Natalia Zhukova
Encyclopedia
Natalia Zhukova is a Ukrainian
Grandmaster of chess
. She won several age-group titles as a teenager, both at the European and World levels. She has also triumphed in several international women's tournaments. She has played for the Ukrainian women's national team since age 17 in 1996, the same year she won the Ukrainian women's championship in her debut. She played board one on the champion Ukrainian team at the Turin 2006 chess Olympiad
.
In May 2010 she reached the 2500 rating and achieved the title of Grandmaster.
Her current FIDE rating is 2499, 16th ranked woman in the world, as of May 2010. She is married to grandmaster Alexander Grischuk
.
level at Mamaia
1991, with a tied 3rd-4th place in the Girls' U12 group, with 7.5/11. She won the European Youth Championship
for Girls U14 at Szombathely
1993 with 7.5/9. She won the European Championship for Girls U16 at Herculane 1994 with 7/9. She won the World Championship for Girls U16 at Szeged
1994 with 7/9. She placed 2nd in the World Championship for Girls U20 at Halle
1995 with 9/12. She debuted at the Interzonal
level at Kishinev 1995, with a middle of the field result, 6.5/13.
1998 with 6/9. She won the Groningen Women's Festival in 1998 with 7/10. She won the 1999 EU Cup for Women at Nova Gorica
with 5.5/7. She placed 2nd at the 1999 Alushta
Women's Zonal with 6.5/9. She won the 2000 EU Women's Championship at Batumi
with 13/19.
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
Grandmaster of 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...
. She won several age-group titles as a teenager, both at the European and World levels. She has also triumphed in several international women's tournaments. She has played for the Ukrainian women's national team since age 17 in 1996, the same year she won the Ukrainian women's championship in her debut. She played board one on the champion Ukrainian team at the Turin 2006 chess Olympiad
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
.
In May 2010 she reached the 2500 rating and achieved the title of Grandmaster.
Her current FIDE rating is 2499, 16th ranked woman in the world, as of May 2010. She is married to grandmaster Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....
.
Early years
Zhukova was just 12 years old when she made her debut at the World Youth ChampionshipWorld Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
level at Mamaia
Mamaia
Mamaia is a resort on the Romanian Black Sea shore, considered to be Romania's most popular resort. It is situated immediately north-east of Constanţa...
1991, with a tied 3rd-4th place in the Girls' U12 group, with 7.5/11. She won the European Youth Championship
European Youth Chess Championship
Since 1991, the European chess union organises the European Youth Chess Championship in the groups under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 year. Until 2002, there was also a tournament for the under 20, see European Junior Chess Championship.-Boys winners:...
for Girls U14 at Szombathely
Szombathely
Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria...
1993 with 7.5/9. She won the European Championship for Girls U16 at Herculane 1994 with 7/9. She won the World Championship for Girls U16 at Szeged
Szeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
1994 with 7/9. She placed 2nd in the World Championship for Girls U20 at Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
1995 with 9/12. She debuted at the Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
level at Kishinev 1995, with a middle of the field result, 6.5/13.
Ukrainian women's champion at 16
Zhukova was the youngest player in the field, just 16 years old, when she made her debut in 1996 at the Ukrainian women's level. She tied for 1st-2nd places in the championship, with 6/10. In 1995, she earned the title of Woman International Master from FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and was promoted to Woman Grandmaster in 1997.Olympian since age 17
Such an impressive series of results earned her selection to the Ukrainian national women's team, starting in 1996, and she has represented Ukraine in six straight Olympiads, since 1998 on board one. In 65 games, she has scored (+20 =32 -13), for 55.4 per cent. Her complete Olympiad results follow.- Yerevan 199632nd Chess OlympiadThe 32nd Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, took place between September 15 and October 2, 1996, in Yerevan, Armenia.- Chess competition :...
, board 4, +5 =4 -2 - Elista 199833rd Chess OlympiadThe 33rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, took place between September 26 and October 13, 1998, in Elista, Kalmykia, . In the open tournament there were 110 teams, and in the women's, 72 teams.-Chess City:The...
, board 1, +3 =3 -4 - Istanbul 200034th Chess OlympiadThe 34th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, took place between October 28 and November 12, 2000, in Istanbul, Turkey.- Chess competition :...
, board 1, +3 =7 -1 - Bled 200235th Chess OlympiadThe 35th Chess Olympiad took place from October 25th to November 11th, 2002, in Bled, . In the men's tournament there were 136 teams, and in the women's, 92 teams...
, board 1, +3 =5 -3 - Calvià 200436th Chess OlympiadThe 36th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Majorca.-Chess...
, board 1, +1 =8 -3 - Turin 200637th Chess OlympiadThe 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
, board 1, +5 =5 -0, team and board gold medals.
International successes
Zhukova has posted several excellent international results. She tied for 1st-2nd places at BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
1998 with 6/9. She won the Groningen Women's Festival in 1998 with 7/10. She won the 1999 EU Cup for Women at Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica ; 21,082 ; 31,000 ) is a town and a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy...
with 5.5/7. She placed 2nd at the 1999 Alushta
Alushta
Alushta is a resort town in Crimea, Ukraine, founded in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. It is situated on the Black Sea on the road from Gurzuf to Sudak, as well as on the Crimean Trolleybus line....
Women's Zonal with 6.5/9. She won the 2000 EU Women's Championship at Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
with 13/19.