Olga Prudnykova is the new Icelandic Female Chess Champion

Olga Prudnykova is the Icelandic champion in chess, after she won at the Icelandic Women’s Championship yesterday and in doing so she beat the reigning chess queen Lenka Ptácní­kova, who has been the strongest female chess player in Iceland for years.

Before the final round, Olga Prudnykova, a Ukrainian refugee resident, had a half point win over two women, Lenka Ptácní­kova, a fourteen-time Icelandic champion, and Guðlaug Þor­steins­dóttir, a six-time Icelandic champion which is reported in an announcement from the Icelandic Chess Federation.

Lenka’s eleven consecutive years of winning over

Olga and Lenka met in the final round, and it was clear that victory would secure Olga's title. Olga's victory in the final game brought her the overall win, but she had four and a half wins out of five.

Guðlaug Þorsteinsdóttir and Lenka  Ptácní­kova were tied for second to third. This ended a 11-year win streak for Lenka in the tournament.

Ukranian refugee

Olga Prudnykova is a Ukrainian refugee living in Iceland with her family. Although formerly not an Icelandic citizen, she is an Icelandic champion in chess, as she has the right to play for Iceland in international tournaments. Her first international tournament where she plays for the Icelandic national team will be in the European Chess Championship 2023 which is hosted in Montenegro this November.