Elisaveta Ivanovna Bykova (or ''Elisabeth Bykova'',

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Елизаве́та Ива́новна Бы́кова; 4 November 1913 – 8 March 1989) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player and twice

Women's World Chess Champion The Women's World Chess Championship (WWCC) is played to determine the world champion in women's chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE. Unlike with most sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee, wh ...

, from 1953 until 1956, and again from 1958 to 1962. She was awarded the titles of

Woman International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 1950,

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 1953, and

Woman Grandmaster FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 1976. In 2013, she was inducted into the

World Chess Hall of Fame The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit, collecting institution situated in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It features chess exhibits, engages in educational outreach, and maintains a list of ...

Career

Bykova was born to a peasant family. When she was twelve, her family moved to Moscow, where she began to play chess with her brother. Her talent became apparent in 1927, when she won her school's chess championship. In 1938, she won the women's Moscow championship and after the Second World War she was a three-time winner of the

Women's Soviet Chess Championship The Women's Soviet Chess Championship was played in the Soviet Union from 1927 through 1991 to determine the women's chess national champion. The championship was not played on a regular basis in the years 1927–1937 and there was a break during ...

(1946, 1947 and 1950). After winning in 1952 the Women's

Candidates Tournament The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...

in Moscow, in 1953 she defeated in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

the reigning champion

Lyudmila Rudenko Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko (russian: Людми́ла Влади́мировна Руде́нко, uk, Людмила Володимирівна Руденко; 27 July 1904 – 4 March 1986) was a Soviet chess player and the second women' ...

, with seven wins, five losses, and two draws. She lost the title to

Olga Rubtsova Olga Nikolaevna Rubtsova (russian: О́льга Никола́евна Рубцо́ва; 20 August 1909 – 13 December 1994) was a Soviet chess player and the fourth women's world chess champion. In 2015, she was inducted into the World Ches ...

in 1956, but won it back two years later, becoming the first woman to do so. In 1960, she defended successfully the title against

Kira Zvorykina Kira Alekseyevna Zvorykina (, ; September 29, 1919 – September 6, 2014) was a Soviet chess player who spent many years living in Belarus. She was a three-time winner of the Women's Soviet Championship. In 2018, she was inducted into the World ...

(+6 -2 =5), but in 1962, she lost the title against the 21-year-old

Nona Gaprindashvili Nona Gaprindashvili ( ka, ნონა გაფრინდაშვილი; born 3 May 1941) is a former Soviet Union, Soviet and Georgia (country), Georgian chess player, and the first woman ever to be awarded the FIDE title Grandmaster (ch ...

(+0 -7 =4). She worked as an engineer in a large Moscow printing house, and was also an author and columnist about chess in the USSR. Passionate about women's chess, Bykova also wrote three books about

Vera Menchik Vera Francevna Mencikova (russian: Вера Францевна Менчик, ''Vera Frantsevna Menchik''; cz, Věra Menčíková; 16 February 1906 – 26 June 1944), was a Russian-born Czechoslovak chess player who primarily resided in En ...

, Soviet women chess players, and the Women's World Championship. She also promoted chess through lectures and the organization of tournaments.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bykova, Elisaveta 1913 births 1989 deaths Women's world chess champions Chess International Masters Chess woman grandmasters Soviet female chess players Russian female chess players Russian chess writers People from Suzdalsky District 20th-century chess players