Lyudmila Rudenko

Who was Lyudmila Rudenko?

Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko was a Soviet chess player and the second Women's World Chess Champion from 1950 until 1953. She was awarded the FIDE International Master and Woman International Master titles in 1950, and the Woman Grandmaster title in 1976. She was the first woman awarded the International Master title. She was USSR Women's Champion in 1952.

Born in Lubny in the Poltava region of Ukraine, in the Russian Empire, her father taught her to play chess at age 10 although at first she was more serious about swimming. After grammar school, she moved to Odessa and took a degree in economics. Rudenko became the Odessa swimming champion in the 400m breaststroke. In 1925, she was the holder of the title of Vice-Swimming Champion of Ukraine. Her professional career would be as an economic planner for the Soviet Union, and chess would remain a hobby.