Lenka Ptacnikova, the first Icelandic woman to become a grandmaster in chess and the captain of the women’s national team, won the 2005 Women Nordic Championship in Vammala, Finland yesterday. Viktora Baskite from Estonia was in second place and Ellen Hageseter from Norway placed third.
Many of the Nordic countries’ most talented chess women played at the tournament, and players from the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania participated for the first time.
Lenka, an economist, was born in Czechoslovakia and represented the Czech Republic in five Chess Olympiads between 1994 and 2002. She moved to Iceland in 2000 and became and Icelandic citizen last year.
According to Morgunbladid Lenka is one of the best coaches and teachers at the Icelandic Chess School.
Lenka is also the deputy chairman of one of the largest chess clubs in Iceland, Hellir, and has in recent years been instrumental in building up girls’ and womens’ activities at the club .
Morgunbladid reports that Iceland has not had a Nordic Woman champion in chess for 24 years. Sigurlaug Fridthjófsdóttir was Nordic Champion 1981 and Gudlaug Thorsteinsdóttir in 1975, 1977 and 1979.
