Kira Zvorykina
Encyclopedia
Kira Alekseyevna Zvorykina (born September 29, 1919, Nikolaev
, Ukraine
) is a former Soviet chess
player who spent many years living in Belarus
. She is a three-time winner of the Women's Soviet Championship
.
) and Lidiya Terpugova and she was one of seven children. Her immediate and extended family were, in her youth, keen chess players and even held their own private chess tournaments. Buoyed from her success in one of these contests at the age of 16, she dared to enter a school competition and won all of her games.
By 1927 the family had resettled in Leningrad (today, Saint Petersburg
). Consequently, the opportunity arose for the young Zvorykina to join the legendary Palace of Young Pioneers' Chess Club
where classes were given by rising star Peter Romanovsky
, then a Candidate Master. At 17, she became the Leningrad Schoolgirl Champion and also began studying at the Institute of Cinematography. Her time for chess gradually become more limited and it wasn't until 1946 that she began to emerge as an important force in world chess, finishing second in the Leningrad Women's Championship.
and together they had a son, Aleksandr, born 1951. Further progress brought Zvorykina up to the pinnacle of Russian Women's chess, as she went on to win the national women's championship outright in 1951, 1953 and 1956. There were also two equal first finishes in 1957 (she lost the tiebreak with Valentina Borisenko
) and in 1958 (with Larisa Volpert
).
In international chess, there were very few women's tournaments held in the 1950s when Zvorykina was at her peak, but she tied for 4th place at the 1952 Moscow
event and beat Anne Sunnucks
(+1 =1 −0) in the USSR versus Great Britain
Match of 1954. Her greatest success occurred in Plovdiv
at the Women's Candidates Tournament of 1959, when victory over a strong field earned her a match with reigning Women's World Champion
Elizaveta Bykova for the title. Unfortunately, the 1960 match coincided with her mother's terminal illness and this undoubtedly affected her play, resulting in a loss by a hefty 4½–8½ margin.
Into the 1960s, she competed in only a small number of international tournaments without much success; a new wave of strong players were by then in the ascendancy, most notably the Azerbaijani, Tatiana Zatulovskaya
and the Georgians, Nona Gaprindashvili
and Nana Alexandria
. In World Championship Candidates tournaments however, she remained a consistent and respected performer throughout the 1950s and well into the 1960s, never achieving less than a top 5 finish.
s of 1957 (Emmen) and 1963 (Split
), Zvorykina produced two sparkling, medal-winning performances. The first resulted in a board 2 score of 12/14, securing both individual and team gold and even overshadowing the accomplishment of board 1 compatriot Olga Rubtsova
, the World Champion. Her second appearance saw her post a similarly impressive 5½/6 score, helping the team to another gold medal. However, as this was achieved from the position of team reserve, no individual medal was awarded.
, where she ran a chess school, although her career had previously been in engineering. A frequent competitor in the Belarusian Chess Championship
, she was champion on three occasions; in 1960, 1973 and 1975.
Currently, her FIDE registration is through the Russian Federation, although she has spent some time living in Bulgaria. Despite advancing years, she still plays chess in rated tournaments; in 1998, close to her eightieth birthday, her Elo rating was still an imposing 2245 and at the World Seniors at Rowy
in 2000, she achieved a mid-table finish. Since then, her schedule has included the European Senior Women's Championship
and the Russian Senior Women's Championship.
Zvorykina's Woman International Master title was awarded in 1952 and her Woman Grandmaster title in 1977. She also became an International Arbiter
in 1977.
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) is a former Soviet chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player who spent many years living in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. She is a three-time winner of the Women's Soviet Championship
Women's Soviet Chess Championship
The Women's Soviet Chess Championship was played in the Soviet Union from 1927 through 1989 to determine the women's chess national champion.-List of winners:Winners of more titles* 5 titles : Valentina Borisenko, Nona Gaprindashvili...
.
Formative years
Her parents were Aleksey Konstantinovich Zvorykin (brother of Vladimir ZworykinVladimir Zworykin
Vladimir Kozmich Zworykin was a Russian-American inventor, engineer, and pioneer of television technology. Zworykin invented a television transmitting and receiving system employing cathode ray tubes...
) and Lidiya Terpugova and she was one of seven children. Her immediate and extended family were, in her youth, keen chess players and even held their own private chess tournaments. Buoyed from her success in one of these contests at the age of 16, she dared to enter a school competition and won all of her games.
By 1927 the family had resettled in Leningrad (today, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
). Consequently, the opportunity arose for the young Zvorykina to join the legendary Palace of Young Pioneers' Chess Club
Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
where classes were given by rising star Peter Romanovsky
Peter Romanovsky
Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky was a Russian chess International Master, International Arbiter, and author.-Biography:At the beginning of his career in Sankt Petersburg, he shared fourth place in 1908 , tied for 10-11th in 1909 , took second place behind Smorodsky in 1913, and shared first with...
, then a Candidate Master. At 17, she became the Leningrad Schoolgirl Champion and also began studying at the Institute of Cinematography. Her time for chess gradually become more limited and it wasn't until 1946 that she began to emerge as an important force in world chess, finishing second in the Leningrad Women's Championship.
Championship chess
Zvorykina married grandmaster and chess trainer Alexey SuetinAlexey Suetin
Alexey Stepanovich Suetin was a Russian International Grandmaster of chess and author.-Biography:A resident of Moscow and a mechanical engineer by profession, he became an International Master in 1961 and a Grandmaster in 1965. His philosophy was always that "mastery is not enough; you must dare,...
and together they had a son, Aleksandr, born 1951. Further progress brought Zvorykina up to the pinnacle of Russian Women's chess, as she went on to win the national women's championship outright in 1951, 1953 and 1956. There were also two equal first finishes in 1957 (she lost the tiebreak with Valentina Borisenko
Valentina Borisenko
Valentina Michajlovna Borisenko was a Soviet chess player.She was a five-times winner of the Women's Soviet Championship: 1945, 1955, 1957, 1960, and 1961 ....
) and in 1958 (with Larisa Volpert
Larisa Volpert
Larisa Ilinichna Volpert is a Russian chess Woman Grandmaster. She was three times Soviet women's chess champion ....
).
In international chess, there were very few women's tournaments held in the 1950s when Zvorykina was at her peak, but she tied for 4th place at the 1952 Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
event and beat Anne Sunnucks
Anne Sunnucks
Patricia Anne Sunnucks is an author and the several time British Women's Chess Champion .Although she learned how to play chess at age 8, she did not play seriously until age 21 when she joined the same chess club as Imre König, who became her tutor...
(+1 =1 −0) in the USSR versus Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Match of 1954. Her greatest success occurred in Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
at the Women's Candidates Tournament of 1959, when victory over a strong field earned her a match with reigning Women's World Champion
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
Elizaveta Bykova for the title. Unfortunately, the 1960 match coincided with her mother's terminal illness and this undoubtedly affected her play, resulting in a loss by a hefty 4½–8½ margin.
Into the 1960s, she competed in only a small number of international tournaments without much success; a new wave of strong players were by then in the ascendancy, most notably the Azerbaijani, Tatiana Zatulovskaya
Tatiana Zatulovskaya
Tatiana Yakovlevna Zatulovskaya is a Soviet, Russian, and Israeli chess player, Woman Grandmaster, and the 1993 Senior Women's World Chess Champion...
and the Georgians, Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion , and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia , she was the strongest female player of her generation....
and Nana Alexandria
Nana Alexandria
Nana Alexandria is a Georgian chess Woman Grandmaster and International Arbiter . She was the challenger in two matches for the Women's World Chess Championship....
. In World Championship Candidates tournaments however, she remained a consistent and respected performer throughout the 1950s and well into the 1960s, never achieving less than a top 5 finish.
Team chess
Representing the Soviet Union at the Chess OlympiadChess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s of 1957 (Emmen) and 1963 (Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
), Zvorykina produced two sparkling, medal-winning performances. The first resulted in a board 2 score of 12/14, securing both individual and team gold and even overshadowing the accomplishment of board 1 compatriot Olga Rubtsova
Olga Rubtsova
Olga Nikolaevna Rubtsova was a Soviet chess player and fourth Women's World Chess Champion.She won the Soviet Women's Championship four times , and was second in the 1950 World Championship, a point behind Lyudmila Rudenko...
, the World Champion. Her second appearance saw her post a similarly impressive 5½/6 score, helping the team to another gold medal. However, as this was achieved from the position of team reserve, no individual medal was awarded.
Later career
Zvorykina spent some time in Moscow, when her husband was appointed Head Coach there; later, she lived in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, where she ran a chess school, although her career had previously been in engineering. A frequent competitor in the Belarusian Chess Championship
Belarusian Chess Championship
The 65th Belarusian Chess Championship was held 18–28 February 1999.GM Viacheslav Dydyshko won the 12-player, single round-robin tournament , earning his tenth championship in 26 attempts.-References:**...
, she was champion on three occasions; in 1960, 1973 and 1975.
Currently, her FIDE registration is through the Russian Federation, although she has spent some time living in Bulgaria. Despite advancing years, she still plays chess in rated tournaments; in 1998, close to her eightieth birthday, her Elo rating was still an imposing 2245 and at the World Seniors at Rowy
Rowy
Rowy may refer to the following places in Poland:*Rowy, Łódź Voivodeship *Rowy, Pomeranian Voivodeship *Rowy, Podlaskie Voivodeship *Rowy, Garwolin County in Masovian Voivodeship...
in 2000, she achieved a mid-table finish. Since then, her schedule has included the European Senior Women's Championship
European Senior Chess Championship
The European Senior Chess Championship is a chess tournament for senior chess players organised by the European Chess Union . Men can participate if they are 60 or over by January 1 of the year the tournament starts. For women the age requirement is 50 or over. The format of the tournament is 9...
and the Russian Senior Women's Championship.
Zvorykina's Woman International Master title was awarded in 1952 and her Woman Grandmaster title in 1977. She also became an International Arbiter
International Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
in 1977.