Biography of Olga Rubtsova

Olga Rubtsova (August 20, 1909 – December 13, 1994) was a Soviet chess player and fourth Women’s World Chess Champion. She won the USSR Women’s Championship several times, and was second in the 1950 Women’s World Championship, a point behind Ludmila Rudenko. She won the title in 1956, finishing ahead of Rudenko and Elizaveta Bykova in a match tournament, before losing it to Bikova in a match in 1958.

Rubtsova also played correspondence chess, and became first Women’s Correspondence Chess Champion in 1972 (she also finished second in the next championship, only losing the title to Lora Jakovleva on tie-break, and fifth in the one after that). As of 2005, she remains the only player, male or female, to become World Champion in both over-the-board and correspondence chess.