Stepanka Mayer (née Štěpánka Vokřálová, born 8 July 1949), is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 holds 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, 1970). She is a five-time winner of the Czechoslovak Women's Chess Championship (1968, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978).

Biography

From the end of the 1960s to the end of the 1970s, she was one of the leading Czechoslovakian women's chess players. She has won medals in the Czech women's chess championships six times: five gold (1968, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978) and silver (1975). The medalist of many international women's chess tournaments, including three-time 2nd place in

Wijk aan Zee Wijk aan Zee ( literally ''Neighborhood at Sea'') is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Coru ...

(1969, 1970, 1971). In 1970, she was awarded the FIDE

(WIM) title. Stepanka Mayer played for Czechoslovakia and West Germany 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 1969, at first 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 ...

(+4, =5, -0) and won the team bronze medal and the individual silver medal, * In 1972, at first board in the 5th Chess Olympiad (women) in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

(+5, =5, -1), * In 1974, at second board in the 6th Chess Olympiad (women) in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

(+6, =3, -2). * In 1984, at third board in the 26th Chess Olympiad (women) in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

(+5, =5, -1). In 1978, she emigrated to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, but later moved to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, which one represented since 1982 in chess tournaments. In 1985, she participated in Women's World Chess Championship Interzonal Tournament in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, where stayed at last place. Soon after this, she stopped her active chess playing career.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Stepanka 1949 births Living people Czechoslovak female chess players Czechoslovak chess players Czech female chess players Czech chess players German female chess players German chess players Chess Woman International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors