15 Women Chess Grandmasters You Must Know 

Do you know Beth Harmon became Chess Grandmaster at an early age? Well, that was fictional, but there are real female chess masters who earned the title of Chess Grandmaster.

What does Chess Grandmaster mean?

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) grants one of the highest titles to chess players, known as “Grandmaster.” Once someone achieves this title, it stays for lifetime. Chess players are awarded this title without gender inequality. However, this honor can be revoked profoundly on some grounds, like cheating.

Chess Grandmaster vs Women Chess Grandmaster

Chess Grandmaster (GM)	Women Chess Grandmaster (WGM)
Both men and women can earn chess grandmaster title.	This title can be earned only by women chess players.
A chess player need to have at least 2500 Elo FIDE rating with three grandmaster norms, to attain this title.	A women chess player need to have at least 2300 Elo FIDE rating with three grandmaster norms, to attain this title.

So, let me introduce the best Women Chess Grandmasters who made Chess a career, and changed their lives.

15 Women Chess Grandmasters

1. Nona Gaprindashivli

Do you know, Nona Gaprindashivli was the fifth Women’s World Chess Champion and carried the title for 16 long years?

She was amongst the terrific chess masters who started playing when she was just 5. Nona Gaprindashivli was the first female to earn the prestigious title of Women Chess Grandmaster in 1978.
Many people don’t know that Nona Gaprindashivli sued the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. The lawsuit was about an introduction about her in the last episode of the series that, “she has never faced men.”

Even at 64, her devotion to chess made her win BDO Chess Tournament with 2510 performance rating.

In an interview, the interviewer asked, “How do you still have the energy and power for chess at the age of 76?” Nona Gaprindashivli replied, “Chess is my life. I like it.”

2. Susan Polgar

The Polgar sisters had been setting a bar in chess excellence.

Can you believe a girl won a Chess Championship at 4? I know it’s hard to process the fact. Susan Polgar is one of the top-rated female chess players. She is one of the excellent chess masters.
Susan Polgar became the 3rd Women Chess Grandmaster in her twenties.

Susan delivered chess coaching to aspiring chess players for more than 25 years. Apart from being a coach, she became a writer and published inspiring chess books.

3. Judit Polgar

Yes, you have to believe the fact that the youngest 15-year-old Judit Polgar defeated the great Bobby Fischer. By breaking his record, she won the highest title as International Grandmaster.

Beginning at the age of 5, Judit Polgar played chess almost her entire life. Let’s see her biggest achievements.
The title of Highest-Rated Female Player in History goes to Judit Polgar.

Judit Polgar won many tournaments, but the massive achievement was yet to knock the door. In 1991, she became one of the youngest Women Chess Grandmasters of all time.

She didn’t stop there but continued playing chess professionally. Proving her intelligence, she defeated 11 World champions and created history.

In 2014, Judit Polgar played her last tournament being an active chess player.

In 2018, she was honored with the FIDE Vice-president position. Judit Polgar is the best female chess player ever. She is an expert commentator at International tournaments.

4. Pia Cramling

Thirty years back, making chess a career choice was not so easy. Pia Cramling made her identity through sacrifices and hurdles. She delivered unbelievable performances throughout her life.

Following her brother Dan Cramling, an International Chess Master, Pia Cramling learned the chess moves and started winning some tournaments.

The Swedish School Championship changed Pia Cramling’s life. She surprised herself when she won the title at the age of 13. When Cramling received her prize, her inner voice was screaming happily. She said, “This is something I’ll do my whole life.”

Pia Cramling was the team representative for Sweden at the Chess Olympiad. She advises aspiring chess players to enjoy playing rather than carrying pressure.

5. Elisaveta Bykova

The famous Soviet chess player, Elisaveta Bykova, is one of the earliest female chess Grandmasters. She began her chess journey at 12, along with her brother. She was a passionate learner. She won many championships with her chess strategies.

Apart from this, Elisaveta worked in a printing house as an Engineer in Moscow. She unfurled all her passion for women’s Chess and wrote 3 books. She shared her knowledge with the chess learners by way of lectures and organizational events.

6. Zhu Chen

An interesting fact about Zhu Chen is, she was the first Chinese chess player to win the International Chess Championship. She is one of the terrific Female Chess Grandmasters. Let’s know how she made her chess career extraordinary.

Zhu won many titles, but defeating GM Alexandra Kosteniuk was a challenge. In 2001, Zhu Chen took up this challenge, defeated Alexandra, and grabbed the Women’s World Champion title.

7. Humpy Koneru

Do you know who broke Judit Polgar’s record and became the youngest grandmaster? She is none other than an Indian chess player Humpy Koneru.

At the age of 15, Humpy Koneru won the GM title and became the 8th female to earn that. Training under her Father’s guidance, Humpy went high in her chess career.

Chess was Humpy Koneru’s passion that she continued to follow. She recently won the Women’s team Medal for the first time at the 2022 Chess Olympiad, where she led India.

8. Kateryna Lagno

You would be amazed to know that Kateryna Lagno is the 5th ranked woman as per FIDE World Ratings.

She was born with exceptional qualities. Kateryna Lagno started her chess career pretty early. She knew that Chess would be her life.

Kateryna Lagno is a mastermind. Her winnings reflect her excellence in chess.

9. Hou Yifan

Hou Yifan is a Chinese female chess master who won the Woman World Chess Championship not once but 4 times. Chess became a part of her life since she was a 3-year-old kid. Hou Yifan started showcasing her chess skills at 5. This is where her chess career and accomplishment began.

Hou Yifan aced the game for several years and, in 2020, became the youngest professor at Shenzhen University at the age of 26.

10. Marie Sebag

French Female Chess Master Marie Sebag started her journey as a chess player in 1998 by winning the girls under 12 European Youth Chess Championship. She kept this title with her for one more year (2002) and became a joint winner of U18.

As other chess GMs, Marie Sebag also started a career in chess at an early age. She won many chess tournaments and showed her exceptional skills.

As of March 2021, Marie Sebag is the first ever France woman to earn the GM title and became the highest-rated woman.

11. Nana Dzagnidze

Georgian female chess player Nana Dzagnidze started her chess journey in 1999 and never looked back. With a handful of scoring, she achieved many chess championships and tournaments.

Nana Dzagnidze was awarded with FIDE Award of Caissa for being the best female chess player in 2017.
The award was primarily designed by Lobortas Classic Jewellery House Artisans.

12. Yelena Dembo

Yelena Dembo is a child prodigy. She started reading when she was 2.5 and started playing chess when she was 3.

She was inspired by her mother, Nadezhda Fokina, a USSR Master of Sports in Chess, and her Father, a professional pianist and chess trainer.

Yelena’s father had been training her since 3 years of her age. Being a genius, Dembo won many championships.

Yelena Dembo holds 8 medals for numerous renowned championships. She also became an author and wrote a few books on Chess. Some of them include:

1. Conversation with a professional trainer – Methods of positive play
2. The very unusual book about Chess

13. Monika Socko

Let me tell you an interesting fact, Monika Socko defeated Marie Sebag and Yelena Dembo in tie breaks and won the Bronze.

She was the first Polish female to earn the WGM (1995) title by that time. Being one of the outstanding female chess players of all time, Monika Socko was flying high in her chess career.

Continuing her journey, Socko won Woman Grandmaster Round-Robin Tournament at Erfurt in the year 2014.

14. Tatiana Kosintseva

Tatiana Kosintseva randomly visited a chess club coming back from dance lessons with her mother. That is when Chess became a part of her life. She started playing chess at 6, along with her elder sister Nadezhda (GM, 2011).

According to Tatiana Kosintseva, a book by former World Champion Alexander Alekhine’s Games inspired her. She was equally influenced by Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov’s games.

By 2007, Tatiana had won the European Women’s Champion twice and the Russian Women’s Championship for the 3rd time. Her excellence in Chess made her female Grandmaster in 2009.

15. Harika Dronavalli

Harika Dronavalli happens to be the 2nd Indian woman to hold the title of Woman Grandmaster, next to Humpy Koneru.

She developed an interest in chess at a very young age. Following her passion with hard work, Harika Dronavalli refined her game and grabbed many titles.

2019 blessed Harika Dronavalli with a prestigious Padma Shri Award.

There are many women chess masters who gave remarkable performances in chess history.

“There is no limit to what we can achieve if we reach for the sky and take risks.” This is exactly what I felt after knowing the life stories of these extraordinary women. Instead of dreaming, they worked really hard to live their dreams. They set an example of how you can turn your passion into reality.

FAQs

Why are there very few female Grandmasters?

Back then, women had to struggle to enter into the chess world and make Chess a career. The games were played considering gender, but when the strongest chess Grandmaster Judit Polgar became the first and only ranked woman in the world, it changed the perspective of many people.

Judit said, “We are capable of the same fight as any man. It’s not a matter of gender; it’s a matter of being smart.”

Why is Chess hard to learn?

Chess is hard, but not something you can’t learn ever. It is complex as it includes numerous moves like castling or openings like Gambit. You need to master your mind to play with strategies like the opening, middle, and Endgame. Once you learn basic rules and strategies, you just need to practice more and more to get used to it.

Conclusion

Every chess player works hard their entire life to attain the Grandmaster title one day. It takes dedication and courage to play with constant enthusiasm.

If you are willing to start your chess journey, first get a trainer and master the basics. Practice diligently. Focus on enjoying the journey rather than the destination.

Many chess tournaments are waiting for you!