Olga Nikolaevna Rubtsova (russian: О́льга Никола́евна Рубцо́ва; 20 August 1909 – 13 December 1994) 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 the fourth

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 ...

. In 2015, 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

Rubtsova won the Soviet Women's Championship four times (1927, 1931, 1937 and 1948). She was second in the

Women's World Chess Championship 1949–50 The 8th Women's World Chess Championship took place from 20 December 1949 to 16 January 1950 in Moscow, Russia. The title had been vacant since the death of Vera Menchik in 1944. The round-robin tournament was won by Lyudmila Rudenko Lyudmila ...

, a point behind

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' ...

. She won the title in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, finishing ahead of Rudenko and

Elisaveta Bykova Elisaveta Ivanovna Bykova (or ''Elisabeth Bykova'', Russian: Елизаве́та Ива́новна Бы́кова; 4 November 1913 – 8 March 1989) was a Soviet chess player and twice Women's World Chess Champion, from 1953 until 1956, and a ...

in a tournament. Rubtsova lost it to Bykova in a match in 1958. In 1957, Rubtsova took part in the inaugural

Women's Chess Olympiad The Women's Chess Olympiad is an event held by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) since 1957 (every two years since 1972), where national women's teams compete at chess for gold, silver and bronze medals. Since 1976 the Women's Chess Olympia ...

in Emmen, the Netherlands, as a member of the USSR team, along with

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 ...

. Soviet Union won the gold medal.

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

awarded her 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 ...

(WIM) 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 ...

(IM) in 1956, 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 ...

(WGM) in 1976. In 1952 she was awarded the title of Honoured Master of Sport of the URSS. Rubtsova also played

correspondence chess Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less common ...

, and became the first women's

world correspondence chess champion The World Correspondence Chess Championship determines the World Champion in correspondence chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest the title. The official World Correspondence Chess Championship is managed by the International Corre ...

in 1972. She finished second in the next championship, only losing the title to Lora Jakovleva on tie-break, and fifth in the one after that. As of today, she remains the only player, male or female, to become world champion in both over-the-board and correspondence chess.

Personal life

Rubtsova graduated from the

Bauman Moscow State Technical University The Bauman Moscow State Technical University, BMSTU (russian: link=no, Московский государственный технический университет им. Н. Э. Баумана (МГТУ им. Н. Э. Баумана)), some ...

. She was also awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubtsova, Olga 1909 births 1994 deaths Chess International Masters Chess woman grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors Sportspeople from Moscow Soviet female chess players Women's world chess champions World Correspondence Chess Champions Russian female chess players Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Bauman Moscow State Technical University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Articles containing video clips 20th-century chess players