Elena Abramovna Fatalibekova (; née Rubtsova; born 4 October 1947, in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) is a Russian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player holding the title of

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) since 1977. She is the daughter of fourth

Women's World Chess Champion 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 ...

Olga Rubtsova Olga Nikolayevna Rubtsova (; 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 Chess Hall of Fame. Career Rubtsova won the Soviet Women's Champ ...

and chess master Abram Polyak. Her first great success was the shared victory of the Soviet Junior Girls' Chess Championship in 1963. In 1970 Fatalibekova placed second in a women's international tournament at

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

and the next year won international tournament in

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

. She was awarded 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 ...

in 1970. In 1974 Fatalibekova won 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 durin ...

. Fatalibekova successfully played in the Women's World Chess Championship 1978. In 1976 she won the

Women's Interzonal (ahead of

Maia Chiburdanidze Maia Chiburdanidze ( ka, მაია ჩიბურდანიძე; born 17 January 1961) 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 ...

). In 1977 in the first round of the knock-out series of matches Fatalibekova won against

Valentina Kozlovskaya Valentina Yakovlevna Kozlovskaya (; born 18 April 1938) is a Russian chess player. She was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) by FIDE in 1976. Chess career Kozlovskaya won the Women's Soviet Chess Championship in 1965. She was a mem ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

- 6 : 2 (+4 −0 =4) but in the semifinals lost to

Alla Kushnir Alla Shulimovna Kushnir (; ; 11 August 1941 – 2 August 2013) was a Soviet-born Israeli chess player. She was awarded the FIDE titles of Woman International Master (WIM) in 1962 and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 1976. In 2017, she was inducted ...

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

- 3½ : 6½ (+2 −5 =3). Fatalibekova was awarded the title of

in 1977. She was not able to replicate this success in later Women's World Chess Championships. Fatalibekova placed 6th in the 1979 Women's Interzonal in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

and 8th in the 1982 Women's Interzonal in

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

. In 1994, Fatalibekova competed at the

31st Chess Olympiad The 31st Chess Olympiad (, ''31-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, took pla ...

for the Russian women's team, which also included Irina Kulish,

Galina Strutinskaya Galina Nikolayevna Strutinskaya (; born 1 July 1957) is a Russian chess player, trainer and international arbiter. She won the Women's World Senior Chess Championship in 2011, 2012 and 2015 (the latter in the category 50+). The 2011 victory aut ...

, and Tatiana Roschina. She is three-time winner of the Women's

World Senior Chess Championship The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The 2024 tournament took place in Porto Santo, Portugal from November 16–29, 2024. Overview Originally, the minimum age w ...

(2000, 2001, 2004) and two-time winner of the Women's

European Senior Chess Championship The European Senior Chess Championship is a chess tournament for senior chess players organised by the European Chess Union (ECU). Beginning in 2001, entry was open to men aged sixty or over (60 +) by January 1 of the year the tournament starts. Th ...

(2007, 2008).

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fatalibekova, Elena 1947 births Living people Russian female chess players 20th-century Russian chess players Soviet female chess players Soviet chess players Chess Woman Grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors World Senior Chess Champions Chess players from Moscow 21st-century Russian chess players 20th-century Russian sportswomen