Rowena Mary Bruce (15 May 1919 – 24 September 1999), née Dew, was an English

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 who held the title 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, 1951). She was an eleven-time winner of the

British Women's Chess Championship The British Chess Championships are organised by the English Chess Federation. The main tournament incorporates the British Championship, the English Chess Championships and the British Women's Chess Championship so it is possible, although it has ...

(1937, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1969). She has won the tournament the most.

Biography

From the end of the 1930s to the end of the 1960s, she was one of England's strongest and most well-known female chess players. In 1935, she won the FIDE World Girls Championship. Rowena Mary Bruce won the British Women's Chess Championship eleven times: 1937, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1969 (both last times shared 1st place with Dinah Margaret Norman). In 1952, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, she participated in the Women's Candidates Tournament where she took 12th place. In 1951, she was awarded the FIDE Woman International Master (WIM) title. On 21 June 1946, Bruce played (and lost) a "radio chess" match against

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' ...

. Bruce was one of two women who were part of a twelve-member British team who played in a four-day tournament. The British team played their moves in London while the Russian team played their moves in Moscow. Rowena Mary Bruce played for England in the

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 ...

s: * In 1966, at second board in the 3rd Chess Olympiad (women) in

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

(+5, =5, -2) where she won an individual silver medal, and * In 1969, at second board in the 4th Chess Olympiad (women) in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

(+5, =3, -6). In 1940, she married Ronald Bruce, and the two were married until his death in 1991.

Death

Following a series of small strokes, she died at the age of 80 in 1999.

References

External links

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Rowena Mary Bruce
chess games at 365Chess.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Rowena Mary 1919 births 1999 deaths Sportspeople from Plymouth, Devon English female chess players English chess players Chess Woman International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century chess players