship 5 times.

Dr. Gabriele Just, nee Ortlepp (1936- ), is a German woman chess master. She won the East German women's championship 3 times. In 1996, she won the German Open Senior Women's Chess Championship. She is a physician in Leipzig by profession.

Ketino Kachiani-Gersinka (1971- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 1987, she won the Georgian women's championship. In 1989 and 1990, she won the World Junior Chess Championship.

Jana Kackova (1982- ) is a Czech International Master and Woman Grandmaster.

Paula Kalmar-Wolf (1880-1931) was Austria's first chess master. She learned how to play chess in her early 30s. She was Women's World Championship Challenger 3 times. In 1930 and 1931, she took 2nd place in the Women's World championship, behind Vera Menchik. She died of complications for diabetes. In 2017, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Eva Karakas, nee Furst, (1922-1995) was a Hungarian Woman Grandmaster. She won the Hungarian women's championship 5 times. In 1991, 1992, and 1994, she won the Women's World Senior Chess Championship.

Eesha Karavade (1987- ) is an Indian Woman Grandmaster (2005) and an International Master (2010).

Mona May Karff (1914-1998) played in 18 U.S. Women's championships, winning 7 times, from 1938 to 1974. She spoke 8 languages fluently and became a millionaire playing the stock market. She married her cousin, but later divorced and was romantically linked with Dr. Edward Lasker. In 1937, she played in the women's world chess championship in Stockholm representing Palestine. She took 6th place. In the 1939 women's world championship in Buenos Aires, she represented the United States and took 5th place. She played in 3 women's world championships.

Irmgard Karner (1927-2014) was a German woman chess master. In 1964, she won the West German women's chess championship. In 2000, she won the German Women's Senior Championship. She died at the age of 87.

Rita Kas (1956- ) is a Hungarian-German Woman International Master (1984). In 1988, she won the Federal Republic of Germany Women's Chess Championship.

Alina Kashlinskaya (1993- ) is a Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2013, she won the Russian under-20 girls championship.

Carmen Kass (1978- ) is an Estonian super model, former political candidate, and woman chessplayer. In 2002, she was the second-highest-paid model in the world. She was President of the Estonian Chess Federation from 2004 to 2011. From 2004 until 2014, she was in a relationship with GM Eric Lobron of Germany. Her father is chess teacher.

Dr. Ingeborg Kattinger (1910-2003) was an Austrian woman chess master. She won the Austrian women's championship 4 times. She won the Vienna Women's Championship 8 times. She was an Honorary President of the Austrian Chess Federation. She had a doctorate in psychology. She died at the age of 92.

Edith Keller-Hermann (1921-2010) was a German Woman Grandmaster (1977). In 1942, she won the second German women's championship. She won the German women's championship 11 times.

Lucille Kellner (1904-1964) was an American chess player from Detroit. In 1962, she took 6th in the US women's championship, won by Gisela Kahn Gresser.

Grace Kelly (1929-1982) played chess. She played chess with Alfred Hitchcock. A photo on the Internet shows her taking interest in a chess game between Jimmy Stewart and Wendel Corey in 1954. It was taken on the set of Rear Window.

Sarasadat Khademalsharich (1997- ) is an Iranian Woman Grandmaster (2013) and an International Master (2015). In 2016, she won the Iranian women's championship.

Bela Khotenashvili (1988- ) is a Georgian Grandmaster (2013) and a Woman Grandmaster (2007). In 2004, she won the World Girls under-16 Championship. She has won the Georgian Women's Championship twice. Her peak rating was 2531 in June 2013.

Sopiko Khukhashvili (1985- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster (2005) and International Master (2007). In 1999 and 2000, she won the under-16 section of the World Youth Chess Championship.

Nino Khurtsidze (1976- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster and International Master (1999). She has won the women's Georgian championship 5 times.

Henrijeta Konarkowska-Sokolov (1938- ) is a Polish-Serbian Woman Grandmaster (1986). She won the Polish women's championship 4 times and the Yugoslav women's championship 2 times.

Humpy Koneru (1987- ) started playing chess at the age of five. She has won four World Championships, including the World Girls Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, and the World Girls Junior championships. At the age of 14, she won the British Ladies' championship. At 14, she won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship. She became a GM at the age of 15 years, 1 month and 27 days, the youngest female to become a GM up to that time. From 2002 through 2008, she was the youngest women ever to become a grandmaster. At 22, she was the 2nd highest rated woman in the world, behind Judit Polgar. She won the British Women's Championship in 2000 and 2002. In 2003, she won the Indian Women's Championship. Her peak rating was 2623 in 2009.

Tatiana Kononenko (1978- ) is a Ukrainian Woman Grandmaster (1998) and International Master (2006).

Marilyn M. Koput Simmons (1948-2018) was an American Woman International Master who lived in Milwaukee. In 1972, she tied for 1st with Eva Aronson in the U.S. Women's Championship. She died of cancer.

Ekaterina Korbut (1985- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2004, she won the Girls World Junior Chess Championship. In 2006, she won the Russian women's championship.

Nadezhda Kosintseva (1985- ) is a Russian Grandmaster (2011). In 1998, she won the World Girls under-14 Championship. In 2005, she tied fors 1st in the European Women's Championship. In 2008, she won the Russian Women's Championship. Her peak rating was 2576 in 2010.

Tatiana Kosintseva (1986- ) is a Russian Grandmaster (2009). She has won the European women's championship twice and the Russian women's championship 3 times. Her peak rating was 2581 in 2010.

Alexandra Kosteniuk (1984- ) learned to play chess at five after being taught be her father. She became a women's grandmaster (WGM) at age 14. She was an International Master at 16. She was the Challenger in the World Women's Championship when she was 17. At 20, she was awarded the GM title. At 21, she was the Russian Women's Champion. At 22, she was the Chess960 Women's World Champion. At 24, she was women's world champion. She won the Women's Russian Chess Championship in 2005 and 2016. In 2004, she won the Women's European Championship and was world champion from 2008 to 2010. In 2006, she became the first Chess960 women's world champion. She won it again 2008. In 2013, she became the first woman to win the men's Swiss Chess Championship. She also won the women's Swiss champion title. Her peak rating was 2557 in 2016. In 2015, she married Russian GM Pavel Tregubov.

Ekaterina Kovalevskaya (1974- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 1994 and 2000, she won the Russian Women's Championship.

Valentina Kozlovskaya (1938- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster. In 1965, she won the Women's Soviet Championship. In 1996, she won the Senior Women's World Chess Championship. She is a biochemist by profession. She was married to GM Igor Bondarevsky.

Ljuba Kristol (1944- ) is a Russian-born Israeli Woman International Master and Correspondence Grandmaster. She won the 3rd women's world correspondence championship (1978-1984) and the 5th women's world correspondence championship (1993-1998). She has won the Israeli women's championship 4 times.

Gyulane Krizsan-Bilek (1938- ) is a Hungarian Woman International Master (1965). In 1958, she won the Hungarian women's championship. She was married to GM Istvan Bilek.

Irina Krush (1983- ) is a Ukrainian-born American Grandmaster (2013). She learned chess at age 5. At the age of 9, she beat her first chess master. She played in the US Women's championship at the age of 11. At age 12, she became a master. At age 13, she tied for 1st in the World Junior championship for girls. At age 14, she won the US Women's championship, the youngest ever. At 16, she was awarded the International Master title. She has won the US women's championship 7 times. Her peak rating was 2502 in 2013. She was formerly married to Canadian GM Pascal Charbonneau. In 2006, she graduated from New York University with a degree in International Relations.

Alla Kushnir (1941-2013) was one of the top women's chessplayers in the 1960s and 1970s. At one time she was the second-best woman in the world (behind Gprindashvili). She left the Soviet Union and settled in Israel in 1974. She was awarded the Women's Grandmaster title in 1976. She was Women's World Championship Challenger in 1965, 1969, and 1972. She was USSR Women's Champion in 1970.

Alini l'Ami, nee Motoc, (1985- ) is a Romanian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. Shei graduated cum laude in Psychology from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University. She is married to Dutch GM Erwin l'Ami.

Anni Laakmann (1937- ) is a German Woman FIDE Master (1983). She won the West German women's championship 4 times. She played for West Germany in 6 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Kateryna Oleksandrivna Lahno (Lagno) (1989- ) is a Ukrainian-born Russian Grandmaster (2007) and Woman Grandmaster (2002). In 1998, she was the world girls' under-10 champion. In 2002, at the age of 12 years, 4 months and 2 days, she became both the European Girls' under-14 Champion and the world's youngest Woman Grandmaster in history. In 2005, she won the European Individual Women's Chess Championship. In 2010, she was the women's world blitz chess champion. In 2014, she was the women's world rapid chess champion. Her peak rating was 2557 in 2012. She is married to French GM Robert Fontaine.

Lisa Lane Hickey (1938- ) was born in Philadelphia. She is a former U.S. women's champion (1959-62, 1966). In 1960 she appeared on "What's My Line" and was featured in Look magazine. In 1961, she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She and Bobby Fischer are the only chessplayers to have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In 1961, she took 12th-14th place at the Women'sCandidates Tournament in Vrnjacka Banja. She played four games in the Hastings Reserve tournament in 1961-62, and then withdrew after one draw, two losses, and an adjourned game. She said she could not concentrate because she was "homesick and in love." In 1963 she opened up her own chess club, Queen's Pawn Chess Emporium, in New York. In 1964, she took 12th place at the Women's Candidates Tournament in Sukhumi. In 1966, she tied for 1st place with Gisela Gresser in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship. She married Neil Hickey, editor-at-large of the Columbia Journalism Review, who was a friend of Bobby Fischer and assisted Bobby Fischer in some chess articles. Lisa owns a natural food business, Amber Waves of Grain, in New York.

Susan Lalic, nee Walker, (1965- ) is an English Woman Grandmaster (1985) and International Master (1996). She has won the British Women's championship 5 times. In the past, she has been married to Keith Arkell and then t Bogdan Lalic. She is currently married to IM Graeme Buckley.

Tea Bosboom Lanchava (1974- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster (2001) and International Master (2004). In 1988, she won the World under-14 girls championship. In 1990, she won the World under-16 girls championship. In 2012, she won the women's Dutch championship.

Diana Lanni (1955- ) qualified for the U.S. Women's Championship and used chess to beat a drug addiction problem and suicidal tendencies. In 1982, she represented the USA in the Women's Olympiad in Lucerne. She now teaches chess to kids.

Ingrid Larsen (1909-1990) was Women's World Championship Challenger in 1937, 1939, and 1949-50. She was awarded the Women's International Master title in 1950. She won the Danish Women's National Championship 17 times (1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1965, 1969, and 1983).

Milda Lauberte (1918-2009) was a Latvian female chess master. She played in 2 Women's World Chess Championships.

Milunka Lazarevic (1932- ) is a Serbian Woman Grandmaster (1976). She won the Yugoslav women's championship 11 times.

Lei Tingjie (1997- ) is a Chinese Grandmaster (2017) and Woman Grandmaster (2014). In 2017, she won the Women's Chinese Chess Championship.

Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) played chess. A photo shows her playing chess with Lawrence Olivier in 1941. It was taken during the filming of Forty Ninth Parallel. She listed chess as one of her favorite games.

Tatiana Lemachko (1948- ) is a Russian-born Bulgarian-Swiss Woman Grandmaster (1977). She won the Bulgarian Women's Championship in 1972 and the Swiss Women's Championship in 1983. She played for Bulgaria in four Chess Olympiads. She tied for first place (with Akhmilovskaya) at the 1979 Alicante Women's Interzonal Tournament. She defected from the Bulgarian Women's team on the eve of the last round of the Lucerne Chess Olympiad in 1982 and remained in Switzerland. She played for Switzerland in ten Chess Olympiads. Her peak rating was 2370 in 1988.

Irina Levitina (1954- ) is a 4-time USSR Women's Champion who was not allowed to play in the 1979 Women's Interzonal in Buenos Aires and for the World Women's Championship because her brother immigrated (legally) to Israel. She is also a world class bridge player and now a professional bridge player. She has played on 3 chess Olympiads and 1 bridge Olympiad. She became a Woman Grandmaster in 1976. In 1984, she was the challenger and lost to Chiburdanidze with 2 wins, 7 draws, and 5 losses in the Women's World Championship. She gave up serious chess and became a professional bridge player. In contract bridge, she has been World champion six times. Levitina is the only person in the world to win world championships in both chess and bridge. She is currently the top US player in the World Bridge Federation (WBF) Masterpoint rankings.

Teresa Leyva (1965- ) is a Colombian Woman FIDE master. In 1976 and 1982, she won the Colombian women's championship. She played for Colombia in 3 Women's Chess Olympiads, winning an individual gold medal in 1982 at first reserve board.

Li Ruofan (1978- ) is a Chinese Woman Grandmaster (2002) and an International Master (2009). She is married to GM Zhang Zhong.

Ursula Liebert, nee Horoldt, (1933-1998) was a German female chess master. In 1954 and 1967, she won the East Germany Women's Chess Championship. She had a degree in mathematics. She was married to IM Heinz Liebert.

Miroslawa Litmanowicz, nee Kalecka, (1928-2017) was a Polish Woman International Master (1967). In 1968, she won the Polish women's championship. In 1974, she ended her active chess player career and devoted herself to literary work. Her best-known books are chess manuals for children and young people.

Maia Lomineishvili (1977- ) is an International Master. She has won the Women's Georgian championship 5 times.

Alice Loranth (1930-1998) was the long-time head of the Fine Arts and Special Collections Department of the Cleveland Public Library. She presided over one of the largest chess collections in the world, the John G. White Collection, for 30 years.

Sophia Loren (1934- ) plays chess. She used intermissions, while shooting films, to play a game of chess. In 1966, she played chess with Marlon Brando. Sophia Loren appeared with Marlon Brando sitting behind a chess board, observed by Charlie Chaplin, in a Life magazine article. Another photo has Charlie Chaplin looking over the game between Brando and Loren.

Myrna Loy (1905-1993) played chess. She said that she became interested in chess after watching Reginald Owen and Frank Morgan (Wizard of Oz) play chess. She was a member of Herman Steiner's chess club.

Carolina Lujan is an Argentine Woman Grandmaster (2005) and International Master (2007). She has won the Argentine Women's championship 5 times.

Ildiko Madl (1969- ) is a Hungarian Woman Grandmaster (1986) and International Master (1992). In 1986, she won the World Under-20 Girls Championship. She won the Hungarian Women's Championship 4 times.

Madonna (1958- ), born Madonna Louise Ciccone, plays chess. She plays chess in a couple of her musical videos. She plays chess on the Internet Chess Club. In 2001, Alan Norris, former Scottish chess champion, tutored Madonna in chess. In the video of her song "The Power of Good-Bye," she plays chess with Croatian actor Goran Visnjic.

Zsuzsa Makai (1945-1987) was a Romanian-Hungarian Woman International Master (1970). In 1980, she won the Hungarian women's championship.

Marina Makropoulou, nee Pogorevici, (1960- ) is a Romanian-Greek Woman Grandmaster (1982). She is the daughter of Romanian Women's Chess Champion Maria Albule?, nee Pogorevici. In 1982, Marina was the first Romanian chess player to be awarded the Woman Grandmaster title. In 1984, she won the Romanian women's chess championship. She won the Greek women's championship 9 times. She has played in 14 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Gulnar Mammadova (1991- ) is an Azerbaijani Woman Grandmaster (2012) and International Master (2017). In the 2016 Women's Chess Olympiad, she won the individual gold medal for the best performance on board 3.

Alisa Maric (1970- ) is the twin sister of Mirjana Maric. She is a Serbian women's grandmaster (1988) and an International Master (1993). Alisa and Mirjana are the only twin grandmasters in history. At age 12, she was Belgrade women's champion. In 1985, she was the World's under-16 Women's Champion. In 1986, she was Yugoslavia Women's Champion. In 1991, she was the world women's championship challenger, but lost to Xie Jun. She is the mother of twins. She as a PhD in Economics.

Mirjana Mari? (1970- ) is the twin sister of Alisa Maric. She is a Serbian women's grandmaster (1991) and former Cadet World Champion (1985). Mirjana and Alisa are the only twin grandmasters in history. She has a degree in mathematics from Belgrade University. She is married to IM Zoran Stamenkovic.

Marie de France (1130-1190) is the earliest known French female writer and the first woman writer to allude to chess. In her romance work Eliduc, she wrote: "The King, rising from high table, went to his daughter's chambers to play at his beloved chess with an invited foreign guest. His daughter, sitting next to him, was eager to learn chess. When Eliduc came in, the King stopped play."

Beatriz MacArthur Marinello (1964- ) became a National Women's Champion of Chile when she was 16 years old. In 1985, she was awarded the Women's International Master title. She was President of the US Chess Federation from 2003 to 2005.

Abby Marshall (1991- ) is a Woman FIDE Master. In 2009, she won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, the first female ever to have attained the title.

In 1934, Caroline Marshall, husband of Frank Marshall, organized women's events at the Marshall Chess Club.

Ana Matnadze (1983- ) is Georgian-Spanish Woman Grandmaster (2002) and International Master (2006). She has won the Catalan Women's Championship 5 times.

Svetlana Matveeva (1969- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. She won the Soviet Women's Championship in 1984 and 1991.

Stepanka Mayer, nee Vokralova, (1949- ) is a Czech-German Woman International Master (1970). She won the Czechoslovak women's championship 5 times.

Mitzi Mayfair (1915-1976) played chess. A photo of her playing chess at the Pan-American Chess Congress in 1945 appeared in the October issue of Chess Review. In August 1945, she played in the Ladies' tournament under her married name, Mrs. Charles Henderson, or Lyn Henderson. She had been playing chess for a little over a year. She won one game and lost 7 games. She later took up postal chess.

Alisa Melekhina (1991- ) is a Woman International Master and FIDE master (2011). She is a classically trained ballerina and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School at the age of 22. She is the first female Pennsylvania State Champion.

Salome Melia (1987- ) is a Georgian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2008 and 2010, she won the Women's Georgian Chess Championship.

Olga Menchik (1907-1944) was a Czech-British female chess master. She was the sister of Vera Menchik.

Vera Francevna Menchik Stevenson (1906-1944) was born to English and Czech parents, in Moscow. Her family settled in England in 1921. She took chess lessons from Maroczy in her teenage years. In 1927, Vera won the London ladies championship, and her sister, Olga, took 2nd place. In 1937, she married R.H.S. Stevenson, secretary of the British Chess Federation. In June 1944, Vera Menchik Stevenson, women's world chess champion since 1927, was killed when a V-1 rocket bombing raid hit her home (47 Gauden Road, Clapham) in South London. Her younger sister, Olga Menchik Rubery, and mother also died in the air raid. Their bomb shelter, a few yards away, was undamaged. Today, the address is an apartment complex. She was World's Women Champion from 1927 until her death on June 26, 1944. She has been the longest reigning Women's World Chess Champion (17 years). She would have extended it longer if she had not been killed. At the time of her death, she was serving on the editorial staff of Chess as games editor.

Edith Michell (1872-1951) was an English female chess master. She won the British women's championship 3 times.

Sylvia Miles (1932- ) was once a competitive chess player. She played in New York chess tournaments in the early 1960s. She was a member of the Manhattan Chess Club in the 1960s. She said she took up backgammon to distract herself from chess. She said she had become too much of a chess bum. She claims she played chess with Bobby Fischer. She was an Academy-award Best Supporting actress nominee for Midnight Cowboy in 1969

Sophie Milliet (1983- ) is a French Woman Grandmaster (2003) and International Master (2009). She has won the French women's championship 6 times.

Lilit Mkrtchian (1982- ) is an Armenian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. She has won the Armenian women's championship 4 times.

Nisha Mohota (1980- ) is an Indian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. She became the then youngest Woman International Master (WIM) in April 1995 at the age of 14 years, 6 months and 13 days on April 26, 1995. In 2005, she won the women's championship of India.

Maria Teresa Mora-Iturralde (1902-1980) was a Cuban International Master (1950) who, at age 14, was the only person known to have studied chess under Capablanca. In 1915, she won the school chess championship of Cuba. In 1922, she won the Dewar Cup (named after Sir John Dewar) of the Havana Chess Club, which at the time was considered equivalent to the Cuban National Chess Championship. She was the only woman to have ever won the Cuban championship and was Cuban Woman's Champion from 1938 until she retired from competitive play in 1960. She worked for the Cuban Ministry of Education.

Eva Moser (1982- ) is an Austrian Woman Grandmaster (2003) and International Master (2004). In 2006, she won the absolute Austrian Chess Championship (men and women), becoming the first woman to do so. In 2010 and 2011, she won the Austrian women's championship. She has a degree in Business Administration.

Marion Mott-McGrath (1940- ) is an Australian chess player. In 1966, she won the first Australian Women's Chess Championship. She also won it in 1969, 1976, and 1980. She played for Australia in 6 Chess Olympiads.

Batkhuyagiin Munguntuul (1987- ) is a Mongolian Woman Grandmaster (2003) and International Master (2010).

Margareta Muresan (1950- ) is a Romanian woman chess master. She won the Romanian women's championship 3 times.

Anna Muzychuk (1990- ) is a Ukrainian-Slovene Grandmaster (2012). In 2003, she won the Ukrainian Women's Championship. In 2014 and 2016, she won the Women's World Blitz Chess Championship. In 2016, she won the Women's Rapid Chess Championship. In 2017, she finished 2nd in the Women's World Championship. In November 2017, she announced she would boycott the 2017 Women's World Speed Chess Championship, to be held in Saudi Arabia, due to Saudi Arabia's rules regarding women. Her peak rating was 2606 in 2012, when she was ranked the #2 woman in the world.

Marilyn Olegivna Muzychuk (1992- ) is a Ukrainian Grandmaster (2015). She was Women's World Champion from 2015 to 2016. In 2012 and 2013, she was women's champion of Ukraine. Her peak rating was 2563 in 2016.

Yvette Nagel (1964- ) is a Dutch Woman FIDE Master. She is the wife of Yasser Seirawan.

Marina Nechaeva (1986- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster (2006) and International Master (2009).

Verica Nedeljkovic, nee Jovanovic, (1929- ) is a Serbian Woman Grandmaster (1978). She won the Yugoslav women's championship 6 times. She was a ship engineer by profession and was a lecturer at the University of Belgrade.

Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Neely (1968- ) is an American Woman International Master (1986). In 1986, she took 2nd in the U.S. women's chess championship.

Katy van der Mije-Nicolau (1940-2013) was a Dutch-Romanian Woman Grandmaster (1976). She won the Romanian women's championship 6 times. She was the Dutch women's championship 3 times. She died from cardiac arrest at the age of 73.

Nomin-Erdene Davaademberel (2000- ) is a Mongolian chess player. In 2010, she won the Girls' under-10 World Youth Championship.

Waltraud Nowarra, nee Schameitat, (1940-2007) was a German Woman Grandmaster (1966). She won the East German women's championship 7 times.

Lea Nudelman (1955- ) is a Soviet-Israeli woman chess master. She played for Israel in 3 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Daniela Nutu-Gajic (1957- ) is a Romanian-Australian Woman Grandmaster (1986). She won the Romanian women's championship 3 times. In 1989, she won the Yugoslav women's championship. In 1995, she won the Australian women's championship. She is Australia's only Woman Grandmaster. She works in the Information Technology (IT) industry.

Gabriela Olarasu (1964- ) is a Romanian Woman Grandmaster (1997). She won the Romanian women's championship 6 times. She played for Romania in 8 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Iulija Osmak (1998- ) is a Ukrainian Woman Grandmaster (2016) and International Master (2017). In 2012, she won the Girls under-12 world youth chess championship.

Evgenija Ovod (1982- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster and International Master.

Elisabeth Pahtz (1985- ) is a German Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 1999, she won the German women's championship. In 2005, she won the World Junior Girls Championship.

Nazi Paikidze (1993- ) is a Georgian-American Woman Grandmaster (2010) and International Master (2012). In 2016, she won the U.S. women's championship.

In 1884, the Sussex Chess Association in England sponsored the first women's chess tournament. It was won by Miss Parvess on tiebreak over Mrs. Dunhill.

In 1857, Amalie Paulsen Lellmann (1831-1869) defeated Judge Alexander Meek in an unofficial game during the first American Chess Congress. She was the sister of Wilfred and Louis Paulsen, chess masters.

Peng Zhaoqin (1968- ) is a Chinese-born Dutch Grandmaster (2004). She has won the Chinese Women's Championship 3 times. She has won the Dutch Women's Championship 13 times. In 2004, she tied for 1st in the European Women's Championship. Her peak rating was 2472 in 2002.

Corina Peptan (1978- ) is a Romanian Woman Grandmaster and International Master.

Irina Perevertkina (1967- ) is a Russian Correspondence Grandmaster (2011). She won the 9th world women's correspondence championship (2011-2014) and the 10th world women's correspondence championship (2014-2017).

Margareta Perevoznic, nee Covali, (1936- ) was a Romanian Woman International Master (1967). In 1962, she won the Romanian women's championship.

Dr. Barbara Pernici (1956- ) is an Italian Woman FIDE master. She won the Italian women's championship 5 times. She has a doctorate degree in computer science from Stanford University. She is a professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Sona Pertlova (1988-2011) was a Czech Woman International Master (2008). She died of cancer.

Svetlana Petrenko (1974- ) is a Moldovan Woman Grandmaster (2001) and International Master (2004). She has won the Moldovan women's championship 10 times. In 2005, she won the men's chess championship of Moldova.

Phan Le Thao Nguyen (1987- ) is a Vietnamese Woman Grandmaster.

Jacqueline Rothschild Piatigorsky (1911-1991) was married to Gregor Piatigorsky and woman chessplayer and patron. She played in several U.S. Women's Championships. In 1961, she sponsored a chess match between Fischer and Reshevsky. She asked Fischer to rearrange his schedule and play his match game earlier so she could attend the match and her husband's concert later that evening. Fischer refused to play earlier and was forfeited.

Olga Podrazhanskaya (1948- ) is an Israeli Woman International Master (1982). She has won the Israeli women's championship 3 times. She played for Israel in 5 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Natalia Andreevna Pogonina (1985- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster (2004). In 1998, she won the Russian under-14 Girls Chess Championship. In 2012, she won the Women's Russian Chess Championship. In 2015, she was the runner-up of the Women's World Chess Championship. Her peak rating was 2508 in 2014. She lists her hobbies as flamenco, music, photography, travelling, sports, literature and poetry.

Elisabeta Polihroniade, nee Ionescu, (1935-2016) was a Romanian Woman Grandmaster (1982). She won the Romanian women's championship 7 times. She was a journalist and broadcaster, with her own daily radio program on contemporary culture. She was the editor of Gambit, the Romanian chess magazine, and wrote many books.

Judit Polgar (1976- ) was playing blindfold chess at the age of five. She was playing in chess tournament at the age of 6. At age 9, she was rated 2080. She beat her first International Master at age 10. She beat her first Grandmaster at age 11. She became a GM at age 15. She is considered the strongest female chessplayer in history. She was once ranked #8 in the world and was #1 ranked woman in the world for over 20 years. Her peak rating was 2735 in 2005. She announced her retirement from competitive chess in 2014. She also plays ping pong and tennis. She said her hobbies were animals, skiing, and going to the theatre.

Sofia Polgar (1974- ) is a strong International Master (1990) and a Woman Grandmaster (1988). In 1986, she was World under-14 Girls Champion. In 1989 Sofia (Zsofia) Polgar achieved the highest performance rating ever recorded when she scored 8.5 out of 9 at an international tournament in Rome. Her performance rating was over 2900. She was a two-time Gold medalist with the Hungarian national women's team in 1988 and 1990. In 1994, she took 2nd place at the World Junior Chess Championship. Her peak rating was 2505 in 1998. She lives in Israel and has worked as a chess teacher and artist. She is married to Israeli GM Dr. Yuna Kosashvili.

In 1982, at the age of 12, Susan Polgar (1969- ) won the first World Under-16 (Girls) Championship, held in Le Havre, France. In 1984, at age 15, she was the top-rated female chessplayer in the world. In 1986, Susan Polgar became the first woman in history to qualify for the "men's" World Chess Championship. In 1986, Susan Polgar was banned from the men's world chess championship after qualifying, forcing FIDE to change the rules and allow women to compete against men. In January 1991, she became the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title in the conventional way of achieving three Grandmaster norms and an Elo rating over 2500. In 2009, Grandmaster Susan Polgar and her husband were banned from the USCF after being accused of posting nasty remarks on the Internet in the name of another chessplayer. She has coached Webster University to 5 Pan-American intercollegiate championships in a row. Her peak rating was 2577 in 2005.

Maria Porubszky-Angyalosine (1945- ) is a Hungarian Woman International Master (1971). In 1979, she won the Hungarian women's chess championship. She played for Hungary in 3 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Edith Charlotte Price (1872-1956) was five-time British Ladies' Champion (1922, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1948). She first played in the British Ladies Championship in 1912, finishing 2nd. She won it in 1948 at the age of 76, the oldest player ever to win a national championship. She was the woman's world chess championship challenger in 1927 and 1933. She founded the Gambit Chess Rooms in Budge Row for men only (except for waitresses), which was still active until 1958. This chess club was opened every day of its existence but for two days. It was closed for two days in September 1940 because it was bombed during a Nazi raid.

Iweta Rajlich (1981- ) is a Polish International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She has won the Polish Women's championship multiple times. She is married to Vasik Rajlich.

Olita Rause (1962- ) is a Latvian Woman Grandmaster (1993), International Master (1995) and Correspondence Grandmaster (1998). She as a Master of Philology degree.

Birdie Reeve Kay (1907-1996) was considered the world's cleverest girl of her age. She was able to play 10 chess games simultaneously and was considered one of the best women chessplayers in America. She later became an American champion typist who could type over 200 words, or 800 letters, per minute. She was billed as the "World Fastest Typist." She died of a heart attack at the age of 89.

Salome Reischer (1899-1980) was an Austrian Woman International Master (1952). She won the Women's Austrian Championship 3 times.

Dana Reizniece-Ozola (1981- ) is the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia. She is also a Woman Grandmaster (2001). She has won the Women's Latvian Chess Championship 4 times. She won the European Girls under-18 Championship in 1998 and 1999. She played for Latvia in the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, beating world champion Hou Yifan in the final round. She has played for Latvia in 8 Chess Olympiads. Her peak rating was 2355 in 1999.

In 1804, Madame de Remusat (1780-1824) played chess with Napoleon Bonaparte at the Malmaison Castle. The occasion was immortalized by several paintings.

Eva Repkova (1975- ) is a Slovak Woman Grandmaster (1995) and International Master (2007). In 1991, she won the Czechoslovakian Women's Championship. In 2003, 2010, and 2013, she won the Slovak Women's Championship.

Alessandra Riegler (1961- ) is an Italian Correspondence Chess Grandmaster. She won the 6th Women's Correspondence Championship (2000-2005). She won the Italian Women's championship 4 times.

Friedl Rinder (nee Benzinger) (1905-2001) was German Woman International Master (1957). In 1939, she won the first Women's German Chess Championship. She won the Women's West German championship 4 times (1949, 1955, 1956, and 1959). She played for West Germany in 3 Chess Olympiads.

In 1937, the first U.S. Women's Chess Championship was held at the Marshall Chess Club in New York. It was won by Belgian-born Adele Rivero (1908-1992), scoring 8 wins and 1 draw. She won it again in 1940.

Julia Roberts (1967- ) plays chess. She always asks for a chess set in her trailer during the making of her movies. She played chess in Pretty Woman.

Paula Andrea Rodriguez-Rueda (1996- ) is a Colombian Woman International Master. In 2013, she won the Women's Colombian Chess Championship.

Katerina Rohonyan (1984- ) is a Ukrainian-American Woman Grandmaster (2004). In 2000, she won the Ukrainian women's chess championship.

Catharina Roodzant (1896-1999) was a Dutch chess master. She won the Dutch Women's Championship 3 times.

Celine Roos (1953- ) is a French-Canadian Woman International Master (1985). Her father, Michel, was French champion in 1964. Her brother, Louis, was French champion in 1977. Her mother, Jacqueline, was a Correspondence Chess Grandmaster. She played for Canada in 4 Women's Chess Olympiads.

In July 1955, Nancy Roos (1905-1957) was in a car accident just before the U.S. women's championship and had spinal injuries. She recovered to win the women's championship a few months later.

Dr. Alexey Wilhelmina Root (1965- ) is a chessplayer, teacher, and writer. In 1989, she won the US Women's Chess Championship. She earned a PhD in education from UCLA in 1999. She is Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, and has written six books on the relationship between chess and education. She is married to Internation Master (1988) Doug Root.

Salme Rootare (1913-1987) was an Estonian International Master (1957). She won the Estonian Women's championship 15 times. She was marred to Vidrik Rootare.

Dr. Christine Rosenfeld (1936- ) was the first US correspondence International Woman Master (1990). She is a medical doctor.

Laura Ross (1988- ) is an American Woman FIDE Master.

Padmini Rout (1994- ) is an Indian Woman Grandmaster (2007) and International Master (2015). In 2014 and 2015, she won the women's championship of India. She had a degree in Commerce.

Vesna Rozic (1987-2013) was a Slovenian Woman International Master. She won the Slovenian women's championship in 2007 and 2010. She died from peritoneal cancer at the age of 26.

Ilze Rubene (1958-2002) was a Latvian Woman International Master. In 1976 and 1995, she won the Latvian women's championship. She died in a car accident.

In 1963 Mrs. Edvige Rubinstein of Milan, Italy was the first woman to divorce her husband because he played chess. The court ruled that she was entitled to the divorce and custody of the children because her husband was so obsessed with chess that he refused to work and support their two children.

In 1927, Olga Rubtsova (1909-1994), at the age of 17, won the first Soviet Women's Chess Championship, held in Moscow. She also won it in 1931, 1937, and 1948. In September 1956, Olga Rubtsova won the Women's World Chess Championship after finishing ahead of Elisaveta Bykova and Lyudmila Rudenko. in a match-tournament, held in Moscow. Each played an 8-game match with each other. Rubtsova scored 10 points, followed by Bykova with 9.5 points, and Rudenko with 4.5 points. She became the fourth Women's World Chess Champion. She is the only person to become World Champion in both over-the-board and correspondence chess.

Ludmilla Vladmirovna Rudenko (1904-1986) was an International woman grandmaster (1976) from Leningrad. In 1928, she became women's champion of Moscow. She was the first Soviet woman to capture the World Women's Championship. In January 1950, Lyudmila Rudenko (1904-1986) won the 8th Women's Chess Championship, scoring 11.5 points out of 15 (9 wins, 1 loss, and 5 draws). Her only loss was the American player Gisela Kahn Gresser (1906-2000). The event was a 16-player round robin. The 16 players were from 12 different countries, with the four Soviet players taking the top four spots. After the tournament, she was awarded the International Master (IM) and Woman International Master (WIM) titles. She was the first woman awarded the IM title. She was USSR Women's champion in 1952. She lost the World Women's Championship in 1953 to Elizaveta Bykova (+4-7=2). Her occupation was an economic planner.

Mary Rudge (1842-1919) was winner of the first Women's International tournament, held at the Ladies' Club in London in 1897. She was 55 and the oldest of the 20 players. She won the event with 18 wins and 1 draw (she won 60 pounds). She was the first woman member of the Bristol Chess Club, which did not allow women to be members of the club until she joined in 1872. In 1889, she became the first woman in the world to give simultaneous chess exhibitions. In her first exhibition, she took on 6 opponents at once and won all her games. By the end if 1889, she was being hailed as the leading lady chessplayer in the world. In 1898, she played against world champion Emanuel Lasker in a simultaneous display in London. Lasker was unable to finish the game with her in the time available, and conceded defeat because he would be lost with best play.

Anna Rudolf (1987- ) is an International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She won the Hungarian Women's Championship in 2008, 2010, and 2011. In December 2007, Anna Rudolf, a Hungarian Woman Grandmaster and International Master, was accused of cheating by some of the male players in the Vandoeuvre Open chess tournament in France. She was allegedly receiving transmissions of chess moves through her container of lip gloss. One of the male players even refused to shake hands with her in the final game and demanded that the arbiter take further actions against her. At the time, Rudolf was leading the tournament by half a point. She was so shocked by the accusations that she lost the final round and ended up in 9th place.

Tania Sachdev (1986- ) is an Indian Woman Grandmaster (2005) and International Master (2008). In 2002, she won the Asian Junior Girls Championship. She is a trained Indian classical dancer.

Dinara Saduakassova (1996- ) is a Kazakhstani Woman Grandmaster (2012) and International Master (2017). In 2016, she won the World Junior Girls Championship.

Jill St. John (1940 - ) plays chess. She has played chess with Henry Kissinger.

Danuta Samolewicz-Owczarek (1929-2006) was a Polish woman master.

Elaine Zelia Saunders (1926-2012) was a child prodigy. She won the World Junior Women's championship at the age of 10, and repeated it at age 11. She won the British Ladies Champion (1939, 1946, 1956, 1965) and World under-21 Ladies Champion at age 13. She was the youngest person to win the British Ladies' Championship at age 13 years and 6 months until 2000, when Humpy Koneru won it at the age of 13 years and 4 months. In 1952, she married the chess writer David Brine Pritchard and was known as Mrs. Elaine Pritchard. She died on her 86th birthday. She was a University Lecturer in Classics at Oxford University.

Diane Savereide (1954- ) is an International Woman Master (1975) and six-time winner of the US Women's Chess Championship. She won in 1975 and 1976. In 1977 and 1978 she shared the championship with Rachel Crotto. She won it again in 1981 and 1984. In 1982 she was ranked number 10 on the list of the world's top women. She lost the title in 1986 to Inna Izrailov. She was the top woman player in the 1976 US Open. She works as a software developer in Los Angeles. She began playing chess at 17.

Anastasia Savina (1992- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster.

Stefka Savova (1958- ) is a Bulgarian Woman International Master (1983). In 1986, she won the Bulgarian women's championship. She played for Bulgaria in 3 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Paulette Schwartzmann (1894-1953?) was a Latvian-French-Argentine chess player. She won the Women's French Championship 7 times. She won the Womens's Argentine Championship 4 times.

Marie Rachel Sebag (1986- ) is a French Grandmaster (2008). She has won the French Women's Chess Championship twice. Her peak rating was 2537 in 2013.

Elena Sedina (1968- ) is a Ukrainian-Italian Woman Grandmaster (1996) and International Master (1999). In 1988 and 1990, she won the Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship. In 1990, she graduated from the University of Kiev with a degree in Economics.

Agnes Mary Selenski (1906-1967) was an American chess player from Philadelphia. In 1962, she tied for 8th-9th in the US women's chess championship.

Lidia Semenova (1951- ) is a Ukrainian Woman Grandmaster (1982). In 1978, she won the Women's Soviet Chess Championship. In 1981, she tied for 1st in the Leningrad zonal tournament. In 1984, at the 26th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece, she scored 9.5 out of 19, winning the gold medal for top Reserve board.

Jennifer Shahade (1980- ) is a Woman Grandmaster (2005) and a two-time U.S. Women's Champion (2002 and 2004). She is the author of Chess Bitch (2005). In 1998, she became the first and only female to win the U.S. Junior Open. She has a degree in comparative literature at New York University. She is also a professional poker player.

Elizabeth Shaughnessy (1937- ) is an Irish-American chess player. She is a former Irish Women's Chess Champion. She is an architect by profession.

In 1934, the first U.S. Women's Open Chess Championship was held in Chicago. It was won by Virginia Sheffield.

Shen Yang (1989- ) is a Chinese Woman Grandmaster (2006) and International Master (2013). In 2006, she won the Girls' World Junior Championship. In 2009, she won the Chinese Women's Championship.

Brooke Shields (1965- ) plays chess. She was a member of the 1990 World chess Championship organizing committee that was held in New York.

Katherine "Kate" Sillars Gasser (1947- ) is an American chess player. She was only 14 when she qualified for the 1962 US women's chess championship. She tied for 8th-9th in the 1962 US women's championship, held in New York. She won the Illinois women's championship in 1964.

Almira Skripchenko (1976- ) is a French Woman Grandmaster. In 1992, she won the World Under-16 girls championship. In 2001, she won the second European Women's Individual Chess Championship.

Monika So?ko (nee Bobrowska) (1978- ) is a Polish grandmaster (2008). She won the Polish women's championship 8 times. In the 2008 Women's World Championship, she was involved in a game which resulted in a dispute about the interpretation of the FIDE rules of chess. In an armageddon game she needed a win to advance to the next round. The position got down to each player having only a king and a knight in which a checkmate position is possible but cannot be forced. Her opponent, Sabina-Francesca Foisor, ran out of time under the time control. Since checkmate cannot be forced with this material, the arbiter initially ruled that the game was a draw, therefore her opponent advanced to the next round. So?ko appealed, pointing out that the rules state that what matters is not whether or not checkmate can be forced, but rather it is possible. The arbiter compared the possible checkmate position to a helpmate, in which the defender has to cooperate in order to get to the checkmate. So?ko won the appeal and advanced to the next round. She is married to Polish GM Bartosz Socko.

Ana Srebrnic (1984- ) is a Slovene Woman Grandmaster. She won the Slovenia women's championship in 2008 and 2012.

Tereza Stadler, nee Jovanovic, (1936-2001) was a Yugoslavian Woman Grandmaster (1977). In 1964, she won the Yugoslav women's championship.

Nava Starr, nee Shterenberg (1949- ), born in Latvia, is a Canadian Woman International Master. She has won the Canadian women's chess championship 8 times. She has played for Canada in 13 Chess Olympiads. She has played in 6 Women's World Chess Championships. In 1976, she won the gold medal on board 2 at the Women's Chess Olympiad in Haifa, Israel. She has played 147 games in Chess Olympiads, more than any other Canadian player, men or women.

Patricia Anne Sunnucks Mothersill (1927- ) is an English Woman International Master (1954). She was British Women's champion in 1957, 1958, and 1964. She was a major in the Women's Royal Army Corps and was not allowed to travel to the USSR.

Antoaneta Stefanova (1979- ) is a Bulgarian grandmaster (2002). In 1989, she won the Girls under-10 World Championship. In 1995, she won the Bulgarian women's championship. She was the 10th women's world champion (2004-2006). She won the title in 2004 in a 64-player knockout tournament held in Elista, Kalmykia. Her peak rating was 2560 in 2003 when she was ranked #2 in the world for women. In 2012, she was the runner-up in the Women's World Chess Championship.

On August 20, 1935, Agnes Bradley Stevenson (nee Lawson) (1873-1935) was killed by a propeller of an airplane. She was four-time British Ladies' Champion (1920, 1925, 1926, and 1930) and was married to Rufus Stevenson, the editor of the British Chess Magazine. She was on her way to the Women's World Championship from Berlin to Warsaw by plane. The aircraft stopped in Pozen (now known as Poznan), Poland and she left the aircraft to have her passport checked. Thinking the plane was leaving, she ran for it, but approached the front of the plane instead of the cabin. The propellers, which had been started, hit her in the head and killed her instantly.

Ottilie Stibaner (1908-1972) was a German woman chess master. In 1965, she won the West German Women's Chess Championship.

Florence Hutchison Stirling (1858-1948) was a Scottish female chessplayer. She was a member of the Edinburgh Ladies' Chess Club. She won the Scottish women's championship 5 times. In 1913, she tied for 1st in the British Ladies' Chess Championship, but lost the play-off to Mrs. Moseley. In 1927, she took 8th place in the first Women's World Chess Championship, held in London.

Zuzana Stockova (1977- ) is a Slovak Woman Grandmaster (1998) and International Master (2002). In 1993, she won the Slovak Girls under-16 championship.

Irine Kharisma Sukandar (1992- ) is an Indonesian Woman Grandmaster (2009) and an International Master (2014). She has won the Asian women's championship twice. She has won the Indonesian Women's Chess Championship 4 times. She is the first Indonesian to play in a Women's World Championship tournament.

Olga Sukhareva (1963- ) is a Russian Woman Correspondence Grandmaster. She won the 7th women's world correspondence championship (2002-2006) and the 8th women's world correspondence championship (2007-2010).

Patricia Anne Sunnucks Mothersill (1927- ) is an English Woman International Master (1954). She was British Women's champion in 1957, 1958, and 1964. She was a major in the Women's Royal Army Corps and was not allowed to travel to the USSR.

Karina Szczepkowska-Horowska (1987- ) is a Polish Woman Grandmaster (2010) and International Master (2016).

Grazyna Szmacinska (1953- ) is a Polish Woman International Master (1978). She won the Polish women's championship 6 times. She played for Poland in 6 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Elena Tairova (1991-2010) was a Belarusian Woman Grandmaster (2006) and International Master (2007). In 2005, she won the World under-14 Girls Championship. She died at the age of 18.

Tan Zhongyi is a Chinese Grandmaster (2017). She won the World Youth Under-10 Girls Championship twice. In 2002, she won the World Youth Under-12 Girls Championship. In 2015, she won the Chinese Women's Chess Championship. In 2017, she won the Women's World Chess Championship. Her peak rating was 2518 in 2016.

Margareta Teodorescu (1932-2013) was a Romanian Woman Grandmaster (1985). She won the Romanian women's championship 4 times. She played for Romania in 3 Women's Chess Olympiads.

In 1887, Miss Eliza Mary Thorold won the Ladies Challenge Cup at Stamford, England, sponsored by the Counties Chess Association. She won a silver cup from Reverend Arthur Skipworth.

Hendrika Timmer (1926-1994) was a Dutch woman master. She won the Dutch women's championship twice (1971 and 1972). On February 7, 1994, she suffered a heart attack during a chess match in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. She died in a hospital 3 days later.

Paunka Todorova (1930- ) is a Bulgarian woman chess master. She won the Bulgarian women's chess championship twice.

Alice Tonini was an Italian female chess master. She was an Italian citizein who lived in France. She won the Women's French Chess Championship in Paris in 1932, 1933, and 1934. However, since she was not French, the title went to Jeanne D'Autremont, Paulette Schwartzmann, and Maud Flandin in that order.

Eileen Tranmer (1910-1983) was a British chessplayer who won the British Ladies' Championship with a perfect 11-0 in 1949. She won the British Ladies' Championship four times (1947, 1949, 1953, 1961). She took 5th-7th place in the World Championship for Women in 1949-1950. She took 7th place at the 1952 Women's Candidates Tournament. She was awarded the International Woman Master title in 1950. She was a musician by profession until deafness compelled her to retire. She then took up chess.

Evelina Trojanska (1929-2000) was a Bulgarian Woman International Master (1972). In 1973, she won the Bulgarian women's championship. She died in a car crash.

Ingrid Tuk was a Dutch woman chess master. In 1968, she won the Dutch women's championship. She worked in s strip club in Amsterdam.

Anna Yuriyivna Ushenina (1985- ) is a Ukrainian Grandmaster (2012). She was the 14th Women's World Chess Champion from 2012 to 2013. She won the Ukrainian Girls under-20 Championship at age 15. In 2016, she won the European Women's Championship. Her peak rating was 2502 in 2007.

Dr. Irina Mikhailova Umanskayal (1963- ) is a Woman Grandmaster from Russia. She has a PhD in pedagogy. Her dissertation was "Developing of advanced junior chess-players with the help of chess software and Internet resources."

Szidonia Vajda (1979- ) is a Romanian-Hungarian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2002, she played for Hungary in the 35th Chess Olympiad, held in Bled, Slovenia. Her brother, IM Levente Vajda, played for Romania at that Olympiad. In 2004 and 2015, Szidonia won the Hungarian Women's Championship.

Tatjana Vasilevich (1977- ) is a Ukrainian International Master. She has won the Ukrainian women's championship 3 times.

Sabrina Vega-Gutierrez (1987- ) is a Spanish Woman Grandmaster (2007) and International Master (2013). She has won the Spanish women's championship 3 times.

Szuzsa Veroci (1949- ) is a Hungarian Woman Grandmaster (1978). She has played for Hungary in 10 Women's Chess Olympiads.

Iva Videnova (1987- ) is a Bulgarian Woman Grandmaster (2011) and International Master (2015). She has won the Bulgarian women's championship 3 times.

Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (1979- ) was India's first Woman Grandmaster (2001) and India's first female International Master (2001). In 1988 and 1990, she won the Under-10 National Girls' Chess Championship. She won the National Under-12 Girls' Championship twice. She won the Asian Women's Zonal Championship in 1997 and 1999. She is married to GM Siram Jha. Her peak rating was 2485 in 2005.

Margarita Voiska (1963- ) is a Bulgarian woman chess master. She won the Bulgarian women's championship 11 times. In 2013, she won the Women's European Senior Chess Championship.

Larissa Volpert (1926-2017) was a Soviet Woman Grandmaster (1977). She won the Soviet women's chess championship in 1954, 1958, and 1959. She was a Russian and Estonian philogist by profession. She died at the age of 91.

Maria Cornelia Vreeken, nee Bouwman (1928- ) is a Dutch Woman Grandmaster (1987). She won the Dutch women's championship 5 times.

Wang Yu (1982- ) is a Chinese Woman Grandmaster (2003) and International Master (2007). In 2005, she won the Chinese Women's Chess Championship.

Cathy Warwick (nee Forbes) (1968- ) won the British Women's Chess Championship in 1987, 1988, and 1994. She was awarded the title of Woman International Master (1990), but resigned it 15 years later in protest at the whole principle of having separate "inferior" women's titles.

Ursula Wasnetsky (1931-2009) was a German woman chess master. In 1968, she won the West German women's championship. In the early 1970s, she organized the first girls' tournaments in West Germany. In 1992, she was elected to the FIDE Women's Commission.

Miyoko Watai (1945- ) is a Japanese Woman International Master. She is the general secretary of the Japan Chess Association. In 2004, she married Bobby Fischer.

Harriet Jona Worrall (1836-1928) was considered as America's strongest woman chessplayer. She was the wife of Thomas Herbert Worrall. They were married in 1856. She learned chess from her husband. When he died in 1868, she was left destitute. In 1886, she was suffering from epileptic attacks and depression. In 1890, she attempted suicide by drinking carbolic acid. She later recovered and played a match for the US women's championship with Nellie Showalter, the wife of Jackson W. Showlater. When Nellie was leading 3-1 with one draw, the match was interrupted on account of Nellie Showalter's illness and never resumed. Because Harriet was a friend of Nellie, she never claimed victory. In 1897, Harriet sailed for England to play in the First Ladies' International Chess Tournament in London. She finished 4th with 13 wins and 6 losses, earning $150 in prize money. She died of natural causes at the age of 92.

Xie Jun (1970- ) is a Chinese grandmaster player (1993) who defeated Maya Chiburdanidze (Women's World chess champion since 1978) for the Women's World Championship title in 1991 after a 15 game match in Manila. She became the 7th Women's World Champion and the first from Asia She was the first player outside the Soviet Union to become world women's champion. She defended her title in 1993 against Nana Ioseliani. She lost her title to Zsuzsa Polgar in 1996. She became Women's World Chess Champion again from 1999 to 2000 when she defeated Alisa Galliamova in 1999 and Qin Kanying in 2000. Her peak rating was 2574 in 2008. Her name is pronounced ‘Chay Yoon.' She is married to GM Wu Shaobin.

Xu Yuhua (1976- ) is a Grandmaster (2007) from China. In 2000 and 2004, she won the Women's World Cup. She won the 11th Women's World Chess Championship in Ekaterinburg, Russia on March 25, 2006. She was Women's World Champion from 2006 to 2008. Her peak rating was 2517 in 2006. She has a Bachelor of Law degree and a Master of Literature, Chinese Linguistics.

Lora Yakova (1932- ) is a Russian Woman Correspondence Grandmaster. She won the 2nd Women's World Correspondence Championship (1972-1977).

Elena Zaiatz (1969- ) is a Russian Woman Grandmaster (1988) and International Master (2005). In 1988, she won the Belarusian Women's Championship.

Anna Zatonskih (1978- ) is an International Master and Woman Grandmaster (1999). In 2001, she won the Ukrainian Women's championship. She has won the US Women's championship 4 times. Her peak rating was 2537 in 2011. She is married to Latvian-born GM Daniel Fridman.

Tatiana Zatulovskaya (1935-2017) was a Russian-born Israeli Woman Grandmaster (1976). She was USSR women's champion in 1960, 1962, and 1963. In 1967, she took 2nd in the Women's Candidates tournament. In 1971, she won the first Women's Interzonal tournament, held in Ohrid. In 1993 and 1997, she won the Women's Seniors World Championship. She was a geological engineer and gymnast.

Zhu Chen (1976- ) is a Chinese-born Qatar Grandmaster (2001). In 1988, she became the first Chinese player to win an international chess competition when she won the World Girls Under-12 Championship. In 1994 and 1996, she won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship. She was Women's World Chess Champion from 2001 to 2004. She did not defend her title in 2004 due to a jammed playing schedule and her pregnancy. She is married to GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki. Her peak rating was 2548 in 2008.

Natalia Zhukova (1979- ), born in Dresden, East Germany, is a Ukrainian Grandmaster (2010). In 1996, she was Ukrainian women's champion at age 16. She has won the European women's championship twice, in 2000 and 2015. Her peak rating was 2499 in 2010. She is married to GM Alexander Grischuk.

Nastassia Ziaziulkina (1995- ) is a Belarusian Woman Grandmaster (2012) and International Master (2014). She has won the Belarusian women's championship 4 times.

Olga Zimina (1982- ) is a Russian-born Italian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2001, she won the Women's World Chess Championship.

Anna Zozulia (1980- ) is a Ukrainian-Belgian Woman Grandmaster and International Master. In 2011, she won the Belgian women's championship.

In October 2020, Netflix began airing The Queen's Gambit television miniseries.  It is based on Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name.  It is a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy that happens to be a girl.  The girl, Beth, gets adopted. learns ches, and starts to pay in chess tournaments.  She starts to win her chess games and becomed determined to become the greatest woman chess player in the world.

Kira Zvorykina (1919-2014), born in Ukraine, was a Woman Grandmaster (1977) from Russia who moved to Bulgaria. She took 1st in 5 Soviet Women championships in 1951, 1953, 1956, 1957 (lost the play-off to Borisenko), and 1958 (lost the play-off to Volpert). She lived in Minsk where she was an engineer and taught chess. In 1959, she won the Women's Candidates tournament and played for the world women's championship. In 1959 she lost to Bykova for the title in Moscow, winning 2, losing 6, and drawing 5. She was married to GM Alexey Suetin. She died 23 days before her 95th birthday.