Irina Solomonovna Levitina (born June 8, 1954) is a former Soviet and current American

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 ...

and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

player. In chess, she has been a World Championship Candidate in 1984 and gained the title

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 ...

. In contract bridge she has won six world championship events, four women and two mixed, including play on two world-champion USA women teams.

Chess career

In 1973, she tied for 2nd–5th in

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

(interzonal). In 1974, she beat Valentina Kozlovskaya 6,5 : 5,5 in

Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (; ; ) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is part of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. Demographics Population: Etymology The Rus ...

(semifinal match). In 1975, she lost to

Nana Alexandria Nana Alexandria ( ka, ნანა გიორგის ასული ალექსანდრია, ''Nana Giorgis asuli Aleksandria''; born 13 October 1949) is a Georgian chess player. A three-time Soviet women's champion, she was the c ...

8 : 9 in a final match 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 ...

. In 1977, she 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 ...

3 : 6 in a quarterfinal match in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

. In 1982, she took 2nd in

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 ( ...

(interzonal). In 1983, she beat

Nona Gaprindashvili Nona Gaprindashvili ( ka, ნონა გაფრინდაშვილი; born 3 May 1941) is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. Noted for her aggressive style of play, she was the women's world chess champion from 1962 to 1978, and in 1978 ...

6 : 4 in

Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(quarterfinal), and Alexandria 7,5 : 6,5 in

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of '' naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and o ...

(semifinal). In 1984, she beat Lidia Semenova 7 : 5 in

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 ...

(final) and became World Women's Championship Challenger. Levitina lost to

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 ...

5½ : 8½ in a title match at

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

1984. In 1986, she took 7th in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

(Candidates Tournament;

Elena Akhmilovskaya Elena Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya (born ''Elena Bronislavovna Akhmilovskaya'', ; 11 March 1957 – 18 November 2012) was a Soviet-born American chess player. She was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster by FIDE in 1977. She won the Women Can ...

won). In 1987, she tied for 2nd–4th in

Smederevska Palanka Smederevska Palanka ( sr-cyr, Смедеревска Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District and the geographical region of Šumadija. According to the 2022 census, the town has 20,345 while the municipality ...

(interzonal). In 1988, she tied for 3rd–4th in Tsqaltubo (Candidates). In 1991, she tied for 3rd–4th in

Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

(interzonal). In 1992, she took 6th in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

(Candidates;

Susan Polgar Susan Polgar (born April 19, 1969, as Polgár Zsuzsanna and often known as Zsuzsa Polgár) is a Hungarian-American chess grandmaster. Polgár was Women's World Chess Champion from 1996 to 1999. On FIDE's Elo rating system list of July 1984, a ...

won). She was the Soviet Women's Champion four times—in 1971, 1978 (jointly), 1979, and 1981. 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). Awarded the titles of

WIM Wim is a Dutch masculine given name or a shortened form of Willem and may refer to: * Wim Anderiesen (1903–1944), Dutch footballer * Wim Aantjes (1923–2015), Dutch politician * Wim Arras (born 1964), Flemish Belgian cyclist * Wim Blockman ...

in 1972, and WGM in 1976.

Bridge career

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 North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...

, 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."Women World Grand Masters"
. WBF. Retrieved 2014-11-10. 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.
/ref> Irina Levitina

Bridge accomplishments

Awards

* Alpwater Award 1986

Wins

Venice Cup The Venice Cup is a biennial world championship contract bridge tournament for national of women. It is contested every odd-number year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Bermuda Bowl (open), Wuhan Cup (mixed), ...

(1) 2007 * World Women Team Olympiad (1) 1996 *

McConnell Cup McConnell Cup is a team event for women held every four years as part of the World Bridge Series Championships. The event was inaugurated in 1994 and is named in honor of Ruth McConnell, former treasurer for the World Bridge Federation (WBF) and f ...

(1) 2002 * World Women's Pairs (1) 2006 * Transnational Mixed Teams (1) 2000 *

(9) ** Women's Swiss Teams (3) 2001, 2005, 2007 ** Women's Board-a-Match Teams (3) 2004, 2006, 2008 ** Women's Knockout Teams (3) 1993, 1995, 2008 * United States Bridge Championships (5) ** Women's Team Trials (5) 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009

Runners-up

(1) 2006 *

(5) ** North American Swiss Teams (1) 1995 ** Women's Swiss Teams (1) 2008 ** Women's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2001 ** Women's Knockout Teams (2) 1998, 2004 * United States Bridge Championships (3) ** Women's Team Trials (3) 2000, 2004, 2008

Notable chess games

Nana G Alexandria vs Irina Levitina, Moscow cf (Women) 1975, Sicilian Defense: Kan, Knight Variation (B43), 0-1Irina Levitina vs Goltsova, Sevastopol 1978, Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian, General (B30), 1-0

References

External links

* * * * *
Women Stars
at the

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigio ...

– with biographies (not yet Levitina, November 2014)
LEVITINA Irina
athlete information at the 1st

SportAccord World Mind Games The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) inaugurated the SportAccord World Mind Games December 2011 in Beijing. For all sports, the meet was invitational and the events were not world championships. Beside satisfaction of the participating ...

(2011) * Controversy over anti-Bush placard
New York Times article
,
The Nation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitina, Irina 1954 births Living people 21st-century American women American contract bridge players American female chess players American chess players Chess Woman Grandmasters Jewish chess players Soviet emigrants to the United States Soviet female chess players Soviet chess players Venice Cup players Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century American sportswomen