13 Facts About Lyudmila Rudenko

Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko was a Soviet chess player and the second women's world chess champion, from 1950 until 1953.

Lyudmila Rudenko was the first woman awarded the International Master title.

Lyudmila Rudenko was born in 1904 in Lubny, in the Poltava region of what is Ukraine.

Lyudmila Rudenko became the swimming champion of Odessa in the 400-metre breaststroke.

Lyudmila Rudenko started a career as an economic planner for the Soviet Union, and chess became a hobby.

Lyudmila Rudenko began playing tournament chess in 1925 after a move to Moscow.

Lyudmila Rudenko then moved to Leningrad, where she met and married scientist Lev Davidovich Goldstein; in 1931 they had a son.

In World War II, Lyudmila Rudenko organized a train to evacuate children from the Siege of Leningrad.

Lyudmila Rudenko described this as the most important accomplishment in her life.

Lyudmila Rudenko, who was then 45 years old, won the tournament, a full point ahead of the field.

Lyudmila Rudenko held the Women's World Championship title until losing it to Elisaveta Bykova in 1953 in the next championship cycle.

Lyudmila Rudenko was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2015.

Lyudmila Rudenko was honored with a Google Doodle on the 114th anniversary of her birth, 27 July 2018.