Irina Levitina | |
---|---|
Full name | Ирина Соломоновна Левитина |
Country | United States (after 1991) Soviet Union (before 1991) |
Born | Leningrad, Soviet Union | June 8, 1954
Title | Woman Grandmaster (1976) |
FIDE rating | 2405 (August 2024) |
Peak rating | 2425 (July 1993) |
Irina Solomonovna Levitina (born June 8, 1954) is a former Soviet and current American chess and bridge player. In chess, she has been a World Championship Candidate in 1984 and gained the title Woman Grandmaster. In contract bridge she has won six world championship events, four women and two mixed, including play on two world-champion USA women teams.
In 1973, she tied for 2nd–5th in Menorca (interzonal). In 1974, she beat Valentina Kozlovskaya 6,5 : 5,5 in Kislovodsk (semifinal match). In 1975, she lost to Nana Alexandria 8 : 9 in a final match in Moscow. In 1977, she lost to Alla Kushnir 3 : 6 in a quarterfinal match in Dortmund.
In 1982, she took 2nd in Tbilisi (interzonal). In 1983, she beat Nona Gaprindashvili 6 : 4 in Lvov (quarterfinal), and Alexandria 7,5 : 6,5 in Dubna (semifinal). In 1984, she beat Lidia Semenova 7 : 5 in Sochi (final) and became World Women's Championship Challenger. Levitina lost to Maia Chiburdanidze 5½ : 8½ in a title match at Volgograd 1984.
In 1986, she took 7th in Malmö (Candidates Tournament; Elena Akhmilovskaya won). In 1987, she tied for 2nd–4th in Smederevska Palanka (interzonal). In 1988, she tied for 3rd–4th in Tsqaltubo (Candidates). In 1991, she tied for 3rd–4th in Subotica (interzonal). In 1992, she took 6th in Shanghai (Candidates; Susan Polgar won). [1]
She was the Soviet Women's Champion four times—in 1971, 1978 (jointly), 1979, and 1981. [2]
After her emigration in 1990 to the United States, she has also been U.S. Women's Champion in 1991 (jointly), 1992, and 1993 (jointly). [3]
Levitina is now a professional bridge player. She has won 5 world champion titles in women's bridge and many "national" titles (major events at North American Bridge Championships, thrice-annual 10-day meets). Sometime prior to the 2014 European and World meets (summer and October), Levitina ranked 15th among 73 Women World Grand Masters by world masterpoints (MP) and 5th by placing points that do not decay over time. [4]
In 1986, Levitina won the Alpwater Award for the best played hand of the year by a woman player, becoming the first Soviet citizen to win a bridge award. [5]
Leonid Zakharovych Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s, and was among the world's top ten players during that era.
Maia Chiburdanidze is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. She is the sixth Women's World Chess Champion, a title she held from 1978 to 1991, and was the youngest one until 2010, when this record was broken by Hou Yifan. Chiburdanidze is the second woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE, which took place in 1984. She has played on nine gold-medal-winning teams in the Women's Chess Olympiad.
Following are the results of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship from 1937 to date. The tournament determines the woman chess champion of the United States.
The Women's World Chess Championship is a chess match played to determine the Women's World Chess Champion. It has been administered by FIDE since its inception in 1927, unlike the absolute World Chess Championship, which only came under FIDE's control in 1948.
Marta Ivanivna Litynska is a Ukrainian chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
Lidia Kostjantynivna Semenova is a Ukrainian chess player, who holds the title of woman grandmaster.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1993, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Valentina Yakovlevna Kozlovskaya is a Russian chess player. She was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) by FIDE in 1976.
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 1975 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Nona Gaprindashvili, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Alexandria. This was Gaprindashvili's fourth title defense - and the last successful one.
The 1978 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who defeated the incumbent champion Nona Gaprindashvili At only 17 years of age, Chiburdanidze became the sixth and youngest Women's World Champion.
The 1981 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Alexandria after a closely fought match, which ended in an 8-8 tie.
The 1984 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Irina Levitina.
The 1986 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Elena Akhmilovskaya.
The 1988 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Maia Chiburdanidze, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Ioseliani.
The 1993 Women's World Chess Championship was won by Xie Jun, who successfully defended her title against challenger Nana Ioseliani in the title match.
The Women's World Chess Championship was established by FIDE in 1927. The format and regularity of the event has changed many times.
Elena Abramovna Fatalibekova is a Russian chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) since 1977.
Natalia Viktorovna Konopleva was a Soviet and Russian chess player who held the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (1976).
Eliška Richtrová, née Klímová, also Richtrová-Klímová, is a Czech chess player who holds the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (1982). She was a five-time winner of the Czechoslovak Women's Chess Championship.